10/3 Berhalter/Casey - Cottbus - Karlsruher [R]

and that the header was from a short distance and the keeper had no chance. Funny - I don't recall chance (eng) being Chance (de).

 

So it was Dick scoring in the middle eh? Couldn't resist ;-)

 

The most amazing thing is that he wasn't called for a handball. That extra arm sticking out of his head usually gets in the way when he tries these things.

 

What a bunch of idiots. Berhalter is slow as molasses and occasionally screws up with his feet, but he is good in the air and his left foot is quite accurate, which is why he occasionally scores from free kicks (scored one for Palace I believe). If a ball lands on his head three yards away, Berhalter has as good a chance as anyone of sinking it.

 

thats because its translates sort of sarcasticly/disrespectfully to the germans. as opposed to simply calling him an american player.

however, it seems to be the norm in the german press.

 

There is no offence behind these terms. I recently saw a CNN report, in which they called the Jamaican team the 'Reggae boys' - that's pretty much the same. German media use the expression 'US boy' for some reason I never understood, but that's nothing new and it probably will never change.

 

olaf... reggae boyz is the 'official' nickname of jamaica's NT

 

in english the term boy can mean several things other than its literal definition (male child). it is common for people in the us, uk, and commonwealth to refer to male soldiers and sports teams as "our boys," and elderly people often call people younger than them "boys" or "girls." the term "you are my boy" has also become a slang term often used by urban youth in the us meaning "you are my friend."

however, throughout most of the english-speaking world if you call a grown man a boy, it is considered as a sign of disrespect and even racist to a black man (many americans called slaves and freed black men "boys" in the 19th century and parts of the 20th century).

refering to the german press' use of the term "us-boy," i am not really sure what is implied. for all i know, it could simply be a term of endearment. but i have always heard from americans that speak german that it is meant rather sarcastically (or was at least originally when it was first used). and i also understand that some americans playing in germany do not like the term.

in the end, i suspect that it may simply be a misunerstanding between two cultures.

and bluedaddy is correct. the reason it is acceptable to call the jamaican player a "raggae boy" is because that is the official nickname of his federation's team.

 

My guess is that it's for space reasons. Europeans are hung up on the fact that the term American refers to people from the Americas, i.e. everyone on the continent. So it's a lot easier to say US-Boy than "der U.S. Amerikaner"

 

They could say "Der Ami" just as easily (although that also has a tinge of a cut-down too)....

 

saw berhalter's goal on premiere. the corner looked to be flicked on and he hit a powerful header inside the 6. however, cottbus' d looked shaky.
having seen "US-Boy" as a qualifier for american players often, it doesn't seem to be used in a negative light---they just qualify foreign players in the press...ex. "the ukrainian" or whatever nationality it happens to be. the announcers for the english games on tv. call tim howard, "the american goalkeeper" or "the american"---i wondered if someone had finally informed them that referring to an african-american as "boy" was offensive in the US. conversely, i had an 'argument', discussion more like, with some german friends the other night over whether "ami" is a negative term. my friends insisted that it's not, and it's just an abrv. for american. i still disagree...i've never heard the term in a positive light... always negative. curious to other opinions on the matter.

 

KarlMai

I would agree with you, in my opinion "Ami" is much more derogative and arrogant than "US boy"...that's right among "the Ivan", "the Tommie", "the Kraut" or things like that. Of course, not all people who use "Ami" will use it in that negative way, if your friends feel it can be used friendly, fine for them. But I would never do so in an official text.

"Us boy": is an ambivalent term, I think. While it could be seen as looking down on some inferior, inexperienced players of the game, I have always understood it as respect for the attitude of all US sportsmen which we consider as optimistic, positive about their chances, looking forward to their competition and smiling in eagerness before, instead of being anxious about it. That's the US mentality in the view of many Germans or at least German media, I think. And that's why they seem "boyish".
Of course, that has also a negative side in this view, because usually this optimism is taken as "Americans have never respect for their opponents"...

In general, I guess media use this term without any second thought, there's no secret message they want to imply.

 

i really don't understand this african -american thing, Timmy's mom is european/dad american , are you sure Timmy thinks he is african, i doubt it.
This labeling is silly in general,who is to say the people that are labeled in a certain way like and accept that, they might be offended as is the case with US - boy, isn't it. If they call him a US International then is correct any other label just sux.

 

I think you're being far too lenient in your goodwill approach to what is clearly a term used in belittlement. I don't see how you could take its meaning any other way than as an expression of derision and, perhaps, a way to accentuate the sense of superiority (isn't a man always bigger, stronger, faster and smarter than a mere boy?).


It is hard to find an equivalent when it comes to German sports figures in the US. Would Germans take offense if Steffi Graf, Jan Ullrich or Mikael Schumacher (he's German I hope) were commonly referred to in the same disrepectful way albeit in American idiom?

 

Calling a man a "boy" can hardly ever be a positive...neutral at best..

Certainly, without question, Germany/Germans believe Americans to have a certain naivete...which is in part, but not entirely true...but certainly not true to the extent that many Germans tend to base their entire view of American/all things American related.

The complexity of the US and US history is totally lost on many Germans...they believe the US is only Miami/New York und Kali-for-nia....Der Spiegel, germany's "time magazine", usually only has articles about America's extremes (drugs, violent deaths) and rarely discussed the broad, normal middle.......many Germans believe U.S. has no history or culture, and that we all eat fast food each day, etc.

Ami is likely like Gringo....usually not meant harsh, but can be in context..