The World Cup is a site for political discourses and national symbols. In an environment in which global print and electronic media blanket the tournament, it is not surprising that political and national elements are structured by the mass media. This study of U.S. print media coverage of the Iran-United States match at the 1998 World Cup examines how media frames are complex and overlapping. While endeavoring to focus on the athletic dimensions of the match, the print media nevertheless turned to the familiar political and ideological frames for the relationship and interactions between the two nations. The match was, therefore, framed largely in political terms. However, the complications of those very political parameters also generated layers of constructs related to sport, national identity, fans, and participants.
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