What up, World Cup?

David K. Israel
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Well, I'll add on to John's post here. Having never gotten caught up in the World Cup, I thought I'd give it a whirl this year. Force myself to watch a few games. And so i have, including today's Brazil game.Here are my findings:

a) The Reason why America hasn't taken to the sport is because the TV networks can't make any money off soccer because the periods are too long and there aren't enough spots to cutaway to commercials. Therefore, the networks don't care about soccer and haven't exposed the country to it. I know that sounds terribly cynical, but it's my theory and you can espouse it if you want to. Would love to hear who agrees or not, and why (not)...

b) Soccer is, uh, how shall I put this, kinda dull? (Sorry Mangesh!) I mean, they go one way with the ball, and then they stop, and go the other way. yAwn.

c) And let's talk about all the silly acting. Every time someone gets knocked down, there's this hilarious moment wherein the player is looking around for a penalty. "Hey! He pushed me!" "Yo! Did you see that?! He tripped me, man!" I mean give me a break fellas. Can you imagine that happening in the NHL?

d) Long hair isn't just for rock stars and religious zealots.

Now, all that said, I'd rather watch the World Cup than most of what's on TV. I mean, yeah, it's boring, but not like TWO AND A HALF MEN is boring.

Now let's look at some objective facts, delivered by the good people at Kidzworld:

  • During the 1994 World Cup, German soccer player, Stefan Effenberg, was sent home because he gave the finger to a fan during a game.
  • India refused to play in the 1950 World Cup because FIFA told the players they would have to play in soccer cleats, rather than barefoot.
  • The largest crowd to watch a World Cup soccer game live were the 199,850 people who crammed into a stadium in Brazil for a game between Brazil and Uruguay during the 1950 World Cup.
  • The smallest crowd to watch a World Cup soccer game were the 300 who showed up to the game between Romania and Peru during the 1930 World Cup of soccer in Uruguay.
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    June 13, 2006 - 10:19am