American athletes don't smile much

There are a few things that annoy me about soccer, as I have said, but one thing I really like is that the athletes tend to actually look happy when they score.  American athletes don't do that so much it seems.  They often look pissed off or even bored when they score.  Barry Bonds used to watch home runs soar with a look of "Oh, I need to go all the way around the bases now.  I wish I could have someone else do this part."  After winning the NCAA championship this year, the UConn players looked absolutely pissed.  It seemed like winning the game, which is generally the goal, had become an act of defiance.  Rarely do I see a touchdown in the NFL that isn't followed by someone finding a camera to scream at.  The more I've watched sports in America, the less joy I see in the players.  The joy is increasingly replaced with anger at some perceived affront.  "They said we couldn't do it" is shouted a lot, and it's not accompanied by a smile.  I actually watched a UConn player run around angrily yelling "I told you!" after winning the biggest game of his life.  This man is fortunate enough to have great athletic talent which has made him popular with just about everyone since he was a child, earned him a full college scholarship (though education is probably not his priority), put him in the center of a national spotlight, and will likely cause people to throw money at him by the millions, and he looks like he's rebelling against his oppressors. I just don't get that.  I also could do without the faux humility of pointing to the sky after every athletic achievement.  Catching a ball and crossing a line someone drew on the ground must be raised to cosmic importance, after all.

After years of watching American sports, I find it refreshing to see athletes actually enjoying themselves.  Sure, they are prima donnas diving on the ground every 5 minutes, but they actually smile when they score! They are getting paid ridiculous amounts of money to play a game, and it actually shows.  Well, not with Mario Balotelli, but with most other people. Watch the World Cup, and you will see goal scorers running to the sides grinning ear to ear, sliding on their knees, and getting buried under other smiling teammates.  That's what I want to see.  If scoring a goal in game can't make you happy, why are you playing?  Soccer, I give you a tip of my hat.  Bravo for keeping some joy in sports.  Well, among the athletes at least.  I suppose soccer fans exude something other than pure joy.