November 27, 2004
The Price Of Anti-Americanism
A couple of months back, PGA Tour pro and native Brit Paul Casey said that he "hated" Americans -- a comment that has now resulted in Titleist dropping him as a cap and ball sponsor.
No Three Putts isn't shedding any tears:
Although Casey now states that he regrets he ever made those comments, he would not have said them if he didn't mean them. Just like when Fuzzy Zoeller made the racist comments at the Masters several years ago regarding Tiger Woods' dinner selection. He said it as a joke, but we all know that he's a bigot and meant it too.
But after taking a second look at what Casey had to say at a press conference at the World Cup of Golf where he and playing partner Luke Donald expounded on Casey's initial comments, I can't work up much bile for Casey. Take a look at the following:
"I stand by my words," said the 27 year-old, "I certainly don't hate Americans, but they do have a tendency to sort of wind people up. When they are chanting 'USA' and there's lots of them it just makes you want to beat them even more."
"That's the point I was trying to get across. They probably failed to realise it really sort of riles us and the rest of the world. "
In particular, he's talking about the American fans' behavior at the Ryder Cup, where folks occasionally get carried away, especially by the normal standards of golf. And as far as I'm concerned, if you don't like what Casey has to say, then you ought to go about making him eat his words on the golf course -- something the Americans didn't manage to do at the Ryder Cup this year.
Then again, when the tabloid headlines are screaming, "Americans are stupid. I hate them," you can't get too surprised when an American golf company might not be anxious to do business with you. Maybe it's time to give Mizuno a call.
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Chanting "USA" is the worst he could come up with? (Sarcasm follows) Yeah, that's far worse than booing the opposing national anthem like English soccer fans. (Sarcasm over)
I'll side with the English these days in many arguments over which country is more civilized, and I think the stereotype of English soccer fans as hooligans is an overblown relic of a dark time that has long passed. But Casey, apart from the whole political correctness angle, is making a poor argument here.
Posted by:
at November 29, 2004 09:37 AM
Posted by:
at November 29, 2004 06:10 PM
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