drew moser: World Cup Fever...

journal : : field notes

World Cup Fever...

08 June 2006

Anyone else excited about The World Cup? It starts tomorrow. It's a good thing tomorrow is my day off, because tomorrow's matches air during the middle of the day.

For a complete TV Guide to the world cup, check out this page. The print is small, but scroll down to the comprehensive TV Guide.

You can also check out the official site of the world cup here.

Soccer, as we call it here in the states, is NOT popular here in the rural midwest. Football is reserved for the gridiron under the Friday Night Lights. I have only recently become a fan of the game. I love the strategy, the passion, and the fanatical following these teams bring with them to every game. It's a competitive clash of cultures...where the poorest, smallest, most remote nations can stand toe to toe with the industrialized world.

I believe America has been slow to embrace the game because of economics. Soccer...er...football...gains its most loyal following among the poor of the world. I can't think of a third world country that I have travelled to where I haven't played soccer in the streets with kids. Give 'em a ball, and you've got your game.

Here in the U.S., however, our game of choice for our pockets of poverty is basketball. Our nation exalts kids earning their street cred at the caged outdoor courts in the hood, rising up out of a life on the streets to stardom in the NBA. Basketball, hip-hop, and the urban ghetto are all intricately intertwined.

Thus, soccer in America is left to the surburbanites, who organize the sport into ridiculously expensive 'clubs', where the unwritten rule is that a 'soccer mom' is required to drive the mini-van (with the club logo sticker in the back window, of course) all over the state to matches, practices, and clinics...leaving no time for imaginative pick up play.

I'll be watching the world cup...but will anyone else here in the midwest?

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comments:

Ran across this the other day and thought you'd get a chuckle out of it after reading your post......
(BTW, congrats on the adoption. I remember discussing that with you and Bekah the first time we met so it didn't surprise me too much ;)

Soccer Linked to Poverty, Disease

These Ethiopian children have dealt with the negative effect of soccer throughout their entire lives.
A 30-year study released today by the World Health Organization links soccer to poverty, famine and disease. The results of the study show that the game is very popular in countries with poor and unhealthy populaces, while it thrives in third-world countries.
“The results of this study are shocking, but the culprit was pretty much staring us in the face for all these years,” said Dr. Gro Brundtland, director-general of WHO. “Soccer is the clear cause of much of the world’s ills.”

The study showed that countries where soccer is the dominant sport almost exclusively have the greatest problems with poverty and disease.

“The only thing that has saved much of Europe is that there are other popular sports there that dilute the effect of soccer,” said Brundtland. “But in many African countries, the destructive effects of soccer have been able to spread without barriers.”

The WHO’s presentation of its study results was accompanied by a slide show, including pictures of starving children clutching to soccer balls on their death beds, and groups of malnourished children playing games with balls made out of rags and string.

“It is horribly sad what the game has done to these people,” said Brundtland. “These people have put soccer above everything else and it has destroyed their lives.”

Brundtland asked the United Nations to take immediate action in freeing third world countries from soccer’s grasp.

“I can’t comment on the World Health Organization’s findings right now,” UN secretary general Kofi Annan said in a brief statement released by the UN. “But if the results are true – and all signs suggest they are – we will take immediate action against soccer.”

The WHO will present the UN next week with an outline of actions to take in ending the scourge of poverty, famine and disease caused by soccer. The plan includes introducing other sports to some countries, complete eradicating soccer in others and stemming the growth of the game in prospering countries where it has yet to gain a hold, such as the United States and Canada.

posted by Brandon @ 7:03 PM : : permalink

The fever burneth on!

posted by Jamie Arpin-Ricci @ 5:23 AM : : permalink

Our son, Lukas, in Westfield, NY (is that still the midwest???) over at A Blog about Nothing has become a big soccer fan and is also posting about the World Cup. I guess it beats watching the Cubs these days:(

posted by Kris @ 8:14 AM : : permalink

it does seem to be catching - but why is it always a "fever?" why does no one ever catch "World Cup Plague" or even something relatively benign sounding (World Cup Hangnail?)

i'm definitely hoping to make it back to Rio w/out missing too much of the action - cause really, if you had your choice, would you be watching in rockford or archbold, or maybe back in brazil? right. =)

know i'm w/ you in spirit... i spent almost four hours in front of the TV today... i guess you have to enjoy it while it lasts, right? =)

posted by ben @ 10:48 PM : : permalink