In Webb's passage, How Soccer is Ruining America, the rhetorical strategies of tone and irony are overwhelmingly apparent throughout the passage. In the beginning of the passage, Webb discusses how the sport of soccer is ruining America by discrediting the sport itself. He uses careful choice of diction as well as hyperbole in the beginning of this article; however, when doing this, he actually self-contradicts himself as he states, "Every kid is a winner, and nobody is ever left behind, no matter how many times they watch the ball the other way" (267). Webb uses a pun, and hyperbole as a play on words of soccer by running America and American lifestyles into the ground. The irony that is depicted at the end of this passage is a manipulative, twisted viewpoint that Webb has on this subject of soccer. He spends the entire article discrediting all the different things that are so wrongful in the sport, and then in the end reflects that he actually spends quite a bit of his own time attending his children's soccer game. It is the mind of a complete hypocrite. He portrays himself as a credited resource of information as a professor in religion and physiology. This is all spilled out in the very last paragraph written at the end of the selection, which reveals Webb's true personal experience on the matter in a fantastic, rhetorically brilliant way.
The organization of the article is written in a direct criticism of the way that he portrays soccer. He almost organizes the information as to list out all the wrongdoings in the sport, and what should be fixed in order to not let it slowly run America into the ground. Webb begins his numbered list of criticizing the limits soccer has on the athlete. "It creates an egalitarian playing field by rigorously enforcing a uniform disability" (267-268). Webb companies the soccer uniform to complete foolishness in this bullet of information. He then later goes on to further explain the use of feet in the sport. Webb relates this article to a story from Christ as he washed the feet of his Disciples before his crucifixion in order to promote a service and humble gesture as thanks before his crucifixion. "Feet are in need of redemption" (268). Webb uses parallelism in order to relate feet in a sport as a sign of disrespect and servitude.
In the second numbered section of information used to criticize soccer, Webb focuses on the overall unspecialized characteristic of soccer and what it has on the athlete. He begins this section as stating that "Sporting should be about breaking kids down before you start building them up" (207). However, once again he is referencing the overall sport of soccer a whole, while all three of his children play the sport themselves. Webb further goes on to state that growing up, he played baseball and that baseball was a real individualized sport made to best suit the athlete on their specific skill. He claims that baseball gives character unlike soccer because in soccer, everyone is the same. This sarcastic tone that he displays is actually affecting a large audience of people, because of the rowing popularity of soccer around the world.
Webb even furthers the audience affected by this article in the third numbered section by using the metaphor of soccer being a foreign invasion. He states, "More than having to do with it's origin, soccer is a European sport because it is all about death and despair" (268). This is a direct allusion towards a variety of historical events in Europe such as the Black Plague, WW1, WW2, and many others. This metaphor as a foreign invasion discredits the ethos of the sport and it's originality in America. Later in this section he continues to the say that the game eventually ends in the audience being put out of their misery by penalty kicks. This discredits the sport even further by not allowing each child to take part in winning the game, but instead putting all of the attention on the goalie and the kicker. This can be very sarcastic and condescending towards other audience reading as he depicts soccer as a useless game to be played for unindividualized skills.
Finally, in the fourth section of the article, Webb addresses the issue of gender in soccer. This turns out to be very ironic because in fact his own children, including his daughter all play soccer, and are very involved with travel teams and committing to the sport. He starts off the section by claiming, "soccer is a game for girls" (268). Webb believes in this idea that there are specialized genders for every sport. For example, soccer is for girls because it is repetitive and football is for boys because it involved muscle and speed. Webb claims that soccer is not even a sport that proves one's athleticism at all; however, his claims are not justifiable, for there is not anything to back them up. Instead, he relies heavily on his background and building up of ethos as his credibility. "Soccer mimics the paradigmatic feminine experience of childbirth" (269). Webb again claims that this metaphor expresses the opinion of soccer and the viewpoints it holds in that once the game is over, everyone is happy. Much like the perfect happily ever after wanted to be gained by most stories, but hardly every succeeding.
Webb's last paragraph is really the topping to all of these claims that were made on whether soccer really is ruining America. Webb creates this idea by using his sarcastic tone towards his large audience in hopes to convince them of his viewpoints made primarily on his credibility as a professor. His self-contradiciton made throughout the article, eventually comes to unravel. After this has occurred he attempts to revert the attention towards other and the rest of the population on his viewpoints while getting himself as far from the situation as possible. The rhetorical devices used by Webb, such as metaphor, ethos, tone, diction, audience, hyperbole, pun, irony, etc., are then exposed to the reader all at once, and the reader is shocked at the skills used as Webb voiced his opinions as to why soccer is running America into the ground.
The organization of the article is written in a direct criticism of the way that he portrays soccer. He almost organizes the information as to list out all the wrongdoings in the sport, and what should be fixed in order to not let it slowly run America into the ground. Webb begins his numbered list of criticizing the limits soccer has on the athlete. "It creates an egalitarian playing field by rigorously enforcing a uniform disability" (267-268). Webb companies the soccer uniform to complete foolishness in this bullet of information. He then later goes on to further explain the use of feet in the sport. Webb relates this article to a story from Christ as he washed the feet of his Disciples before his crucifixion in order to promote a service and humble gesture as thanks before his crucifixion. "Feet are in need of redemption" (268). Webb uses parallelism in order to relate feet in a sport as a sign of disrespect and servitude.
In the second numbered section of information used to criticize soccer, Webb focuses on the overall unspecialized characteristic of soccer and what it has on the athlete. He begins this section as stating that "Sporting should be about breaking kids down before you start building them up" (207). However, once again he is referencing the overall sport of soccer a whole, while all three of his children play the sport themselves. Webb further goes on to state that growing up, he played baseball and that baseball was a real individualized sport made to best suit the athlete on their specific skill. He claims that baseball gives character unlike soccer because in soccer, everyone is the same. This sarcastic tone that he displays is actually affecting a large audience of people, because of the rowing popularity of soccer around the world.
Webb even furthers the audience affected by this article in the third numbered section by using the metaphor of soccer being a foreign invasion. He states, "More than having to do with it's origin, soccer is a European sport because it is all about death and despair" (268). This is a direct allusion towards a variety of historical events in Europe such as the Black Plague, WW1, WW2, and many others. This metaphor as a foreign invasion discredits the ethos of the sport and it's originality in America. Later in this section he continues to the say that the game eventually ends in the audience being put out of their misery by penalty kicks. This discredits the sport even further by not allowing each child to take part in winning the game, but instead putting all of the attention on the goalie and the kicker. This can be very sarcastic and condescending towards other audience reading as he depicts soccer as a useless game to be played for unindividualized skills.
Finally, in the fourth section of the article, Webb addresses the issue of gender in soccer. This turns out to be very ironic because in fact his own children, including his daughter all play soccer, and are very involved with travel teams and committing to the sport. He starts off the section by claiming, "soccer is a game for girls" (268). Webb believes in this idea that there are specialized genders for every sport. For example, soccer is for girls because it is repetitive and football is for boys because it involved muscle and speed. Webb claims that soccer is not even a sport that proves one's athleticism at all; however, his claims are not justifiable, for there is not anything to back them up. Instead, he relies heavily on his background and building up of ethos as his credibility. "Soccer mimics the paradigmatic feminine experience of childbirth" (269). Webb again claims that this metaphor expresses the opinion of soccer and the viewpoints it holds in that once the game is over, everyone is happy. Much like the perfect happily ever after wanted to be gained by most stories, but hardly every succeeding.
Webb's last paragraph is really the topping to all of these claims that were made on whether soccer really is ruining America. Webb creates this idea by using his sarcastic tone towards his large audience in hopes to convince them of his viewpoints made primarily on his credibility as a professor. His self-contradiciton made throughout the article, eventually comes to unravel. After this has occurred he attempts to revert the attention towards other and the rest of the population on his viewpoints while getting himself as far from the situation as possible. The rhetorical devices used by Webb, such as metaphor, ethos, tone, diction, audience, hyperbole, pun, irony, etc., are then exposed to the reader all at once, and the reader is shocked at the skills used as Webb voiced his opinions as to why soccer is running America into the ground.