Soccer as un-American activity: a thematic analysis of online US media and flopping in the world's game

Disapproving of the soccer strategy known as flopping — falling down on purpose and faking an injury — American journalist Rick Telander wrote that flopping is “a European or South American or Asian or African affectation. And it’s pitiful”. Through thematic analysis of American online journalism, this description and others illustrate how sports media advance American exceptionalism and disparage foreign athletes by locating flopping beneath American moral and ethical standards. Further, American journalists position the United States as superior to other countries because of its decision to lose rather than “cheat”. This study creates a new sector of research on online journalism and American exceptionalism by interrogating how American media portray international soccer.