Post-World Cup Impression of Football

So the hoopla is over, but there remains the on-going row over France's Zidane. I just wanted to chime in with my blatantly American sentiments, which are quite possibly hopelessly buggered (I'm trying to throw in all the UK slang I've picked up from the BBC). Basically, the World Cup turned me off to the sport. I kept hearing about how athletes routinely fake injury or fouls, relying on the fact that often referees aren't able to see exactly how bad of a foul took place. And then this whole incident with Zidane. The question I'm left asking is, why hasn't anyone scrutinized the player who was hurling insults? I understand that reacting with violence to verbal abuse is not appropriate or sportsmanlike, but employing a strategy to provoke the opposing team's star into getting red carded is complete and total bullshit. It's the height of un-sportsmanlike behavior.

Reflecting on the entire sport, it seems to me that it's more about zealous nationalism than about sport. The football culture seems to accept an "anything goes as long as you're not caught" attitude as appropriate, and it's fueled by a nationalistic fervor that seems completely unhealthy. For crying out loud, players have been killed for making mistakes that lead to their opponents scoring. It's completely out of control.

I may be wrong, but I suspect that the Italian player who was taunting Zidane was doing so in a very unprofessional and unsportsmanlike manner. You know in a situation like the World Cup, these players are already adrenaline and testosterone-filled. It doesn't excuse Zidane's behavior, but I'm sure that his tormentor was making completely inappropriate remarks in an attempt to obtain the outcome he did. I believe that in sport, the only correct and ethical way to shake your opponent's confidence is to outplay them. Hurling racial or ethnic slurs is, in my opinion, a worse offense than a head-butt.

Of course I'm biased, but one of reasons I love baseball so much is that part of the game is respect. That's in the game's DNA. Certain behavior is not just uncalled for, but against protocol and will cause your reputation among your peers to diminish. Look at Julian Tavarez. His one wrong move this spring still haunts him every time he hits a batter. There simply is no place for unsportsmanlike behavior. I know that all sports have their ugly moments, and I know that in baseball benches clear, and that my heroes have been party to less than respectable behavior (our feud with the Devil Rays and the Yankees come to mind). And I realize that this was a very important game, and tensions were running high. I remember the famous game where A-Rod ran out of the baseline when Arroyo was about to tag him. That was a totally gay moment.

I'll cop to my biases, but I've got to be honest. I don't like the anything-goes culture that seems endemic in professional football culture, and I don't understand why the Italian player was allowed to get off scott-free. I've yet to become a fan.

Tags:
Sports, Soccer, Football, World Cup, Zidane