"How Soccer Is Ruining America: A jeremiad" by Stephen H. Webb is a sarcastic article written to be ironic and interpreted as a joke, maybe even mocking the stereotypical American. This article is purely meant to be taken as ironic and as a joke, Webb gets this point across by having no "real" argument, by admitting soccer isn't that bad of a sport, and allowing his kids to play soccer.
In his article, Webb claim he has four main points that prove soccer is "Ruining America" but he makes no real valid argument. Webb first argues that soccer cannot be considered a real sport because most sports require that you use your hands. He also claims that your hands are "holy" while feet are dirty, implying that feet are Satanic. Therefore, Soccer is an ungodly sport, many extremely religious Americans use "God" as an argument for many controversial topics. His second argument is that sports are about breaking kids down before you build them up and that soccer goes way too easy on children. He then begins to compare soccer to baseball, which is considered Americas official sport by most. His third argument is that soccer, coming from Latin countries, is a foreign invasion. This reflects the "stereotypical American" by Webb being completely oblivious to his racist remarks. He casually says that soccer is a foreign invasion and seems to believe that America is superior to other countries by saying statements such as "Americans would never...". His fourth and final argument is that soccer is a feminine sport, therefore; not a legitimate sport. Soccer is a feminine sport because it does not "contain the blood lust of football" and because "girls are too smart to waste an entire day playing basketball". These statements reflect the mindset of the average sexist, American male.
In the ninth paragraph Webb says that "soccer is the perfect antidote to television and video games". If he truly believed soccer was ruining America he wouldn't say that it's a good alternative to television and video games when there are a million other sports out there.
Lastly, Webb says that all of his children are on a different soccer team and after a soccer game him and his family return happily. If this wasn't a sarcastic article he wouldn't allow his kids to play it, let alone attend their games and leave happily; therefore I believe this is article is mean to be taken sarcastically.
In his article, Webb claim he has four main points that prove soccer is "Ruining America" but he makes no real valid argument. Webb first argues that soccer cannot be considered a real sport because most sports require that you use your hands. He also claims that your hands are "holy" while feet are dirty, implying that feet are Satanic. Therefore, Soccer is an ungodly sport, many extremely religious Americans use "God" as an argument for many controversial topics. His second argument is that sports are about breaking kids down before you build them up and that soccer goes way too easy on children. He then begins to compare soccer to baseball, which is considered Americas official sport by most. His third argument is that soccer, coming from Latin countries, is a foreign invasion. This reflects the "stereotypical American" by Webb being completely oblivious to his racist remarks. He casually says that soccer is a foreign invasion and seems to believe that America is superior to other countries by saying statements such as "Americans would never...". His fourth and final argument is that soccer is a feminine sport, therefore; not a legitimate sport. Soccer is a feminine sport because it does not "contain the blood lust of football" and because "girls are too smart to waste an entire day playing basketball". These statements reflect the mindset of the average sexist, American male.
In the ninth paragraph Webb says that "soccer is the perfect antidote to television and video games". If he truly believed soccer was ruining America he wouldn't say that it's a good alternative to television and video games when there are a million other sports out there.
Lastly, Webb says that all of his children are on a different soccer team and after a soccer game him and his family return happily. If this wasn't a sarcastic article he wouldn't allow his kids to play it, let alone attend their games and leave happily; therefore I believe this is article is mean to be taken sarcastically.