Sam's Army, Cognitive Dissonance, and Facepaint
World Cup 2006: Wandering Europe
SNAPSHOTS:
1. Paris et Les Invalides
2. Zidane, Ribery, et le Trocadero at Midnight
3. Aller a Strasbourg
4. The Autobahn and the Art of Happiness
5. What Happened in Berlin
6. My Birthday: Berlin in Summer
7. Back in the Thick of It: Ghana v USA
9. Born in the USA
10. "USA!" he yelled. "USA!"
11. And our best player left the field on a stretcher.
12. We watched happily as the scores of passing Ghanai...
 Americans Everywhere |
We discovered that our seats were smack in the center of the loudest, most colorful American fans. Stars and stripes surrounded us, choking us in lovely patriotic fervor. Shirts were printed red, faces were painted blue, and gregarious smiles and aggressive chants overwhelmed any poor nearby neutral fan. This was Sam's Army. Not many years ago it was a pitiably small group; no one used to care. But over a decade or so Sam's Army has grown into a huge international network of supporters of the American team.
For me it was cognitive dissonance. Finding myself seated in the sea of fluttering red-white-and-blue, I thought back to the latest anti-war march I'd participated in. Here I was on the side of those waving the overused colors. I was momentarily confused, torn, but I gave in, and it felt good. Root-chakra good. To be in a tribe with a common cause. To shout and laugh and cry with those wearing your chosen hues.
The Star Spangled Banner began, and I sang loudly alongside them all. Noemie looked on, amused, and took my picture.