In these times of division and strife, if there's one thing that can bring red-blooded Americans of all persuasions together, it's a little good ol' fashioned soccer bashing. Appropriately enough, Foot got the ball rolling this morning:
There exists a most virulent strain of pathogen that has victimized most of the world. Happily, our fair nation has yet to contract this vile disease in any major way. Yet there are those who, every four years or so, come out of the woodwork to loudly decry our immunity and wish that we Americans would join the rest of the world by succumbing to this insidious ague.
I am, of course, talking about soccer.
Tim Parks detailed aspects of the "sport" that I find particularly disgusting in an article on the World Cup in today's Wall Street Journal:
The competition was born out of cheating. Soccer had been officially included in the Olympic Games in 1908. Players were supposed to be amateurs. England withdrew from the sport in 1920 when this was clearly not the case. In 1924 and 1928 Uruguay won the tournament with professionals masquerading as amateurs, at which point the only possible response for the offended pride of the other competitors was to acknowledge a fait accompli and get FIFA to set up a competition for professionals.
This did not end the cheating. I know of no other sport where bad faith is so endemic, condoned and ritualized as in soccer, where lies and deception are ordinarily the rule. Every refereeing decision is contested, even when what has happened is clear as day. A player protests that the ball has gone over the line when everybody has seen that it hasn't. Passed by an attacker in full flight, a defender grabs his shirt, stops him, then immediately denies that he has done so. Unable to pass a defender, the striker runs into him and promptly falls over, claiming he has been pushed.
Nor are refereeing decisions always convincing. To help Korea, co-host of the last World Cup, see off Italy and Spain, referees had to bend rules to the limit and some distance beyond. During the Turkey-Brazil game in the same competition, an angry Turkish player kicked the ball at the Brazilian Rivaldo, who had recently been voted best player in the world. Hit on the knee (by the ball!), Rivaldo collapsed, pretending he had been violently struck in the face. The referee sent off the Turk, eliminating him from the game. Afterward, Rivaldo claimed his deception was a normal part of football. The organizers, who had said they would be tough on dishonesty, fined him $7,000 -- a day's pay at his level -- but wouldn't suspend him for even one match.
If you're not cheating in soccer, you're not trying.
But in fairness to those American soccer fans out there (all six of you), I will take a moment and offer my predictions for this Friday's opening day of World Cup "action."
June 9, 12PM ET Germany v Costa Rica at Allianz Arena
Germany will dominate the game from the start to the final, seemingly arbitrary whistle from the referee. The Deutschland strikers will keep the ball on the Costa Rican side of the pitch for most of the contest and scoring opportunities for the Costa Ricans will be few and far between. A complete blitzkrieg blowout for the host squad.
Final: Germany 1 Costa Rica 0
June 9, 3PM ET Poland v Ecuador at Veltins-Arena
This will be a hard-fought, back and forth battle, which could go either way. The teams are so evenly matched that it likely will come down to the play of the goalkeepers. The Poles have an ever so slight advantage in this area and it should be just enough for them to emerge with a victory.
Final: Poland 1 Ecuador 0
Caught World Cup fever yet?
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