We’re in a strange state.

It feels like I say that every week, but every week of this project finds our country in an increasingly strange state of affairs.

In the midst of a global pandemic, the United States has relapsed into a worse rate of infection than we had before. Other countries are getting better, we’re getting worse. And there’s a very real possibility that our one saving grace: a low rate of people dying from the disease, may not last much longer.

Why is this? There are plenty of possible answers but the one that makes the most sense to me is this: a team of competing individuals can lose, competitive individuals together on a team cannot.

It comes back to the national motto: “E Pluribus Unum”, Latin for “Out of Many, One”. Out of many states, from many different interests, from many unique positions: one national society.

It’s a nice motto. It captures who we are and who we aspire to be. It is good both for a diverse nation and a typical sports team.

It’s just doesn’t reflect us that well.

Out of our many positions, we have many societies. From our many interests, we have a competition to see which one stands supreme.

It stands out in sports as well. While we might think that out of many players comes a team, or from many teams a champion, the way sports is sold makes it more likely that from many players comes several players you love or love to hate. It’s not so much about this team or that, it’s about Brady, or LeBron, or Giannis, or Bellicheck. Even sports without transcendent superstars are talked about in terms of where the next star is. Baseball is still looking for the next Willie Mays, hockey the next Gretzky.

Some people will tell you that’s because the players are prima donnas, playing for themselves and for contracts rather than a “love of the game”. But it’s on us too. Owners (like Comiskey, Steibrenner, or Cuban) have long looked out for their own bottom lines not the interchangeable players or communities. Fans also talk about their wins, their trophies, their bragging rights, dismissing players’ humanity.

So, it can’t be too surprising that we, as a nation of individuals, look for ways to compete and win and beat others both in sports and in life. In the context of American sports and individualism, it makes sense that many people would rather go to a party for themselves than wear a mask to protect a bunch of others they’ll never know. If we care so much about being “winning”, we will accept that many of our neighbors have to lose. So long as we get what we want (a vote, a haircut, a return to the way things were), it’s okay for others to lose (a job, a loved one, a home).

Part of the reason I love soccer is that it defies these transcendent players and narratives. Lionel Messi can’t be goalie and creator. A team that waits for its star to save the day, isn’t likely to be champions (just ask Zlatan-era Los Angeles teams).

So while there’s a steady thrum of questions like: “where’s the American Messi,” or “when will the US Men’s game find their own Megan Rapinoe”? I think that is part of the problem.

It’s not about that competitive individual, it’s about several individuals, coming together to compete for a common purpose. Where’s the American Liverpool? When will the US Men’s game find a partnership like Julie Blakstad and Marit Clausen? How can I help myself, and my neighbors, and total strangers I don’t expect to see today?

We are competitive. That’s a strength, not a flaw. But as long as we are competing with each other rather than for each other, it’s just going to get stranger and stranger, until, from many, we are many more.