Seems like a good time to post this shot. Four years ago, I began to watch soccer during the world cup, mostly because the Mexican who owns the bodega where I get my breakfast every morning always had moved a t.v. out behind the counter, and since we had always been friendly, he began to explain how the world cup worked, and I started to get into it.
And then this year, I went full-hog into following the games. For those of you who haven’t followed it, or don’t care about soccer, one thing I’ll say is that it is great to watch on t.v. for one reason – no commercials. And when you begin to see how damned good these guy are – I mean any player that’s made it to this level – it is amazing. The whole thing has become very exciting for me, especially since I sort of gave up on baseball for a number of reasons.
I also like the idea that the players in the World Cup are actually from the countries they play for. I realize that during the rest of the year they play for whoever pays the most; or whatever their reasons are – but it’s been hard for me to get into baseball as much as I did as a kid because it seems to be simply a game based on who can pay the most; and every season the players just switch from one team to another. I know this is sacrilegious – but I enjoyed baseball much more as a kid when players stayed with a team for a few years at least before they got traded.
Anyway – I don’t really have a team to root for. I rooted for the US, and then for Mexico, and now I don’t know who to root for.
Annie pulls this wonderful quote from a book she’s reading: Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano
Eduardo writes, “Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good soccer. I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’ And when good soccer happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
“The history of soccer is a sad voyage from beauty to duty.”
this might be my favorite soccer picture by far.
here is something you might enjoy. a quick blurb: Soccer in Sun and Shadow
thanks.
annie
.-= annie q. syed´s last blog ..“Reflection of Love” =-.
Considering that it may be my only soccer picture – that is very nice to hear. Whether it’s soccer, or basketball – I always like to shoot everyday players because I can get close to them; they enjoy the attention; and I can figure out angles that I normally could never do with professionals. Plus, the professionals are all shot with long lens which gives them a similar look. I just pulled the quote from the book you mention and put it into the post because it is wonderfully written.
Dave you should root for Dutch now
.-= richo´s last blog ..Is there a way out =-.
When the French soccer team finished without a single victory and last in their division in the first round of the World Cup, the coach was ignominiously summoned to a close-door parliamentary session to be grilled about the team’s terrible performance. French President Sarkozy summoned an emergency meeting on French soccer and announced a national symposium this coming October to rethink how soccer is run in his country. One French lawmaker said, “This isn’t just about football, it’s about France: It’s our honor that’s at stake.”
Maybe I don’t really appreciate the importance that Europeans place on soccer, the most popular sport in the world outside of the United States. But isn’t it going over the top to summon the coach to Parliament as if he was general who had lost a war. Roman Polanski, who had allegedly committed a much more heinous crime than going winless in the World Cup, was never summoned before Parliament and, in fact, is still being supported by Sarkozy’s administration. Not only is the French government’s involvement in soccer a misplacement of priorities, but it’s also a misuse of authority. It has led FIFA President Sepp Blatter to warn that the French team risks suspension from global tournaments if authorities intervene in the running of the national football federation. It would be equivalent to the U.S. Congress deciding to investigate the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints if they lost a game to a Canadian football team.
I turn to the politics page of the CNN website and who do I read about? Lebron James, or “King James”, as he has been annointed. The mayor of NYC, Mike Bloomberg, along with mayors, governors, and senators from other states with NBA teams, are shamelessly trying to court Lebron James now that he has become a free agent. The governor and senator from Ohio even bowed so low as to beg Lebron in a music video to stay with the Cavaliers. They are standing in line like Louis XIV’s courtiers hoping to get a chance to tie Lebron’s sneakers.
I don’t think politics and sports make a good marriage. Elected officials should be focusing on more pressing issues instead of trying to gain popularity by feeding into the populace’s fixation on sports and sport’s figures. Our president has to deal with a stagnating economy, a horrific environmental disaster, and an increasingly deadly war. Why is he wasting his time lobbying for Lebron James to sign with the Chicago Bulls?
Because sports is an intrinsic part of our national psyche, and as such requires an equal if not greater attention to it. This fervor is honed and implanted during our youth, and thus causes us to ‘suffer’ from the nostalgia associated with it, and drives us to propagate its proliferance to an even greater degree. Plus, it’s way more fun than passing another dubious bill anyway.
Lester, first of all it’s very ironic for an Irishman to hear about the French talking about honour being at stake – they only qualified for the finals of the World Cup when Henry – their striker – cheated by handling the ball to allow the scoring of the goal that effectively put Ireland out of the competition and sent France to South Africa. The whole of Ireland had a wry smile (really a wide grin) on it’s face when France were dumped out of the finals. And as for keeping politics and sport separate – forget it. A sporting boycott of South Africa had it’s part to play in the ending of apartheid – mostly it was cricket and rugby (another two sports the US doesn’t get). And as to what happened after aprartheid – have you seen the film Invictus?
Okay Frank. I realize that the achievements of great athletes like Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson transcend sport, but to me the current transaction between politicians and sports figures looks more like street corner propositioning than anything else.
I’m sorry about Ireland being deprived of its rightful place in the World Cup. Perhaps you’ll root for Netherlands to beat Spain. Four hundred years ago Spain occupied Holland and the Dutch successfully rebelled, beating the Spanish with a penalty kick in overtime.
Lester, I take your point. Politicians here are no different – they never miss the chance for a photo opportunity with a successful sports person. As for supporting the Netherlands – remember William of Orange (he was Dutch of course) and his exploits in Ireland – we are just coming up to 12 July when Orangemen will be marching to celebrate his victories here in 1689. I will be supporting Spain – they play the best football! And of course many Irish are decended from the remants of the Spainish Armada who came ashore in Ireland (those who survied the attention of the locals – many were killed on the spot) after their ships were wrecked as the tried to get home after the failed attack on England.