I love the NBA and the NBA Finals, but I have to admit I am sidetracked tonight. It is halftime and the first half has been great. The old Franklin High School Quaker Jason Terry has been lighting it up and both teams have had decent to big leads only for it to be close at half.
But I hardly care.
Why? Because to me this game 1 of the NBA Finals is miniscule in comparison to what begins tomorrow. Don't get me wrong I love just about every sport and can embrace the competition, storylines, controversy, importance and unimportance of them all. But only one sport can stop the world in its tracks. Only one event can literally put a halt on a violent Civil War (Ivory Coastans lets just all get along for a little while and watch Didier Drogba work his magic). Only one event can cause a government to spend three years in court trying to find out why there team did not bring home the coveted trophy (see Brazil after losing the 98 Final to France). The list could go on and on and on. But I still care enough that I want to watch the fourth quarter of Mavs vs. Heat so we will stop it here.
I am obviously talking about World Cup. Now I know a bulk of Americans could care less but I doubt if they are real sports fans they could watch all of the first games and NOT get sucked in enough to want to watch the rest of the games. Last World Cup (with the help of Senegal and there sacrificing of the jersey) I converted a hard core american football player/fan and passionate soccer hater into a World Cup fanatic in about 10 minutes.
Just qualifying for the World Cup is a phenomenal task and some of the worlds best soccer playing countries do not qualify because of the difficulty. Ghana is in its first World cup despite winning the African Cup a number of times. Reigning European Cup winners Greece did not qualify, and # 4 team in the world Netherlands was not in the last World Cup. And unless you are Brazil, winning the World Cup is a near impossibility.
You think March Madness is mad?
I love March Madness. The upsets, the drama, the passion of the students. Now turn those little colleges and its students into entire countries and make it once every 4 years and you have a glimpse of the magnitude and pressure for a World Cup.
It is this pressure, passion, excitement, unpredictability, and glory that makes the game 1 of the NBA Finals seem borderline uninteresting for a NBA fan.
I can not wait until 9:00 am to watch the opening game of Germany and Costa Rica. And I hope on Monday when our country takes on the daunting Czech Republic in a hostile European crowd that you will tune in, sing your National Anthem, and cheer your team to victory like the rest of the countries will be doing for theres!!! This is the year Americans to hop on the World Cup train!! Because whether you wan't it to or not this is one bandwagon that is never stopping.
AMEN. I don't watch MSL but I will watch anything and everything World Cup. I'm not saying I love my country more than the next guy but how can you not root for our boys taking into account how they are treated abroad and our past failures in soccer? ONE DAY, maybe quite soon, we are going to make a run at the cup and then everything will go freakin' bonkers. I can't wait for that day.
Neither Italy, nor France, deserved a place in the World Cup Final, for both got there through cheating - thereby cheapening the beauty of the event.
Italy's dive against Australia, for example, should have gotten that country the Swimming, or Diving, Gold Medal in the Olympics. Henry's poor balance against Portugal, on the other hand, would have been a better sight had it been carried on by a ballerina.
As for the trash talk that eventually caused Zidane's head butt, the whole thing has been taken out of proportion. The game would have gone into PENALTY KICKS with, or without, Zidane. Furthermore, the penalty kick is not a sure thing regardless of whoever tqkes it. And when the kicker is tired (be he Zidane, Mohamed, Allah, or anyone else) only Heaven knows how far the ball will travel. If you don't believe me, ask Zico, or Beckham, whose kicked ball against Portugal in the European Championship ended up somewhere near Spain.
In short, the Cup was a worthwhile event. The cheating and the poor quality of its finalists, however, left a hell of a lot to be desired. As for how the analists have reached their conclusions, well, I guess that even German beer can occasionally make one drunk.
Soccer Scores On The Web
Louis Hau, 07.10.06, 6:00 AM ET
"Unlike the rest of the planet, Americans don't care about soccer.
Or do they? "The world's sport" has managed decent American television ratings during this year's FIFA World Cup. But online, U.S. Web surfers flocked to soccer sites throughout the tournament, which ended Sunday in Berlin."
