Paul Daugherty: the world cup

Thursday, June 08, 2006

the world cup

Every four years, I discover how dumb I am. (No. Check that. How dumb others can make me feel. I'm dumb regularly.) I discover, anew, that I am unenlightened, xenophobic and un-evolved. The World Cup is upon us. It can't be helped. Because I have occasionally admitted I am not a fan of soccer, I have been branded by the futbol-ites as an idiot.

Maybe you're in the same sad boat. If you're not a fan, you don't understand the beauty of the game and you don't care about world peace. You are, as a writer for Sports Illustrated put it this week, "incurious about the rest of the world.''

OK. Someone hand me my hair shirt. I'm not a soccer fan. I am an ugly American. Forgive me. But here's the thing: People in, say, Ghana aren't considered stupid or ugly or small-minded if they don't like baseball. We don't diss the Brazilians if they're not fans of the NFL. Soccer, though, is different. If you happen not to care much for it, you're a dope. Maybe that's part of the reason I don't care much for it. Live big. Soccer-less.

19 Comments:

at 8:42 AM

Anonymous said...

Right on!!!

Soccer might just be the most boring sport to watch ever. You sit there forever and finally one goal is scored. Sooooo boring. yawn

at 12:37 PM

Anonymous said...

The NFL isn't in Brazil and I'm sure they don't play baseball in Ghana, so we would have no right to diss them. Soccer has been around forever and is played in just about every single country in the entire world. It is the most popular sport by a very large margin. Soccer is a sport that takes knowledge and thought, which us lazy Americans don't like. We enjoy football where the players have exact routes to run and the coaches tell them what to do after every play.. and baseball where they have to have 2 coaches standing on the field with them to tell the players what to do. Don't get me wrong, I love NFL and MLB.. I'm just saying that it seems we have no interest in sports where the players actually have to think on their own and scores don't reach the 40's. I don't usually watch soccer, but I'll definitely watch the World Cup.

at 12:48 PM

Anonymous said...

Well, we as Americans go around pronouncing teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers World Champions for no reason other than that they hapened to win a domestic tournament involving a few other football teams.
The NBA champs are called World Champions even though they didn't play anyone outside of the U.S. or Canada.
Major League Baseball champs are dubbed World Champs even though they didn't defeat any teams outside the U.S. or Canada (there is a whole New York World backstory with the World Series, of course, which may have unwittingly fueled the American professional sports concept of declaring domestic league champs "World Champs.")
So I'm just saying, perhaps there is an existence of hubris at play which serves to repel Brazillians from becoming NFL fans. And of course, the Brazillians have the most exciting soccer team in the world, so why would they need to follow the Arizona Cardinals? :-)

at 2:08 PM

Anonymous said...

Then again, the rest of the world is not as athletically inclinded as the united states, no wonder we crush everyone in the olympics. Our sports here are built for the more diverse population. When was the last time you saw an offensive tackle come from Brazil?
Soccer is old school and very boring. They can have soccer, we don't want it.

at 4:43 PM

Anonymous said...

Soccer is built off skill while sports here such as football are built almost solely off physical apppearance. When I was in high school there was this 6'8" kid who never played football but recieved a full ride to one of the best football programs in the country. He's extremely lazy but will end up in the NFL simply because of his body. The Brazilians wouldn't be offensive tackles if they were paid 20 million dollars. I'm sure they think its stupid. They enjoy using their crazy skills rather than participating as a player whose sole responsibility is just to not let the person in front of you get behind you. I love football.. but soccer is tough and people like ronaldo and ronaldinho are more skilled than any american ever will be.

at 2:04 AM

Anonymous said...

Soccer(football) is the greatest game in the world and the World Cup its greatest spectacle. Pele ranks alongside Ali, Jordan, and Tiger as the most recognizable and beloved athletes on the planet.

For those who don't know Wayne Rooney from Mickey Rooney, who think the "selecao" is what you do at a farm auction, who wouldn't know Maradona from Madonna, or who think Landon Donovan is a hippie singer, watch, enjoy, embrace, and enjoy. The beautiful game will be getting the full up from ABC, ESPN, FOX Sports:

If you choose not to enjoy, there is golf to be played, tennis to be played, and under 2 months until NFL training camps open !!

at 2:09 AM

Anonymous said...

Hey Paul,

Do you get your Philly cheesesteaks at Xenos ????

at 7:32 AM

Anonymous said...

anon 5:43,
"When I was in high school there was this 6'8" kid who never played football but recieved a full ride to one of the best football programs in the country. He's extremely lazy but will end up in the NFL simply because of his body."

That is one of the biggest lies I have ever heard. What was this kids name???

That reminds me of this kid that I knew in high school. He was very unathlectic and too small for football, basketball or baseball. He ended up getting a full ride to a Division I school to play soccer and is playing in the world cup this week.

at 9:50 AM

Anonymous said...

Every four years, columnists pull out their "Why should I feel dumb for not liking soccer" columns.

at 9:59 AM

EMC said...

Paul, you're so right. Soccer may be world-popular, demanding, and all the rest of it. But what it mainly is, is boring beyond belief. Seems like a lot of the artifically whipped up World Cup hype in the US stems from a feeling that we "should" be interested because everybody else in the world is. So much for diversity.

at 10:29 AM

Anonymous said...

Soccer is one of the most boring sports to watch. Fun to play, but boring to watch. I took my kids to a game and they fell asleep in the stands.

at 12:40 PM

Anonymous said...

Is there an archery contest on TV we can watch instead?

at 1:44 PM

Anonymous said...

I STILL think Michelle Wie has a wie-wie. Somebody needs to do some investigating...

at 5:37 PM

Anonymous said...

Have to tell you, I'm an American and a big soccer fan: follow Arsenal in the Premiership, still playing in an Over 40 league, etc. I am also a huge Bengals and Bearcat hoop fan (flew in from Boston for the Kimo/"I'm a thug" game, and have gone to 15 of the last 17 conference tourneys). I fine if you don't care for the game, but what bugs me are those who thinks its boring and put down those of us who do. The problem with not enjoying it are those folks who feel that the only thing worth it feel the need for instant gratification and not enjoying the anticipation of scoring. Where's the love for the 1-0 pitchers duel or the 1-0 hockey game? Watched Sweden/T&T today (my mother-in-law is Swedish), and almost came unglued on the handful of times someone scored (and the final was 0-0). I don't care if you don't love the game, just give those of us grief if we do!!

at 7:47 PM

Anonymous said...

The World Cup is the greatest sporting event. I look forward to it every 4 years. Sure, I am a bit of a soccer geek.

It is OK if some people don't get it. I don't get NASCAR. Find it insanly boring. So I change the channel. No need to bash it. Just say "I don't get it" and move on.

You would think at least some people would watch Monday to root for the USA, even if they don't "get it".

at 9:56 AM

Anonymous said...

Soccer has long been the most overrated sport in history. Playing 90 minutes and the end result, maybe a 0-0 tie. Well thats sweet I'd pay money to see that. Try making soccer a little more exciting. They play these highlight clips with these different incredible soccer highlights, but the thing is is that these were collected over probably a billion games, with an average fantastic play at .2/game. Get more interesting soccer, for if you don't then i'd rather go watch infomercials.

at 3:51 PM

Anonymous said...

I have just spent two hours watching Ghana and Italy play. This is a high scoring game, it's 2-0.It's like watching grass grow.
One other thing, everytime someone touches one of these guys, they go down like they've been shot with an elephant gun. Are they all candy-asses or just a bunch of fakers?
It's been said that until you watch the world cup you shouldn't judge it... well I've watched, thank god it's only once every four years. Gotta go... badmitten is on next on espn classic.

at 7:19 PM

Anonymous said...

The reason why soccer is popular in other countries and American sports aren't is because the game was invented, and the rules developed, by the English at a time when they had a huge empire and other spheres of influence around the globe, and as you don't need much equiment, soccer was easily spread. America largely didn't have foreign interests at the time, and baseball and soccer developed as contemporaries. (In fact the English Football League took some hints from baseball's national league on how to set up a professional league) But when each game tried to expand its audience, the respective sporting cultures were already deeply ingrained into their societies.

at 7:47 AM

Anonymous said...

Soccer, I get it, and it is boring.

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Thursday, June 08, 2006

the world cup

19 Comments: