It helps to have traditional enemies, old hurts, and humiliations that need to be redressed, if only symbolically. It would be hard for Americans, who are neither very good at soccer, nor cursed by great historical hatreds, to share the joy of the Dutch, say, when the Germans were defeated in 1988, or that of the Koreans when they defeat Japan.
即使只具备象征意义，但足球可以洗清过去的耻辱和伤害，并让传统的仇敌屈服。 既不擅长足球也没有背负沉重历史仇恨的美国人也许很难理解荷兰人在1988年击败德国人、或朝鲜人击败日本人时的那种喜悦。