Uh, I'm Not American. I Swear, Eh.

This has nothing to do with Japan (well, it does, but barely) …

On Sunday, as Jonas napped and Tricia lay comatose under her electric blanket (either a virus or bad sushi knocked her senseless for three days), I managed to find and watch the Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton fight on the Internet.

I find boxing slow and plodding and rarely much of a payoff. But, unlike most fights, there was genuine intrigue to this one, and not just the typical manufactured pre-flight blah: an American, Mayweather, against a Brit, Hatton, both undefeated. And, most interestingly, 20,000 Hatton fans flew in from England to Las Vegas to cheer on their boy (or bloke, as is the case here). Consider that – 20,000 fans, making an international trip to cheer on this one little fella. And they weren’t even able to watch the fight in person. The arena held 16,000 fans, meaning most of Hatton’s crew were forced to drink themselves into a stupor and watch via television at a bar – just like they could have done at home in dreary ole’ England.

Anyway, the fight was genuinely exciting, with Mayweather flooring Hatton in the 10th round and winning by knockout. Hatton looked small and outclassed, but also fearless. And he’s a very funny guy. It’s easy to see why he’s so popular and has such a devoted, if mindless, following.

And as exciting as that was, it was the pre-fight hullabaloo that had everyone in a tizzy.

During the singing of the American national anthem, the British fans booed lustily and loudly from start to finish, completely drowning out Tyrese, whoever that was, who did the singing. This seemed pretty ballsy to me, considering they were actually in America, and obviously, it wasn’t exactly a classy move. Checking the message boards of the Times of London, this not surprisingly boiled the blood of many Americans. I wasn’t that bothered by it; I found it more amusing than offensive (look, KC Chiefs fans punctuate the singing of the US anthem by screeching, “… and the home of the CHIEFS!, which I find more offensive than this). It did get me to thinking, though, about anti-Americanism and what the reaction would have been if those were American fans jeering “God Save the Queen.”

And we all know what the reaction would have been: typical, ugly Americans. Before leaving home, I was well aware of the low opinion in which Americans are held internationally – some of it deserved, some of it exaggerated. As a result, there is a defensiveness and a compulsion to distance oneself from America while abroad – i.e., American travelers pretending to be Canadian, being compelled to blurt out to new acquaintances, “Hey, I didn’t vote for Bush.” I find all this tiresome and absurd, though I’m guilty of it, too.

Anyway, with thousands of Brits acting so boorishly (there were reports earlier in the week of the hooligans shouting down schoolchildren who had shown up to support Mayweather), and with Mayweather punishing Hatton, and then acting classy and gracious afterward, I don’t know, I felt, for at least this once, America came out on top on a national stage, even it was just a boxing match.
And that made me feel good.

And finally, these graphs from the London Telegraph..

Showtime was almost upon us. In the ring Tom Jones sang the national anthem. The walls shook as the crowd joined in. Beckham, his back ramrod straight, hit the high notes with Tom. He was a proud man at that point, happy to be reminded of his Englishness in a foreign setting.
Then, disgrace. The courtesy extended to the visitors was spat back in shocked faces by the vile tendency that follows English sportsmen around the world. Beckham shrank. We all did, as English boos drowned out the Star Spangled Banner. Sometimes it is painful to be a Briton abroad.

I know how you feel.