God, Ghana, and the World Cup

My Joy Online, a Ghanaian media outlet, asks if God abandoned the country’s soccer team in its game against Uruguay last Friday. What is most striking to me are the responses to the question. Overwhelmingly, they express sympathy with the team, especially Asamoah Gyan who missed an easy penalty kick that would have won the game for the Black Stars. In the US, people would malign Gyan mercilessly. These Ghanaians seem more angry about media criticism of Gyan. This is an admirable reaction to a disappointing loss.