C'mon Now, What Did Holland Ever Do To You?

Maybe I'm tuned in to it more because I am an avid Oranje fan, but ever since the Netherlands and Spain beat their respective opponents to ascend to today's World Cup Final match, I have noticed a subtle, yet visible, anti-Netherlands strain going around the web. Again, acknowledging that fans tend to be more cognizant of their teams being picked on, I don't understand why exclaiming "VIVA ESPANA!" so easily leads to the next statement: "Spain deserves to win" and or "Holland doesn't deserve to win".

To either of these statements, I ask "Why?". From what I can gather, there are two answers from the various quarters I have surveyed. First, Holland has been to the final twice and hasn't been able to deliver, therefore they don't deserve to win. In my humble opinion, this is baloney. What this says is if you are the loser you do not get a chance to redeem yourself. Is this ancient Rome where throngs of blood-thirsty spectators call for the execution of the unfortunate losers (as cool as that would be)? Honestly, this is so irrational that I don't know how to comment on it. The cornerstone of competitive sports is there are winners and losers. The heartbreak of losing is almost as important as the glory of winning. And when a team that is down in the dumps for so long - a la Boston Red Sox or Washington Redskins - finally makes it back to the Big Show, rather than cheer them on as the Comeback Kids, we're supposed to turn our noses up at them because they've squandered their chances for greatness? I've never heard of such a thing.

Second, Holland deserves to lose because they've been lucky. This is garbage. The Dutch side is the only team to win every single game in this tournament (so far). They have done it by playing proficiently and with passion. They have talent and chemistry, the latter of which frontrunners Brazil and Argentina sorely lacked. I will concede the victory over Brazil was lent mostly to a Brazilian meltdown via Felipe Melo's own goal and subsequent temper tantrum. But, can't we concede Spain, for example, owes their win over Germany to NOT playing the German side which dismantled Argentina 4-0? This is an elimination tournament. EVERY win is owed somewhat to luck.

As Americans, we have quite a bit in common with the Dutch and have also benefitted immensely from their contributions to our country. Three out of five boroughs of New York, for example, have Dutch names. New York can also thank its pre-eminence in world finance to the Dutch tradition of commerce. And the Dutch came to our aid during the American Revolution.

These aren't reasons to root for Holland, but neither are the above reasons to root against them. The bottom line is both of these two teams deserve to win, as they have made it to the grandest stage in the world. They both play the game brilliantly and, at 95 minutes, this has been the best game in the tournament. I'm just happy to see my team in the final for the first time in my life.

Go easy on the Dutch and call a spade and spade: you're rooting for Spain because you like their sexy headbands.