What the U.S. Ryder Cup team can learn from the World Cup fiasco

The hierarchy of American soccer fans is constructed in tiers of legitimacy, with all the pride and fussiness that entails, so let me come clean up top and say that I am not one of the die-hards—I'm just some guy who has really enjoyed this World Cup. The global spirit always makes the tournament fun, but this year it was heightened by the inspiring play of the American team, which even won the support of international fans who separated the team from their view of our government, and the goodwill we generated for our country among those visitors (thank you to the grandeur of Buc-ee's, Waffle House, and free soda refills). It all felt like an oasis—brief, yes, but exciting and aspirational.

And then, less than 48 hours before our round of 16 match against Belgium, we got slapped across the face with the cold fish of reality, and shoved right back into the political morass that seems to shadow every facet of our lives. The only silver lining to the disaster that unfolded is what can be learned from it, and the moral of the story extends, yes, to the American Ryder Cup team.First, the background: U.

S. striker Folarin Balogun was issued a red card in the round of 32 that looked very harsh, and meant he'd miss the Americans’ next match against Belgium. By Sunday morning, though, FIFA had rescinded the one-game ban and cleared him to play.

President Trump told reporters Monday that he had called FIFA president Giovanni Infantino to advocate for Balogun, and The Athletic reported that the administration’s involvement actually went a lot deeper than a phone call. It remains unclear what influence the administration's actions had on FIFA's decision, but the wider narrative that emerged was crystal clear: The U.S.

received favorable treatment because its president called in a favor.Let's focus on that concept of "narrative." Two things happened next, and my point is that they are inextricably connected and—bringing this back to golf—have parallels in recent U.

S. Ryder Cup his