Why is the Wall St Journal trash-talking Ghana’s Blackstars
Every four years, this Ghanaian-American writer has to brace herself for the predictable slew of American media reporting about Ghana.
Ghana v England in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium in London, 2011. Image credit Akira Suemori for FIA Foundation via Flickr (CC).
It’s World Cup time, so bring on the articles full of historical stereotypes and racial codes disguised as insightful sports commentary.
The Ghanaian squads have routinely decimated the USA team for the past two World Cups. As a Ghanaian American, I side with my Blackstars and try to find the nearest Ghanaian restaurant to cheer the boys on. But every four years, I have to brace myself for the predictable slew of American media reporting about Ghana, which usually run along the lines of, WHAT/WHERE IS GHANA? WHY DOES THIS POOR, TINY COUNTRY KEEP BEATING US?
In the past, these types of articles came out after the USA fell to Ghana. This year, The Wall Street Journal decided to up the ante and publish one even before the first match between the two teams started. In an article titled “Who is Ghana, And Why Can’t the US Beat Them?” writer Matthew Futterman makes an unoriginal attempt to explain Ghana’s past successes over America to the U.S. crowd. What does he come up with? It’s because of BIG BLACK STRONG MEN.
When you can’t go for a reason, reach for the stereotypes. Team USA states Ghana is “athletic and frightening” and “physical.” Futterman writes of the “haunting image” of Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan “emasculating” the U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra. The writer seems both in awe and frightened by Gyan’s “burly chest” and “rock-hard shoulders.” Michael Essien is a “beast” when healthy. We’ve all heard this before.
Of course, the reason why the USA keeps falling to Ghana isn’t because of the USA’s lack of strong players. It’s not because of strategy or tactical superiority by the Black Stars and their coaching. The rhetoric lazily relies on the stereotype of scary, beast-like Africans who, in the absence of a formal economy and state-of-the-art training facilities, just rely on sheer athleticism.
Then, there are usually articles that obsess over how poor Ghana is, like this one about how Ghana is rationing electricity to allow its citizens to watch tonight’s match.
I’m no soccer expert, but maybe if the U.S.A. sports media spent more time studying the styles and strategies of their Ghanaian opponents rather than focusing on how big and scary their muscles are or how poor their home country is, we’d know why the USA keeps falling to them.
For the record, Go, Blackstars!
