Now, being from the place referred to 'over here' as Europe (you know, the big homogenous spot where the yanks like to come visit and check out 'proper' history - TONGUE IN CHEEK I PROMISE.... ok, only a bit), on the whole we tend to have this idea of Americans. Loud shorts, loud voices, no sense of irony or sarcasm, and a propensity for mispronouncing place names (Leicester Square anyone? Edinburgh? I know, its mean to jape at this, after all, we were the ones who invented a deliberately trippy uppy language). On the whole, from over there across the big Atlantic pond that divides, they tend to strike us as a bit crass, a bit brash you know? Maybe its our own fault, us Brits especially. With all our stiff upper lip, using 'sorry' or 'excuse me' interspersedly and 100 million times a day without ever really meaning it. But you know what? From both the time I've spent in this land before, and currently, on the whole, I've found Americans to be really polite. And nothing exemplifies this more than the other day....
So there I was, wandering the fair streets of Philadelphia (where I have been reassured by US telly watching chums it's 'always sunny'.... I didn't get it, had to wikipedia it. Apparently it all goes downhill in series 2 just so you know) when my cidey sense kicks in. You know... cidey sense? Its like Spiderman's spidey sense, except there's a lot less danger, and a lot more apples (that said, Spiderman may have indulged on certain appley escapades I was hitherto unaware of. I might have to look that up. My mate @goybo will be able to tell me am sure). Anyways, so there I was with my cidey sense going at full blast as I find myself outside a pub. Paying close attention to said cidey sense, as one always must when one has time on one's hands, in I went to collect my Strongbow (but only served in small glasses? The cheek!). Now where there are pubs, there are often men, and where there are often men, esp in pubs, there was sport. Fortunately for me, this was not a sport of an American ilk. I tend to be a bit sniffy about those American sports. After all, what is American football but jumped up rugby, with more padding and facepaints (and I dare not even engage in the discussion of the facts apart from to say IT'S NOT SODDING FOOTBALL! They THROW it for heavens sake. Pfft. Thats throwball. With padding *tsks*) and hello? Baseball? Have they not heard of rounders??? *double tsks* Ice hockey they can keep, though I credit that more to the Canadians..... with beards.... So where was I? Oh yes. In the pub. With men and The Sports.
So there I was, cider in hand, and what stumbles across the ole telly box? Only football. Like, proper football. With feet and everything. And British football too. Well, Champions League, so half British. It was Man U vs Bayern, and though I usually detest the Man U, I stayed to watch, after all, I was a wee bit homesick and I had a cider in hand. Around me and the TV a small crowd gathers, all Man U fans to a man. I was the only dissenter and I kept that dead quiet. But here's the thing, all the Man U fans were American (which that surprises me not, after all, I never associate Man U fans with actually being from Manchester) and they were all so damn polite! Obviously, in the UK, one is used to hearing insults and utterances spewing unencumbered from a football fan's mouth, but not in Philly town, no siree. There was no 'so n so takes it up the....', I heard one solo voice mumble 'you scumbag' followed by a furtive glance around the room and a slight hang of his head, in shame that he had broken the code perhaps but certainly no 'the referee's a wanker' or anything halfway so grumpy. In fact the only reference to a referee (referencee perhaps?) was 'awww referee!'. Now, to me, that sounds like said fan was mildly peeved with said referee. Worst still, was that was the reaction when a Man U player got a yellow card. And not just the reaction, but the ONLY reaction. If that was the UK, people would be kicking OFF! Abusing the ref, abusing the other team, but the reaction was so muted, and well, so polite. It was most refreshing and kinda charming. And don't even get me started on when the ball accidentally hit Man U manager David Moyes, bless the Americans for being concerned that he was ok, most Brits I know, United supporters or not, woulda cheered that a manager just got twatted with a ball, much less be concerned for his welfare.
Also a characteristic of watching the footie over here was the discussion of tactics, changes, 'what would you do's? Less tribal grunting, much more discussion. Less proving oneself through shouting and aggression, more through cerebral examination of The Game. Though whether those tactics were correct I couldn't tell you, I was too busy watching the men, and my Strongbow. And the enthusiasm! Oh what enthusiasm! 'You got goal! You got goal!' was a repeated chant. Unfortunately for the supporters, 'twas in vain. I mean, they got A goal, but no where as many as Bayern. But eitherways, was all more articulate than the 'get in there's, 'go on my son's or 'just f*cking boot it' that I've heard as refrains from the viewing floor of my usual football hosting haunts.
And if one can take football (yes football, not soccer peeps) as a microcosm of society I am wondering why is it we have this perception of yanks as rude. And I will take that microcosm thing cos after all, football is often where one sees the worst of society..... Football is mostly machismoed up blokes in the heat of tribalism, so I wonder what that says about Americans as a whole. Are they more polite than us long suffering, long mumbling, much apologising Brits? Well, the footie probably tells us as little as watching British men caught up in the heat of a game tells you about British society. Ie perhaps it says nothing at all. Perhaps all it says is that you shouldn't judge a country on its stereotypes, or indeed it's tourists, and furthermore, if you want a nice quiet game of football with a cider in a very small glass, head to Philadelphia.
So there I was, wandering the fair streets of Philadelphia (where I have been reassured by US telly watching chums it's 'always sunny'.... I didn't get it, had to wikipedia it. Apparently it all goes downhill in series 2 just so you know) when my cidey sense kicks in. You know... cidey sense? Its like Spiderman's spidey sense, except there's a lot less danger, and a lot more apples (that said, Spiderman may have indulged on certain appley escapades I was hitherto unaware of. I might have to look that up. My mate @goybo will be able to tell me am sure). Anyways, so there I was with my cidey sense going at full blast as I find myself outside a pub. Paying close attention to said cidey sense, as one always must when one has time on one's hands, in I went to collect my Strongbow (but only served in small glasses? The cheek!). Now where there are pubs, there are often men, and where there are often men, esp in pubs, there was sport. Fortunately for me, this was not a sport of an American ilk. I tend to be a bit sniffy about those American sports. After all, what is American football but jumped up rugby, with more padding and facepaints (and I dare not even engage in the discussion of the facts apart from to say IT'S NOT SODDING FOOTBALL! They THROW it for heavens sake. Pfft. Thats throwball. With padding *tsks*) and hello? Baseball? Have they not heard of rounders??? *double tsks* Ice hockey they can keep, though I credit that more to the Canadians..... with beards.... So where was I? Oh yes. In the pub. With men and The Sports.
So there I was, cider in hand, and what stumbles across the ole telly box? Only football. Like, proper football. With feet and everything. And British football too. Well, Champions League, so half British. It was Man U vs Bayern, and though I usually detest the Man U, I stayed to watch, after all, I was a wee bit homesick and I had a cider in hand. Around me and the TV a small crowd gathers, all Man U fans to a man. I was the only dissenter and I kept that dead quiet. But here's the thing, all the Man U fans were American (which that surprises me not, after all, I never associate Man U fans with actually being from Manchester) and they were all so damn polite! Obviously, in the UK, one is used to hearing insults and utterances spewing unencumbered from a football fan's mouth, but not in Philly town, no siree. There was no 'so n so takes it up the....', I heard one solo voice mumble 'you scumbag' followed by a furtive glance around the room and a slight hang of his head, in shame that he had broken the code perhaps but certainly no 'the referee's a wanker' or anything halfway so grumpy. In fact the only reference to a referee (referencee perhaps?) was 'awww referee!'. Now, to me, that sounds like said fan was mildly peeved with said referee. Worst still, was that was the reaction when a Man U player got a yellow card. And not just the reaction, but the ONLY reaction. If that was the UK, people would be kicking OFF! Abusing the ref, abusing the other team, but the reaction was so muted, and well, so polite. It was most refreshing and kinda charming. And don't even get me started on when the ball accidentally hit Man U manager David Moyes, bless the Americans for being concerned that he was ok, most Brits I know, United supporters or not, woulda cheered that a manager just got twatted with a ball, much less be concerned for his welfare.
Also a characteristic of watching the footie over here was the discussion of tactics, changes, 'what would you do's? Less tribal grunting, much more discussion. Less proving oneself through shouting and aggression, more through cerebral examination of The Game. Though whether those tactics were correct I couldn't tell you, I was too busy watching the men, and my Strongbow. And the enthusiasm! Oh what enthusiasm! 'You got goal! You got goal!' was a repeated chant. Unfortunately for the supporters, 'twas in vain. I mean, they got A goal, but no where as many as Bayern. But eitherways, was all more articulate than the 'get in there's, 'go on my son's or 'just f*cking boot it' that I've heard as refrains from the viewing floor of my usual football hosting haunts.
And if one can take football (yes football, not soccer peeps) as a microcosm of society I am wondering why is it we have this perception of yanks as rude. And I will take that microcosm thing cos after all, football is often where one sees the worst of society..... Football is mostly machismoed up blokes in the heat of tribalism, so I wonder what that says about Americans as a whole. Are they more polite than us long suffering, long mumbling, much apologising Brits? Well, the footie probably tells us as little as watching British men caught up in the heat of a game tells you about British society. Ie perhaps it says nothing at all. Perhaps all it says is that you shouldn't judge a country on its stereotypes, or indeed it's tourists, and furthermore, if you want a nice quiet game of football with a cider in a very small glass, head to Philadelphia.
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