Springsteen and the definition of patriotism

By now, you've seen the highlight reels: Christian Pulisic juking defenders like he's dodging TSA agents at JFK. Coco Gauff digging deep, her serve as fierce as her post-match interviews. The U.S. Women's National Team is still fighting for greater pay and respect, even after collecting more World Cup trophies than the men's team has, and still has excuses. It's another summer of global competition, and Team USA is, as always, performing for an audience of millions—many of whom only care about soccer every four years but will die on the hill that "we invented sportsmanship."

Welcome to the American sports paradox, where patriotism is a jersey worn as needed. We drape ourselves in flags when we win and drape our failures in "well, it's not our real sport anyway" when we lose. We're a nation obsessed with winning but allergic to the humility that comes with actually playing the world's games on the world's terms.