By Emily Qin ‘25, Staff Writer 

Photo courtesy of Annice Lyn

How likely is it for audiences to support their country of residence as opposed to a foreign one in international competitions? For example, in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, audiences had the chance to watch athletes like Kamila Valieva and Mikaela Shiffrin compete for gold. As a Chinese-American, I was ecstatic when Nathan Chen, another Chinese-American, won gold for the U.S. in men’s single free skating. However, I was also upset to see Yuzuru Hanyu, a Japanese figure skater, not place on the podium for any of his events. I think that he performs well on the ice, regardless of what country he represents.

Apparently, I’m not alone. In fact, Olympics.com mentions that a large portion of Yuzuru Hanyu’s supporters are of Chinese descent despite political tension. Sarah Belet from Earshot notes Hanyu’s many American fans as well. Meanwhile, Nathan Chen, who is of Chinese descent and born in America, seems to have significant backlash in his mother country. CNN states that after Chen won gold for the United States, Chinese spectators labeled him as  a “traitor” to his culture. 

It is interesting that Chinese people love Hanyu, yet hate Chen. Chen has been called “‘too white’ and been told to ‘get out of China’” on Chinese social media, and Chen seems to be disliked because of how “disconnected” he is from his culture. Hanyu, on the other hand, went viral in a video of a 2017 competition when he helped a Chinese skater fix his flag which hung backwards. He touched the hearts of thousands of Chinese spectators by showing respect for their country.

Mike Hlas, who writes for The Iowa Gazette, offers one answer as to how our individualism can affect what teams we support. He was born and raised in Italy, though he chose to spend most of his adult life in America. He notes that he often “root[s] against the U.S. in Summer and Winter Olympics,” and that he actually tends to “root for some other nations’ athletes.” He says he likes to root for the “underdogs,” and that he just “loves great stories.”

Perhaps one of the most memorable instances of an Olympic underdog was in the 1980 Winter Olympics, when the U.S. ice hockey team, only a group of amateur players, went against the Soviet Union, who were four-time gold winners, in New York. America’s hockey team, coached by Herb Brooks, battled fiercely against the Soviets and kept audiences captivated around the world. The intense game ended in a 4-3 win by the U.S., one of the most significant underdog performances in the Olympics to date.

So, do we root for teams that we think will win? Teams that will make history? Teams that we identify with, on a racial or ethnic level? To try and answer these questions, I asked my friends their race, ethnicity, nationality, and who they support in the Olympics.

Each of my interviewees rooted for the U.S., though there were also many who supported other teams as well. Joanna Yu ‘25, who only has Chinese citizenship, roots for Chinese teams as well as American ones, and Mina Ko ‘25, who has dual citizenship in Korea and America, roots for Korean teams, too. These students are just two examples of how the strength of our cultural ties can affect our identities, specifically through the teams we support. Those who may be less tied to their ethnicity might find themselves rooting for teams based on their nationality, like Claire Wong ‘25, who’s ethnically Chinese, or Jadyn Soares ‘25, who’s Indian, who both typically support American teams. 

Our personal identifiers can strongly affect how we live in ways we may not even realize — from the manners we learn, to the foods we eat, and even to the teams we cheer on. So, who do you root for? Do you follow your ancestry? Social media trends? Or, do you root for the underdog, and a good story?