Yesterday the Women’s Football World Cup Final took place. The 2019 tournament has been especially fantastic for Dutch, English, American and Swedish supporters. But again I am aware that there’s nothing like sport to test your allegiances when you live in a country you weren’t born in. The conundrum: Which team to support when you live abroad!
Reading through statuses on Facebook this morning, the day after the Dutch women took silver at the World Cup, I saw the theme of conflicted feelings for Americans living here in the Netherlands. Did they support the USA or the Netherlands yesterday?
Allegiance. Loyalty. Devotion. All emotionally charged words. It’s just a football match surely?
It’s About So Much More Than Sport
The question of who you support when you live abroad is about so much more than just sport.
Who Americans living in the Netherlands supported yesterday was not just about football.
Where does your allegiance lie? How attached do you feel to your birth country now you no longer live there? How ingeburgerd do you feel in the Netherlands? What does your host country mean to you?
England or the Netherlands? Which team to support when you live abroad!
Last week, when there was still a chance, my sons asked me who I would support if it ended in a Netherlands England final. It’s a question they have asked before, in other tournaments, on other occasions.
Once upon a time, it was a question I had to ponder to come up with an answer. However, experience has taught me that in the moment, when England is actually playing the Netherlands, it’s not a question you can answer with logic, rational thinking or after contemplation. It’s a question you answer with your heart. It’s an emotional decision, made unconsciously in the moment.
I support the Netherlands. Even when they are playing England.
The Netherlands is the place I have called home for almost 19 years now. I have Dutch nationality. I follow Dutch media. I have more of a tie with the Dutch than the English in reality these days. I know the names of the Dutch players. I see them daily on the news, on the sports programs. I feel what a Dutch victory means to this small country more than what an English win means in England.
When England play anyone but the Netherlands I support England. That’s a given. But once again this World Cup tournament has presented me with the fact that my heart lies with the Dutch team.
Can you feel an allegiance to two countries? Can you feel attachment to two countries? Of course.
But I’m pretty sure that split is never fifty-fifty.
Over to You
Who did you support yesterday? Do you struggle when it comes to choosing which side to support in major sport tournaments? Is it a sign of your allegiance to your birth/host country?
I’d love to hear what you think!
Post Comment