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Is the United States Still Offside?
A quarter-century ago, the renowned political scientist [and now Great Game Lab Fellow] Andrei Markovits co-authored an influential book, Offside: Soccer & American Exceptionalism, that extended the notion of American exceptionalism to the sports Americans play and follow. Now, as the United States is on the verge of co-hosting a FIFA men’s World Cup and America’s homegrown sports are also growing their overseas followings, we have to ask: can we still say the United States is “offside”?
The Great Game
The United States is the only major nation unable to compete internationally in its favorite spectator sport because no one else plays it. But as the world’s game of football grows in popularity in the U.S., and the nation prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the two footballing worlds are converging.
