Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
Sunday night, like the Monday before it, was remarkable in the world of American sports. The World Cup tie with Portugal, like last week’s victory over Ghana, showed that American soccer might finally have come of age. It was really not so long ago that US soccer was a joke. A US team participating in an international soccer tournament had … >>
Basketball player Dennis Rodman is an unusual character, to say the least. He is 6 feet, 7 inches (201 cm) tall, his body is covered in tattoos, he has rings through his ears, nose, lip and other body parts, and his hair is a color that does not occur in nature. Rodman has been married three times and has had … >>
This past Monday, October 14, was Columbus Day — the federal holiday in the US that commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Notice I did not say “the discovery by Christopher Columbus of the New World”. Political correctness has put an end to that phrasing. I would, however, take the unpopular position that … >>
One of the most famous men in Pennsylvania died on Sunday. Joe Paterno, 85, had been the head coach of the Pennsylvania State University football team for the last 46 years. He was one of the most successful college football coaches ever. To sports fans, he was like one of the gods on Mount Olympus. There is even a statue … >>
You can’t get any more American than this: a sport that was long considered our “national pastime” and whose yearly championship — played only between US teams — is rather pretentiously called the World Series. Although baseball had its heyday from 1900 to about 1950, it’s still popular: 19 million people watched last year’s championship between the New York Yankees … >>
Do you know the difference between nationality and citizenship? A lot of people use these words to mean the same thing — but they don’t. The word “citizen” comes to us from Latin civitas, meaning “city”. The French took that word centuries ago and made the word citeain — someone who lives in a city. Today, a citizen is a … >>
Earlier this month, a news headline caught my eye: Kim Yong-il had stepped down! Finally, the winds of change had reached the distant shores of North Korea. Finally, its self-imposed isolation might end. Finally, there was a chance that the last relics of the Cold War would be swept away. Only it turned out that the story was about Kim … >>
Do you know what will happen this February 7? Every American does. To many, the date is as big as Thanksgiving, as important as any birthday, and as bombastic as the Fourth of July. It’s Super Bowl Sunday, the day of the championship game in American football. This year’s contest brings back the winners from three years ago, the Indianapolis … >>
It all seemed too much to ask: choosing the home city of an American president as the location of the Olympics, at a time when that president, if re-elected, would still be in office. Barack and Michelle Obama went all the way to Copenhagen to personally make the case for “Chicago 2016” to the International Olympic Committee. But their city … >>