To Some, Winner Is Not American Enough

As you may have heard an American won the New York City Marathon for the first time since 1982. His name is Mebrahtom Keflezighi and folks from Steven Colbert to posters on LetsRun.com have been calling his "Americaness" into question. He wasn't born here, having emigrated from Eritrea when he was 12. However, all his training has been conducted in American distance running programs. Still, the fact that Meb hails from East Africa, whose runners have dominated distance events for two decades, is enough to discredit his citizenship.

Perhaps, fans should really take a lesson from the baseball team in the Bronx. So long as you put a win up for the team, you are a true Yankee...or in this case, a true American. Hey, no one called out Alberto Salazar, the last "American" to win the New York City Marathon, after his victory in 1982, and he was born in Cuba.