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Soccer fans in the United Kingdom and Ireland have turned chanting into a high art. 

On any given match day, their stadiums ring out with thundering and clever reimaginings of pop songs and old standards, warped to discuss a team’s reputation, its superstars or current events. The best hooligan musicologists spend hours in the lab cooking up new and exciting shoutalongs each week. “Lizzie’s in a Box” and “No one likes us, we don’t care” are monuments to the collective imagination of the boisterous and drunk.

But, if you’ll pardon a bit of casual chauvinism, I still think the United States birthed the best chant.

It’s three thudding syllables, the first draft of a bloodthirsty and stupid waltz. It’s quick pace and relative tunelessness makes it easy to yell at top volume, drowning out any adversaries who might scoff at such an inartful display.   

You’ve heard it at fireworks shows, frat houses and (American) football games. If you tuned in to Trump’s nearly two-hour-long State of the Union, you heard it from slavering Republicans. If you don’t know it, you will by the second time it’s repeated: “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” 

As the increasingly weird Republican Party has ceded traditionally conservative-coded events like the Super Bowl over petty culture war squabbles, they’ve maintained a death-grip on this form of reflexive patriotism. American flag gear, heartland signifiers and aggressively rooting for Team USA in literally any form of international competition still scans as a GOP pastime, especially when gold-medal-winning squads are happy to serve as photo ops for Kash Patel and Donald Trump.

The president used Democrats’ inability to hoot and holler to score points during his State of the Union address, trotting out the gold medal-winning Olympic hockey team and staging several standing ovation breaks so that he could scold the half of Congress that wasn’t applauding. That was a shame, but not for the reason Trump thinks.

As the party that ostensibly stands for the fair treatment of the average American, Democrats shouldn’t cede rowdy and reckless patriotism to a crowd of nerdy neocons. As an endlessly misinterpreted study once pointed out, the left and liberals are the half of this country that can actually extend empathy to their fellow Americans. 

As the Olympics fade and the World Cup looms, the American left needs to get comfortable with criticizing their country every day except match day. It’s possible to believe the United States has serious problems, and even to be mightily ashamed of the country’s actions on the world stage, and still throw on a novelty Uncle Sam hat (but no shirt) to scream  at an opposing soccer squad. It’s no contradiction to root for the guys (or gals) wearing our flag while being wary of anyone who seems way too eager to fly that flag in front of their house.

In this effort, we’re lucky to have a supporter’s chant that can be picked up immediately. That three-letter shout doesn’t belong to the GOP, and it’s fun as hell to join in, whether or not you know a Pulisic from a Pelé. Follow the beat. Bah-bah-bah. bah-bah-bah….

What do you think? Will the left get sports in the national divorce? Are you struggling with rooting for the U.S. in global competitions? Sound off in the comments.

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