With cash registers chiming in synchrony to the ethereal cultural critique of a Pink Floyd sick baseline lambasting the free market, the ladies of the USWNT are once again embroiled in a cauldron of Soviet cabbage, except this time it is not their damn fault. As social media remains the medieval curse of a callous inquisition smothering society with all the subtlety of a using a down pillow as a mercy killing tool in a state psychiatric ward superstar Megan Rapinoe and teammates cannot escape the accusation whirlpool of the digital kangaroo court.
Facilitated by random group of internet cretins, fake news was posted throughout the social networking communities that entire US Women’s soccer team shunned a WWII veteran before a recent match in Connecticut, and the subsequent hysterical and visceral reactions almost caused a meltdown of three major data server farms. In reality, the reigning world champions were actually facing the flag, and apparently have a close relationship with 98-year-old war hero Pete Dupre, who played the National Anthem on his harmonica. Mired in yet another controversy, members of the team continue to benefit from a branding and marketing standpoint after each instance of being plastered on the billboard of trending news, a disconcerting bi-product of the insatiable appetite for fluff stories in an era where attention spans are going the way of the Dodo, and instant gratification prevails.
With the Tokyo Olympics on the horizon, the International Olympic committee is collectively licking its chops, as the narrative pits the USWNT as the villains in a flexible script that includes the influence of the social justice movement, and how reactionaries choose to exploit the team in forwarding an agenda. The perpetrators include the programmable AI bots of rogue governments spearheaded by the Chinese and the Russians in battling for the pole position of prestige and further entrenching their iron clad will of force on unfortunate citizens caught in the machinery of ruthless bureaucracy.
While Rapinoe and other US players have utilized the spotlight to push various narratives through the platitudes of Newspeak rhetoric, the gesture of detractors the warp the truth and opening the season for brazen attacks is appalling through probably deserved. However, one has to realize that power struggles and vacuous conflicts on digital platforms only fills the coffers of provides those supporting leftists causes with even more resources, if that is even possible.
The track record of dominating success in exhausting the supply of trophies is echoed by personal conduct both on and off the pitch which can be categorized as standoffish at best, and unpatriotic at worst. Rapinoe’s outspoken stance on the National Anthem makes it understandable that plummeting IQ of internet reactionaries view the women facing the flag and following proper protocol, as turning their backs on a cherished veteran and his majestic musical performance. While perception and reputation supersede fact in the proliferation of fake news, the idea of giving the average person access to a global stage to launch tirades of falsehoods and mistruths based on emotion and not evidence, is one of the most horrific developments of the information age, as traditional mainstream news sources are being drowned out by the reverberating incredulous cries of the masses.
The critical importance of fact checking, to those who actually care about the truth and possess a short-term memory that exceeds 15 minutes, has evolved into a collaborative effort, where the present and future hang in the balance. The US women will probably breeze through the field to an Olympic gold, and the way in which they arrived at the pedestal is just as important in realizing that the name, image and likeness (NIL), of each individual team member increases in valuation despite the polarizing or victorious environment. At this point, according to the numbers, the soccer club can do no wrong, especially if temporarily tarred and feathered by an online peanut gallery of haters.
