Saturday, June 12, 2010

A Beautiful Game



About to take off for South Africa




Flying over Africa




Ok....so I'm not in Africa right now or even on my way. But I thought that this would be the appropriate time to reminisce on some sports memories from my trip last year since the World Cup began yesterday in South Africa.

The Sport

I'm not sure that I will have too many posts following games with analysis since I don't feel like I have that level of knowledge when it comes to soccer. However, I can tell you that I am genuinely excited about the World Cup. The anticipation has been gaining momentum over the last few weeks leading up to the United States match with England later today.

I had a discussion with my wife recently as I was watching women's softball in which she basically said, "are you really watching this?!" I tried to explain that I really feel like I can watch and enjoy just about any sport as long as it is being played at a high level. Since I was watching the women's softball College World Series, I felt like it was justified. I couldn't watch softball on just any level, but for that caliber of play I find it enjoyable.

Now with football, baseball, and basketball, I feel like I can watch any game on any level. With hockey, I watched the United States play Canada in the Olympics and thoroughly enjoyed the game. However, I never got around to watching a game in the Stanley Cup Finals. Soccer is somewhere in between in my sports world. I like watching the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League on ESPN when they show an occasional match. However, I try to find something else on TV when a MLS game is on.


The Connection

I'm hesitant to affirm soccer as "the beautiful game" because I think that statement is too exclusive. I do believe that it can be a beautiful game. That's the thing about sports. Any sport can be a beautiful thing when it brings people together.

Sports are one of the few things that can transcend the barriers of language, culture, time, and geography. Sports are a true global language and soccer is the most global sport that there is. I have had the privilege of playing basketball on trips to Africa and Nicaragua, but soccer seems to be the international king. The fact that it can be played or practiced with any open space and any round "ball" makes it popular in even the poorest of countries. I've seen children collect trash and roll it into a ball that is bound by plastic bags. I've seen school boys kicking around a mass of tightly packed rags, paper, and plastic held together by string.

It really is a special feeling to be able to kick a ball around with a child and see them smile even when you can't understand a word that they say. That feeling is what drives a guy who has never played soccer on a competitive level to play for hours in a pair of worn out basketball shoes even though he knows he won't be scoring any goals.






Closing Thought

This morning I was watching Argentina and Nigeria play in Group B. When my wife asked me who I was cheering for, I responded that I wouldn't mind seeing Nigeria do well since they were such a heavy underdog. She understood and made a comment about how she figured that most of the African teams would be underdogs in their matches. She asked, "What about South Africa?" I told her that they played Mexico to a 0-0 draw yesterday." Her response, "Ughh. That's what I don't understand about this game." She got up and left the room.

That has always been one of my biggest issues with soccer. I have never doubted the athletic capability and physical fitness that it takes to play the game, but I have often times been frustrated with the lack of closure at the end of games that end in a draw. That's one of the reasons that I look forward to the World Cup. Once the teams advance to the Round of 16, every game will be decided by extra time or penalty kicks if necessary.

Maybe it shouldn't always be about scoring goals. Maybe it should be more about the feeling of competition and the communion of participating in an activity that can bring people from all across the world together. Maybe. But I know that this casual fan can't help the fact that he sure does like to see a winner declared at the end of a beautiful game.

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