They Can’t All Be Steven Wells
By Max J. Rosenthal • Aug 1st, 2007 • Category: American soccer, Media • 3 responsesThe July issue of FourFourTwo magazine features a lengthy article on supporters at the LA derby, courtesy of MLS fan wonk Steven Wells. His colleague Martin Kelner at The Guardian is giving it his attention, too:
They do not quite get it, bless them, but America’s soccer fans are giving it their best shot. The LA Galaxy fans - or boosters, as they are amusingly known over there - recently marked the debut of their latest signing by donning Beckham wigs, and directing some good-natured taunts at the small knot of followers of their opponents, Premiership Chelsea, on a pre-season tour.
Kelner may not have the right terms (”boosters”?), but he’s certainly mastered the shallow and condescending view of US soccer that people like Wells can’t seem to dent.
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At least Kelner’s bullshit takes up less space than his Guardian colleague, Marina Hyde’s, whose lengthy dispatches on the Galaxy recently were astoundingly shallow.
It’s almost funny that articles critiquing another country’s supposed lack of cultural understanding display so little cross-cultural understanding themselves. Almost.
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