David Brooks to the US Soccer team: Cheer up! At least you’ve a college degree

David Brooks, the NYT’s conservative columnist who loves to trumpet American exceptionalism, and regularly pontificates about the decaying moral fiber of the Europeans and east coast liberals, who are just an annexe of the EU anyway, gives his two bit rationalization on the performance of the goal strapped US team (David Brooks, Op-Ed, NYT, June 22)
Brooks inveigles through his op-ed, a comparison of the American educational system over the European system using soccer as a springboard. He does not disappoint, the US is far superior, a conclusion that seems more like a moral victory, with the US universities responsive to the communities they are located in creating a sense of belonging and breaking social distinctions.
Says Brooks, ” Going into today’s World Cup match against Ghana, no American player has managed to put a ball into the back of the net, but the US team leads the world in one vital category: college degrees. Most of the American players attended college. Eddie Pope went to UNC, Kasey Keller went to the University of Portland, and Marcus Hahnemann wento Seattle Pacific. ”
Do you think that was one of their thoughts they consoled themselves with, after their loss to Ghana, the self satisfaction of having gone to college??
Brooks compares them to their sharp-elbowed, hypercompetitive European counterparts who left for professional soccer academies in their teens, forsaking college educations. Zidane at the age of 16 was playing for AS Cannes, Figo with Spoting Lisbon at age 17, and David Beckham attended the Spurs academy and signed with Man U when barely 17.
I don’t hear anyone complaining about LeBron James lack of a college education. His sharp elbowed, hyper-competetive play is what brought the Cavs to the playoffs. Same with Kobe Bryant who has carried the Lakers on his back for a few years now, and kept Phil Jackson looking like a genius. Is anybody complaining that they can’t solve a crossword or discuss Euripedes?
Would Beckham trade in his life for an education at Duke? No. Is Zinedine less smart because he did not go to college? No. Would they have gone to college if they lacked talent in football? Probably. What does that say about DaMarcus Beasley, who is not a college coached soccer player but came through the ODP. Is he suddently incapable of stringing two sentences coherently?
Yes, American universities are much more influential than European ones because of the way they crossover much more seamlessly, and in reciprocal ways, from theory to policy, from a univ lab to the industry, and from a college basketball program to the NBA. However, Brooks would be the first one to state that the so called current moral stagnation and lack of diverse political opinions are because of those arts and letters program run by those godless liberals.
Sometimes soccer is soccer. The difference in fortunes between the US and the European teams comes down to the way we look at the game. Not as a vindication of one educational system over the other, and certainly not a moral one either. As for being responsive, tell that to the folks who live in Harlem with the constant fear of eminent domain through Columbia Univ’s expansionist plans, given that real estate in Manhattan is at a premium.
We are very glad that Pele did not go to college.