Dear Ms. Maestri,
We have read your rebuttal to Webb’s “How Soccer is Ruining America” and would like to inform you that your analysis is wrong. Webb's jeremiad is clearly satirical. This is obvious in the way he takes on outrageous arguments ridiculously seriously, and he outright admits that he likes soccer in his conclusions. In fact, he states that all of his kids are on soccer teams and are “quite good” (269).
Webb begins with the flawed argument that soccer is wrong because of its use of feet and its limitations of hands. He supports this by providing religious examples of how hands are divine and feet are uncivilized and animal-like--"We have the thumb, an opposable digit that God gave us to distinguish us from animals that walk on all fours" and "Did Jesus wash his disciples' hands at the Last Supper? No, hands are divine... while feet are in need of redemption" (268). This is an outrageous argument because God did not just give us hands with thumbs; he also gave us feet.
In the text, Webb also points out political views several times. His ideas on politics are very strict and obviously republican. He also does not leave any room to show an opposite side, and then comes back with a rebuttal to prove his point but just makes a statement. His claims were very random such as, “Indeed, soccer is a liberal’s dream of tragedy: It creates an egalitarian playing field by rigorously enforcing a uniform disability” (268). This is included in a paragraph that gives religion as supporting evidence which does not make sense. He does this not only with political views but with many other points throughout his writing. He likely uses this style of writing to purposely make it appalling.He uses this strategy to catch readers’ attention. How they respond, whether it be with an angry rebuttal like yours or a laugh at the sarcasm intended is entirely up to the readers’ perception of his writing.
It is understandable that one might not realize he is being sarcastic when initially reading the article. He does state his credentials as a religion and philosophy professor and one would usually trust a professor to be serious about the subjects of which he is passionate. At the end, however, Webb reveals himself by giving a personal account of his family life: “Last year all three of my kids were on three different soccer teams at the same time” (269).This justifies that, he does actually like soccer and the whole article was a joke calling out the people who actually think that soccer is “ruining America,” instead of just being a fun family activity and a nice sport to watch on weekends.
The overall point of this article was to get the message across while being completely sarcastic. Even though it can be hard to pick up at the beginning, it becomes fairly obvious at the end: “Nonetheless, I must say that my kids and I come home from a soccer game a very happy family” (269). Usually when a person describes themselves as being happy, they enjoy participating in the activity. In this case, Webb appreciates soccer and says it makes him and his family happy. This doesn’t seem like he really thinks of soccer to be a “foreign invasion” (268), which carries a negative connotation. Webb’s jeremiad is a satire that ridicules the exact points he uses. It is clear by the end that he does in fact support soccer.
Cordially,
Rosalie Swinarski
Lauren Prestifilippo
Staci Batchelor
Julia Roesler
We have read your rebuttal to Webb’s “How Soccer is Ruining America” and would like to inform you that your analysis is wrong. Webb's jeremiad is clearly satirical. This is obvious in the way he takes on outrageous arguments ridiculously seriously, and he outright admits that he likes soccer in his conclusions. In fact, he states that all of his kids are on soccer teams and are “quite good” (269).
Webb begins with the flawed argument that soccer is wrong because of its use of feet and its limitations of hands. He supports this by providing religious examples of how hands are divine and feet are uncivilized and animal-like--"We have the thumb, an opposable digit that God gave us to distinguish us from animals that walk on all fours" and "Did Jesus wash his disciples' hands at the Last Supper? No, hands are divine... while feet are in need of redemption" (268). This is an outrageous argument because God did not just give us hands with thumbs; he also gave us feet.
In the text, Webb also points out political views several times. His ideas on politics are very strict and obviously republican. He also does not leave any room to show an opposite side, and then comes back with a rebuttal to prove his point but just makes a statement. His claims were very random such as, “Indeed, soccer is a liberal’s dream of tragedy: It creates an egalitarian playing field by rigorously enforcing a uniform disability” (268). This is included in a paragraph that gives religion as supporting evidence which does not make sense. He does this not only with political views but with many other points throughout his writing. He likely uses this style of writing to purposely make it appalling.He uses this strategy to catch readers’ attention. How they respond, whether it be with an angry rebuttal like yours or a laugh at the sarcasm intended is entirely up to the readers’ perception of his writing.
It is understandable that one might not realize he is being sarcastic when initially reading the article. He does state his credentials as a religion and philosophy professor and one would usually trust a professor to be serious about the subjects of which he is passionate. At the end, however, Webb reveals himself by giving a personal account of his family life: “Last year all three of my kids were on three different soccer teams at the same time” (269).This justifies that, he does actually like soccer and the whole article was a joke calling out the people who actually think that soccer is “ruining America,” instead of just being a fun family activity and a nice sport to watch on weekends.
The overall point of this article was to get the message across while being completely sarcastic. Even though it can be hard to pick up at the beginning, it becomes fairly obvious at the end: “Nonetheless, I must say that my kids and I come home from a soccer game a very happy family” (269). Usually when a person describes themselves as being happy, they enjoy participating in the activity. In this case, Webb appreciates soccer and says it makes him and his family happy. This doesn’t seem like he really thinks of soccer to be a “foreign invasion” (268), which carries a negative connotation. Webb’s jeremiad is a satire that ridicules the exact points he uses. It is clear by the end that he does in fact support soccer.
Cordially,
Rosalie Swinarski
Lauren Prestifilippo
Staci Batchelor
Julia Roesler