Classless Ryder Cup fans illustrate a changing U.S. sports culture, op-ed says
A New York Post column links on-site rowdiness and contested patriotism to shifts in American sportsmanship.
An opinion column published Sept. 27, 2025, in the New York Post argues that Ryder Cup crowds, and the supporters who back them, illustrate a broader deterioration in the United States' sports culture. The piece contends that misapplied patriotism has seeped into how Americans celebrate and discuss sport, citing what it describes as the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Megan Rapinoe as a symbolic moment in this shift. The author says the episode reflects a broader trend in which national teams are treated as extensions of political identity, rather than as athletic teams.
The author singles out the 2019 World Cup-winning U.S. women's national team, led by Rapinoe, describing their on-field persona as 'obnoxious, self-entitled and ungracious in victory' and arguing that such an image helped create a public mood in which fans feel free to root against an American team when it plays on foreign soil or in high-profile events. The piece suggests that this reputation bled into the Ryder Cup context, where U.S. crowds have been portrayed as more boisterous, even gambling-tinged, and inclined toward displays of rowdiness rather than the traditional, restrained sportsmanship associated with the event.
The Ryder Cup has long been framed as a contest rooted in transatlantic camaraderie, fair play and gentlemanly conduct. The column argues that the current atmosphere at U.S. venues runs counter to that heritage, reflecting a broader 'sports culture' shift that emphasizes spectacle and provocation over civility. It also links the debate to a larger, ongoing national conversation about how patriotism is expressed in sports and the extent to which athletic success should be intertwined with political statements or celebrity prestige.
While the piece offers a provocative perspective, it also functions as a commentary on editorial norms in a media landscape where sports are increasingly entangled with identity politics and entertainment value. It is one opinion in a broader discourse about fan behavior, national pride and the evolving norms of competition.