What They're Saying: Megan Rapinoe
- by Soccer America , Aug 8, 2021
-- Megan Rapinoe, after the USA won the bronze medal in women's soccer at the Olympics, on a statement was issued in the name of former President Donald Trump that "if our soccer team, headed by a radical group of Leftist Maniacs, wasn’t woke, they would have won the gold medal instead of the bronze. Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has.” (Nexstar Media Wire)
Woke Interpretation of what was said: I don't see in the Statement where it says He was "Rooting" for USA to Lose... This was the Players Attitude, That "America" was Cheering AGAINST them... How hard do you play, for Country/Fans that Boo You.??? ... Think about your Local Pro Team(Any Sport)... You think they play better or Worse when the Home Fans Boo them.??? ... The Motivation is JUST NOT THERE... This was a Self-Induced Hysteria/Paranoia. And with out the Little Screaming Girls and Sam's Army in the Stands to "Feed The Vampires", They had No why to Internally Generate the Needed Motivation to Overcome The World; LIKE CANADA DID.!!!... It's Rarely that "The Best Team Wins", Even Euro Winner Italy "Ran Away" from The Beautiful Game it Started with; But they Clearly had a Self-Belief that Carried them to Victory...Except for ONE Occasion... Nobody Remembers the Loser, Being The Winner(We know who Frank).... Only the Winner is Remembered; And usually, The Description in the Press is of an Ugly, Boring Final, Won by the More MOTIVATED, DETERMINED, UNIFIED TEAM, ...TEAM,... TEAM.!!!
You may think i'm just some Delusional "Trumpster"(Which i'm Not) ... But just after reading this article, I read the one on FC Dallas Turnaround... Qoute from the Coach:
"Credit to the boys to have an internal desire to wake up tomorrow and show motivation, to improve, to take feedback and use it and they themselves not get caught up in maybe some of the opinions of how we’re doing or what we’re doing, but just trying to focus on how to improve and work, not just work harder but work smarter, do thing simple and find solutions. Credit to the players to not be too low or not be too high, just stay focused on the next moment."
ANY QUESTIONS.???
I don't have any questions. Well, maybe one, when will the USSF begin to singularly focus on soccer? Or, as I've asked a couple times over the last few years on SA, at what point will the misguided and informed, say, okay we are now accepting of our own country? And, admit that we have a good thing going and that we more than any other country has been the most generous and tolerant nation to date. I wish Pino well, I really do, but she's never been a player that she be taking the stage for this team.
Yup Wooden, Time to put away the Whips and stop Self-Flagilatting ourselves and our Country.
Santiago, <"Nobody Remembers the Loser, Being The Winner"> You are so right ....Hungary'54; Holland '74 and Brazil '82. That's right , we don't want to remember the Sh'tkickers that won the cup in those years.....
They were sent to Tokyo to represent the USA. They did the opposite, both in the games and before them. They did not do credit to themselves or to our federation. The federation absolutely needs to revisit its policies regarding acceptable behavior, actually misbehavior, by players at all levels when representing the USA in international competition.
Did any of you watch the Euros or the Copa America? The conduct of our players "stands" in stark contrast to the respect that those teams and their players showed for their anthem and flag. This "woke" behavior by a USA national team is an embarrassment and certainly doesn't set a very good example for the thousands of youth players following our national teams.
It's simple. Either you love your country or you don't. The time to make that statement is when they ask you to wear your country's uniform or colors not after. If you can't respect your flag or anthem have the integrity to say so - right than. Not after you've agreed to represent your country - and us! After accepting the honor of representing our country is not the right time or place to dissent. Do the right and honorable thing and make your views known before. Don't hide them and ambush the American people later.
When you are representing or country, with a big USA on your jersey, it is no time to disrespect it by demeaning our anthem and our flag.
If you hate us so much, don't go out there to represent uis.
Damn did u not see how rapino represented USA in bronze game?? 2 goolazos that is not a washed up player.
give some credit where it's due.
same for Lloyd.
uffe. represented??? yes I saw and heard her poor attitude. As usual she was gifted two goals. If she had not made them it would have been very embarrasing. For everyone. She seems out of gas and has no hunger for the game. Just posing and interviews. Would like to see everyone play as hard as Ertz. I think young blood (with the right attitude) could bring that back to the team.
Uffe, it was AUSTRALIA.!!!... Also, Read the article about The USA Women CBA Bonus Package... They would have Lost About $200,000 EACH if they Finished 4th.!!! As it now Stands, They ONLY Lost 100,000 dollars EACH for LOSING THE GOLD MEDAL... I Guess that is the Cost of GOING WOKE... GO WOKE, GO BROKE.!!!
Well said Uffe. Sure, Rapino's side volley into the upper 90 was a "gift", her skill and determination had nothing to do with it....
Here is my viewpoint. On social media there has been an active disinformation campaign tarnishing the USWNT by people who are not soccer fans and don't watch the matches.
Most fans only occasionally follow the WNT so they cannot spot the lies. Just about all fans have unrealistic expectations of the WNT after they won back to back world cups. That is why they complain that winning a bronze medal is a failure.
What upsets me the most are those fans who want the WNT run exactly like the MNT. The MNT that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and failed to qualify for the last 3 Olympics.
What is most upsetting is that many fans make the team's performance about politics.
The program cannot be properly run with unrealistic expectations and a political litmus test.
Bob, do you see where we have Sunk To.???... Singing or Not Singing, is a "Political Litmus Test"... I thought it was a "Patriotic Litmus Test"... And I would Definetly have one for Players on the U.S. National Team... You can't STAND and FACE THE FLAG and PUT YOUR HAND OVER YOUR HEART and SING The National Anthem.!?!?!?.... BAD for TEAM CHEMISTRY... You go to the "D" Team... "D" (DROP, DO NOT Bring, DETRIMENTAL to Team/Country Unity)
Bob. Make up your mind. What upsets me the most are those fans who want the WNT run exactly like the MNT.
What is most upsetting is that many fans make the team's performance about politics.
Anyway players like peeno have made it about politics Only interested in posing, chasing reporters for interviews, and money. The Olympics is supposed to be about representing your country. If you hate your country say so when they give you the honor of wearing your country's uniform or colors Be honest tell them up front. Don't be a hypocrite and ambush the people after the fact. Honesty and integrity used to be a standard for representing this country.
I can't wait until 5 Months from now, when the USSF gives them the Same CBA as the Men.!!! ... Then what will they say.??? NO, we want UN-Equal Pay.!?!?!?
Well said, Bob.
Let’s look at the two sides:
Side 1: A man who took an oath to defend the Constitution from internal and external threats, then fomented a misguided and dangerous attack on the Capitol in order to disrupt a legitimate democratic process in order to stay in power, despite clearly not being the choice of THE PEOPLE.
Side 2: A group of athletes who trained for years, qualified for a tournament, scored multiple goals that were called back on plays that required slow motion video review for a final ruling, and still came in third.
An objective look at THE FACTS will show which side has done more damage to this wonderful country, and which side has lost and gone bad.
Yeah, sorry. Trump is an arrogant buffoon who knows nothing about so many topics, but always thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. I think Rapinoe knows a bit more about the USWNT than Trump does. Rooting against Americans because they don't share your politics is a lot less patriotic than criticizing the country you love because you think it needs to do things differently. Stalin and Hitler were pretty good about making sure everyone toed the line. Not a model I want us to follow. In the words of that famous "radical woke leftist" (Donald Rumsfeld), "freedom's untidy." If you think the political beliefs of the members of the USWNT are why they came in 3rd in the world instead of 1st, then you probably also think Trump is as brilliant as he thinks he is and that Kindergarten teachers are teaching critical race theory. Trump cares nothing about the USWNT (do you seriously think he's ever watched a game?), he's just using this theme to stir up the culture war so he can make money of the suckers willing to give it to him. Grifters gonna grift....
Kent, whether Trump ever watched a USWNT game, I wouldn't know,but I do know his son was with the DC United Academy for a while and now plays in Arlington......so soccer is not exactly an unknown subject in the Trump family....
And,whether the political beliefs of our players had a role in us ending third, I'm not going to speculate on that. But I do know positive attitude is better than having negative attitudes on one's country, when it comes to performing for your country. And as a coach ,I would take into account the attitudes that players bring with them and how it can influence others...
As far as Trump being an arrogant fool and knows nothing about so many topics. Hey, whatever. I thought presidents employed advisors to help him make decisions, when needed. I personally thought he was a great president and his personality didn't bother me one iota. He was a fresh breath of air considering what the other side had to offer, but that's my opinion.
As far as CRT goes, I'll wait till the facts are in on that one. I'm not a fan of it, but that it is even brought up in our educational is a scary thought. I guess I'm from the old school, I'm not supportive of indoctrinating the latest social progressive fads to our youth....
Frank, fair point about Baron. On the other hand, given how often Trump seems to interact with Baron (even referring to him "Melania's son" at one point), I'm willing to guess he's not too involved in his soccer career. CRT is a gruduate school level concept, so claiming that children are being "indoctrinated" with it is just wrong. The problem is that discussing the role of race in the world is seen (by some) as being divisive, as if we just ignored it it would go away. President's do have advisors, and good ones use them appropriately. Trump valued loyalty over competence, and always claimed he knew more than his advisors, be they generals or medical experts. But this is a soccer forum, so I won't go into the book I could write about Trump's failings.
As for "attitude", I agree, attitude is everything. If a player has a poor attitude towards the team, or is disruptive or divisive, that would be a problem. I haven't seen that with this team. The only attitude problem that this team might have had is overconfidence, thinking that they would win regardless. And that's a fine line; you don't want to team to panic when they get behind (as a team lacking in confidence would), but they do need to step it up a notch when necessary, and sometimes this team seemed a bit too complacent. But that wasn't due to their "wokeness," it was due to their years of success.
My first year coaching one of my best players had a bad attitude (he was very critical of his teammates when they made mistakes); I disciplined him, but looking back, I should have kicked him off the team, we would have been a better team without him (in spite of his talent). So I get team chemistry. But I also think soccer players are allowed to express their political opinions, and we shouldn't critique their soccer playing based on their political opinions. People need to give it a rest.
Frank, I cannot tell you why the Senators voted against censorship of "CRT" in education, but I can tell you why it concerns me. This is truly censorship, but the subject being censored is extremely vague. They don't say any specific topic, such as the ideas of Prof. X. They don't define "CRT" at all. (I would oppose the censorship even if limited, as interferring with the freedom of speech.) Leaving CRT undefined leaves the broad topic of racial discrimination open to censorship.
This allows people in schools to claim that there is no racial discrimination in the US with all disagreement banned. When the communists did this we called it indoctrination and brainwashing.
Frank, CRT is not some ideology that elementary school teachers are using to indoctrinate our children to hate white people. It is a partisan talking point that Republicans think they can use for political gain. CRT is a way of looking at the world that argues that even if individuals are not racists (so it recognizes progress in that individuals being racist is much less of an issue than it was), our institutions have racism built into that must be addressed in order to truly achieve a racially neutral society.
To use a soccer example, white men of European extraction (especially from Northern Europe) have dominated US coaching for decades. Even if those white men are not racially prejudiced (and certainly most are not), the legacy of their dominance of the coaching structure has an impact on how that structure works. Even if 80% of what they do would be the same as a black or hispanic coach would do, the difference is significant, and that presents impediments for the advancement of non white male European coaches. Coaches rely on people they know, friends and people they work with, and when those networks are dominated by people that are like them, that is a more limited world. So the current coaches are not concsiously excluding non-whites, but they are excluded never the less (because they are not part of the networks those coaches know). So CRT says it is important to look at things like this and do something proactively to rectify these historical legacies, and we will all be better off. If we are proactive in rectifying those historic injustices so we can open up the USSF to all communities, we will end up with a better world (a stronger national team, soccer being played in more communities, etc.).
Bob, my post on that has conveniently disappeared for some reason. It was my post concerning the Senate rejecting federal funds for teaching CRT, 50-49 in the senate. I have no idea why the gov't or rather democrats were so anxious to spend money on this and leaving CRT in your words, UNDEFINED. Why would you spend money on something undefined.....Why would you support something that is undefined and then leave it to the teachers to teach....I don't get it. And why are the democratic so anxious to get this funding...is there something we're missing here...
Frank, my opinion is from reading the very short (1-page) vague amendment. It allowed a Congressional committee, if it felt that someone in a state had taught something that was included in the undefined CRT term, to defund an unspecified amount from any education funding provided to the politically incorrect state. There is no federal funding for "CRT" to cut. An example is funding for education of militiary family members or funding for special education programs. Funding to provide meals for hungry children. The funding would then be given to a politically acceptable state, a/k/a a committee member's home state. All would be done without involvement of the Senate itself. This is taking pork barrel to a new low.
Bob, you are right ,there is no federal fund to cut CRT. The democrats , all but one, in the Senate wanted to establish a federal fund initiative for k-12 teaching CRT. They lost the initiative by one vote 50-49.
Its time for her to go , along with the other ancients
I watched some of the USWNT's soccer in the Olympics and noticed, in an earlier game, an improvement in play when Ertz and Lloyd entered the game. There was an incremental increase in intelligent positioning and ball movement that was noticable. Rapino's goals in the bronze medal match were demonstrative of solid technique, usually missing in the play on both the men's and the women's side. Carly Lloyd is an excellent striker. She can strike the ball well with either foot and finish and did just that in the last game. Ertz was solid and her presence in the midfield helped organize possession of the ball. At some point, all these players will need to retire from the national team so I vote for celebrating their accomplishments and wishing them well in the future.
I think in simplest terms: If you are "woke" you are carrying the negative energy that embodies social injustice and discrimination.
As a professsional playing at the NATIONAL LEVEL, representing the very country that ALLOWS you this platform to let the rest of us know "that there is discrimination" (since we obviously don't know -eh hem), you should then embody the greatness that is our Nation, embody that POSITIVE energy and fight with AMERICAN SPIRIT - not entitled whinning. Frankly, that's what I get out of ALL of the comments on Social Media, about a weak woke entitled team.
And BTW, we know that not everyone on that team agrees with Megan Rapinoe.. But again, if you don't go along with the "woke" program, you don't play... (hmmm sounds like discrimination.)
You are incorrect John. Websters defines "woke" as "attentive to and aware of important issues". You seem to be implying that it is a bad thing for liberals to be woke, but somehow nonliberals are woke without any adverse consequence.
Pardon me for picking on you to vent, but I am fed up with Trump and Trump supporters appropriating words and giving them new meanings which are politically negative to further their political agenda.
This political name calling doesn't belong on this forum.
A couple of more observations about two of the aging players. I might be wrong, but I think Alex Morgan's performance was stifled due to conditioning shortfalls and that it is possible that these can be addressed and she can return to a form closer to where she was at not long ago. I'm talking leg strength and core strength, both of which (I think) failed her while she was shooting. The core strength issue showed up when she tried to head the ball at the very beginning of their first Olympic game and leg strength faltered later in one of the games while she was breaking away on goal and shot. These can be fixed. We've seen other aging athletes revive their careers and even surpass the conditioning their younger bodies had. She'll lose a step and there isn't much that can be done about that, but there are fixes for these other issues. Tobin Heath, who became a target for much criticism, still shows technique and surprises that separate her from the rest of the team. With a little spiffing up, especially from a top-level retired striker, she'd ramp up her performance to a point where she is returns to form as a deadly striker. With a few tweeks and some hard work with great trainers, these women will still impact games for a few more years. My apologies to defenders that can be addressed this way, but I don't really understand defending that well.