And he didn't even have the common decency to release his statement in English! It had to be translated! Why does Andy Najar hate our freedoms?
Well, allow me to contribute MY two cents – not in Honduran rupees, but in AMERICAN RAGE!
We took you in, Najar. We gave you a home. And now you turn your back on us and spit in our eye?
Najar should never, ever have donned a uniform with the American flag on it knowing that this was a possibility. I guarantee every single player in MLS, from Carlos Ruiz to David Beckham, loves the American flag with all his heart. Just like every player on Vancouver and Toronto loves Canada, and hates the US with a boiling fury. Najar should not be allowed to wear the flag and desecrate it at the same time.
Unless you're trying to tell me that the same flag that our forefathers fought and died for at Fort Sumter and Washita Creek and and Nagasaki is just a decoration. Just a bit of flair, like Jennifer Aniston's uniform in "Office Space."
Hey, Najar. While you're at it, why don't you go carve swastikas in the gravestones at Arlington? It's bad enough that he plays for DC United – now he wants to represent Honduras? It's like he doesn't want me to cheer for him at all!
But what really galls me is the sort of namby-pamby, hate-America-first appeasement I'm reading from various Fifth Soccer Columnists. Check out this apologism from John Godfrey:
….so?! Is that any reason to insult the GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD? Typical America-bashing from the New York Times style guide, adding periods after everything.
Or what about this from Jeff Carlisle, proving that ESPN stands for Enemies of Soccer Poisoning our Nation:
So now we're justifying this on mercenary grounds. Well, there's nothing less American than wanting to make money, if you ask me.
Am I the only one who loves this country? Whose heart stirs every time "Kids in America" is played? Who weeps at the sound of the great American bald eagle being RAPED by the savage Honduran platypus?
Fortunately, I'm not the only one infuriated by Najar's decision. Here's what Bruce Arena had to say:
Wait, no, not that part. This part:
There! Now that's rage!
Sure, it's hard to tell whether he's slamming Rossi, or Dooley, Earnie Stewart, or Jermaine Jones, or Mikkel Diskerud, or Bob Bradley, or Bora Milutinovic, or Steve Sampson, or (most likely) all of the above.
Sure, to less loyal Americans, it looks as if Bruce has been hitting the cough syrup like Bing Crosby hitting his kids.
But for us loyal Americans, who more than coherence our country love – this is yet another black eye for the country that is still democracy, and soccer's, last best hope.
Thank God for real Americans like Teal Bunbury, is all I can say.