An Ignorant American Talks About The World Cup

At the beginning of the World Cup, I submitted a post detailing why I thought we should care about the World Cup.  I extolled the virtues of the world’s game and the possible chance that the US might do well, and that we should get behind the team.  It was my plan to set aside my prejudices and look at the game with fresh eyes.  I wanted to participate in the world’s celebration of this event, one that clearly has more significance now than even the Olympics.

Over the course of the past five weeks, I watched here and there, catching games when I could and just having them on in background when I could not.  Following is my list of take-aways from this year’s tournament:
  • The final yesterday was, for me, an encapsulation of all of the reasons why the US does not adopt soccer.  The game was slow, boring, lots of fake injuries and whining, and showcased very little of the talent that the two teams possessed.  The 3rd place game on Saturday was a far sight better, with both teams playing to win instead of not to lose.
  • The US is nowhere near being ready to compete at the highest levels of this game.  Watching teams that really know how to play the game ( like Spain, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and even upstarts like Uruguay ) made it really clear that we are really a bunch of hacks.  We can’t control and pass the ball the way these teams do, with the possible exception of the top one or two players on our team.
  • I still can’t stand the constant diving and feigning of broken legs.  It is so engrained in the culture of the game that I guess it is just accepted now.  But, I won’t really care about a game where grown men flop all over the field like so many fish only to miraculously recover 30 seconds later until they start penalizing this part of the game and remove it.
  • I wish they would not end the important games on penalty kicks.  I wrote about this before, but let them play till someone wins it.
  • The image that will remain with me from this year’s tournament is the despondency of Asamoah Gyan as he was left to live with missing a penalty kick in the final minute of the game with Uruguay that would have sent them on to the next round.  He had the whole continent of Africa on his right foot, and unfortunately for him the weight was too great.  It was a train wreck of emotion.
  • My favorite team of the tournament was Uruguay.  It seemed like every game they played something dramatic happened.  I loved their passion, their obvious team play, and particularly enjoyed watching Diego Forlan play.  That guy came up big every time they needed him.
  • I think the country of South Africa had a lot to be proud of.  If you think of where this nation was even 10-15 years ago, this is an amazing success story.  It made me want to go and visit, and see for myself.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the tournament.  It further strengthened my resolve to see more of the world and get to know the cultures I observed as a part of the tournament.  I don’t think that the US will adopt the game like these other countries.  We have so many other choices, and in those sports we are generally watching the best in the world.  In MLS soccer, we watch all of the guys that can’t play in Europe.  We are like a bad farm club system.
I have set my sights on going to Brazil in 2014 and seeing the spectacle for myself.  Until then, congratulations to Spain.