The passionate, infectious display of civic and cultural pride at the World Cup is a major reason I tune in every match day. I love the secondhand frisson of cathartic goal celebrations, the enormous flags unfurled during the pregame ceremonies and, above all, hearing players and fans join voices to sing their national anthem. I have an undiscerning taste in anthems — I like all of ’em — but there’s one of particular interest to word nerds like me. The Netherlands national anthem, the Wilhelmus, is an acrostic: The first letter of each of its 15 verses spells out WILLEM VAN NASSOV, the father of the Dutch nation. It even works in its English translation, where it spells WILLIAM OF NASSAU, the anglicized version of the name. (If you’re curious, the Star-Spanged Banner’s four verses spell “OOAO” — not as fun. While other anthems might not have the hidden wordplay of the Wilhelmus, the Netherlands aren’t the only country to get especially creative with their rallying cry. The national anthem of Andorra, the European microstate sandwiched between France and Spain, is a history of the nation written told from the perspective of the country itself. The United Kingdom’s anthem changes based on who’s sitting on the throne, and South Africa’s features verses in five different languages (Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans and English). The writer of Greece’s national anthem went long: The poem from which “Hymn to Freedom” originates has 158 verses, 24 of which were adopted into the official anthem (though typically, only the first two are sung). Japan’s is on the other end of the spectrum; the English translation of ”Kimigayo” is only 21 words. But even deep down here in the anthem rabbit hole I’ve found myself in, my favorite musical moment of the World Cup thus far hasn’t actually been a national song. It’s been the singalong that broke out after the match between the U.S. men’s national soccer team and Australia, where players and fans from both sides joined for a rousing rendition of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The American team may have adopted it as its unofficial celebration song, but I think it’s a fitting choice for the World Cup as a whole. Not just for its international appeal, but because it’s an ode to what unifies all teams: a love for their homeland and the joy of singing its praises.
Solve Today’s Capture
Puzzle of the WeekThis week, check out the Saturday, July 4, crossword by Kareem Ayas. In his constructor notes, he wrote: “Last week a friend commented that I must ‘firmly be in my themeless era.’ This is my second Saturday in a row for The New York Times, so he may be onto something.” Read more about how he made this puzzle in the Wordplay column.
How are we doing? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to crosswordeditors@nytimes.com. Thanks for playing! Subscribe to New York Times Games.
|
