World Cup Fever... no seriously, I'm sick

Yesterday was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year… but the real important question is, how thick was it? Enough pirated Colbert material.

Today I went into work late so that I could catch the US World Cup match against Ghana, and once I realized that I was essentially paying 35 dollars to watch the match I felt like an idiot. Due to other things, mostly work… I haven’t been able to see a single US soccer match at the World Cup. I had a conversation with B and I’m beginning to think there is some sort of conspiracy against the US in international soccer matches. Granted, I haven’t played competitive soccer in ten years, but even us middle schoolers got away with more contact than the bullshit penalty kick call on the United States. Then, look at the seeding. We got a terrible group match (with Italy, Czech Republic, and Ghana) when we probably should have deserved a #1 seed. 8 were given out, the remainder of each group was decided by lottery. Mexico was one of the teams that got a 1 seed, and we proved we were better in the regional qualifying and were ranked 5th in the world; they are barely in the top 20!

The funny thing is, in most international sports we tend to presume we are just better than everyone else (which is true). Well, not really… we just assume that we should beat everyone at basketball, and for that arrogance, I think we deserve to lose… and since the Dream Team and their sequel, we haven’t done that well in international competitions. But that isn’t even the case in soccer! We acknowledge we aren’t on the same footing with the European teams, and apparently, they need to make sure we stay unequal with calls my Mom could make. These refs must have rug burns on their knees with how they were blowing the game… I mean, they were really getting into it. Also, it seems like the grass was in pretty poor condition for the World Cup… a number of players kept slipping and falling inside the box, which is a rarity (at least, when they weren’t being pushed from behind).

It’s stuff like this that will probably prevent America from really getting behind the national team… I mean, look at Ghana. That country can barely afford to pay its players (they are probably paying their salaries out of an IMF aid package) but its government made today a half-work day/national holiday, and also shut down some of its mines in order to conserve electricity for all the TVs to show the game! That is serious dedication. Meanwhile, when ESPN cuts to a shot of our fans they all tend to be really young, too full of idealism to listen to the adults who don’t understand soccer. Really, it’s one of the greatest games, mainly because it leaves your hands free for obscene gestures. And if that doesn’t do it for you, I’ve got one word for ya: hooliganism.