I left Ukraine 14 years ago and never went back. I don’t want to have anything to do with my former compatriots and feel like we are from different planets. I ridicule nationalism because I know exactly how and why this system of allegiances and unhealthy emotional responses is manufactured.
Yet now that Ukraine is losing a soccer game to France, I feel very unhappy.
This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Clarissa's Blog 
This is interesting. I asked myself the same question and I never came up with a satisfying explanation. I am often sad when Canadian athletes loose medals or championships, and then I realize how nonsensical my feelings are.
You need to theorize the notion of residual nationalism.
There are also national soccer teams I do not like for no reason. Italy and Argentina would be on top of that list. And I love Italy and Argentina! And I could not care less about soccer!
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“There are also national soccer teams I do not like for no reason. Italy and Argentina would be on top of that list.”
– I also feel like this about the Italian team. Although I couldn’t have more positive feelings towards the Italian people. It’s a mystery.
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Me too! I’m also against Italy, but I know why: Even the nicest Italians get unbearably annoying during soccer cups. I’m against England and Sweden for the same reason. Oh, and against Portugal for absolutely no reason.
I am just being irrational and unfair. This is what soccer is about, right?
Sorry about Ukraine!
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Just keep working at it. Now whenever the US loses in some sport against some team from another country, like, say, in the Olympics, I have absolutely no feelings one way or the other. It helps, of course, that I hate sports and always have, but I used to follow the Olympics when I was younger and root for “our” side. Now I don’t care.
It’s quite normal, of course, to have fond feelings for the place you were born and brought up in. But mindless partisanship for some place just because you happen to live there makes no sense to me.
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Yes, I even was happy when the St. Louis Cardinals won. Mind you, I had no idea what sport they played and what it was they won. Weird!
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Neither do I. Is it the one where they hit the ball with a stick and then dance around while the crowd boos, or is it the one where the players wear suits with ridiculous huge shoulder pads and pat each other on the bottom all the time?
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I think it’s the ball and stick one. The funny thing is I despise the obsessive fixation on sports that many people seem to have. One of the things that attracted me to N. was that he has never watched a single game of any sport anywhere. Yet I go all weird about this.
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When I lived in Orlando I had a coworker who was from Boston. One year the Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in forever. She was a huge fan and had Red Sox banners and things all over her desk. I couldn’t have cared less personally about the game, but she was so happy when they won I was happy.
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When it comes to sports I believe it just resonates with some of us differently than others. Arnold Palmer(golfer) has a beautiful quote that pretty much sums it up. 🙂
” What other people may find in poetry, I find in the flight of a good drive”
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Don’t worry, Jaime and I both like hockey “from a purely patriotic perspective” too. But we did not throw a riot or even a mild hissy fit when the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup last year, we just decided that we wouldn’t eat at Boston Pizza anymore. 😛
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N. and I met on the night of the Stanley Cup. 🙂 I was so happy that I didn’t even care that Canada lost pathetically that year. Now no matter who wins the Cup, I feel like I’m the real winner. 🙂
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Maybe your feelings are like those you can have for your family. You might dislike them but you are tied to them by blood. As blood is thicker than water, when the chips are down you feel a connection.
The Ukrainian people are your wider family – you are probably related to many of them too. When the footie team is playing, and especially if they are in trouble, you root for them even if rationally you don’t care about football or your fellow Ukrainians.
As for other football teams, maybe it’s something to do with supporting the underdog rather than the predictably excellent team who are probably arrogant.
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@Sarah
I think you nailed it. The wider family part makes complete sense to me.
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Have you discovered this Residual Nationalism just now?
Your posts, f.e. RE Russian not becoming Ukraine’s second official tongue, are full of (not Residual) Ukrainian Nationalism.
Btw, since like you I see the root of Jewish persecution through centuries in not having a country, and, unlike you, don’t think antisemitism is dead or not dangerous (see Muslim in France recently killing a rabbi and 2 kids), I definitely root for Israel, f.e. to continue winning wars and not get slaughtered in 2nd Holocaust, which would ensue in case of really losing a war.
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About sports I don’t care, but Israel being 1st or close in hi-tech OR getting a chance to host Olympics (a sign of inter-national acceptance, don’t think it’ll happen in my lifetime, unfortunately, because of Arab countries) — that would mean a lot about one’s quality of life & a sign of economic and political stability you want your country to have. Olympics are about politics too, not only sports.
There is a rational part in nationalism too. Unlike some US citizens who are sure their country helps out of good heart, I think other countries are out to rob & unslave you. See what happened in Russia-Ukraine relationship. Your country’s government is the only one, which is protecting your interests, and in democracy it’s your job to continue eternal fight for that goal.
May be we live in 21 century, but unlike you, I am less optimistic – there’re changes for better in some countries, but not in all (Israel’s neighbors aren’t like West) , and human nature didn’t change: antisemitism still alive, if you’re too weak – politicians will pander to stronger groups, in countries around me live people who literally want to kill me, etc. The latter isn’t paranoia, it’s reality, unfortunately.
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Yes, I know, whom am I kidding?
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This post makes me happy.
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Why? 🙂
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I find people who depend on logic and things “making sense” to be absolutely fascinating and, though it might seem condescending it’s definitely not, totally adorable. It’s the opposite of me (I can rarely name “reasons” for anything) and I love it.
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“I find people who depend on logic and things “making sense” to be absolutely fascinating and, though it might seem condescending it’s definitely not, totally adorable. It’s the opposite of me (I can rarely name “reasons” for anything) and I love it.”
– No, it’s not condescending, it’s all true. 🙂 🙂 I find it completely incomprehensible that there are people who can’t explain why they are feeling certain things at each given moment. My husband drives me nuts with his, ‘I just feel sad’ or ‘I;m just in a good mood.’ How can this be??
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OH MY GOD YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!! 🙂
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🙂 🙂 🙂
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Reading this I feel the need to brag about how the German team won every single match so far. So, yeah… We won every single match so far 😛
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Yay! After my recent trip, I’m a huge fan of Germany
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