not all who wander are lost

not all who wander are lost

Friday, June 23, 2006

Too Bad, So Sad

The North Americans have officially been eliminated from the World Cup. Last night during and after the match I was really irritated with the US team and how they played, especially after a couple beers, the emotions were flowing like a well used tap. But, after a good nights rest I realized that the team wanted to win more than I wanted them to win. They are more disappointed than I am. Who the heck am I? I am an American who likes football. I love American football too, but don't call it soccer anywhere besides the States. You will be frowned upon and have to defend yourself from a barrage of harsh comments. Why do we call it soccer anyways? Probably because we have never been truly good at the sport on an international level, so why not create another sport, call it football, and crown ourselves world champs every year? I wonder how the Steelers would do against the Brazilian National Futbol Team?

Americans love power sports and scoring a lot of points. We like to watch huge guys play against each other. American football, basketball, and baseball are the top three sports back home. And every year one team from all three sports is crowned world champion, but when a truly international competition comes along for a sport played around the world, we have never been crowned world champs. So what do we, as Americans, do? We call it a girls sport. Rightly so I guess, because the Womens US National team has a short history of being really good.

So, what is the problem? Why can't we win an international competition loved by millions of people around the world? We have the resources, and access to many of the best athletes in the world. The one thing we don't have is the mind-set. Maybe we need a Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods of soccer. An American footballer who can wow the crowd. Soccer is a sport of endurance, finesse, strategy, and talent. The basics are really simple, kick the ball into the goal, but there is so much depth in the sport that North Americans don't quite see. The sport is not engrained into our culture yet. It's unfortunate, but we have another four years to figure it out. Sara and I are are still cheering for Americans, the Central and South Americans. The Brazilians just had a great win. Ecuador and Mexico are still in the tournament too, but the Brazilians have the best shot at winning the title. Futbol is not only engrained in Brazilian culture it's engrained into their existance.

Too bad, so sad for the US Americans, but at least the Central and South Americans still represent some of the best talent in the footballing world.



1 comment:

Chaz said...

Leo, just hope the Brazilians get a decent ref. Too much weird stuff going on in this Cup.