The World Cup is finally over, and, to tell you the absolute truth, I'm perfectly happy to see it go. I ranted about the quality of the tournament in my old blog already during the first round, and I 'm afraid the tournament did (too) little to significantly alter those views.
To me, this was clearly the poorest big football tournament I've had the fortune of watching. And let me just reiterate that, especially after watching this tournament, I find it somewhat baffling that football enjoys the popularity it does. I know what I'm about to say is traditionally linked with big fat American sports fans who wouldn't know "soccer" from Chinese water torture, but the truth remains: football is often horribly predictable and can be sensationally dull.
Take this tournament: no surprises, little individual magic, not much drama (unless you want to count the play-off penalty shootouts whose winner everyone except the participanting countries' own fans knew before they were taken), defense-first play tactics, and very few goals. Whoo-pee.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter was, of course , hearing none of that, instead choosing, with blatant disregard for the facts, to praise this World Cup as the best ever. Of course, he would say that, shit-grinning all the way to the bank.
To me, football has gotten too big and bloated for its own good. The players are making ever more money and the sponsorship and TV deals the governing bodies are making easily eclipse the GNPs of small continents. At the same time, the quality of play is deteriorating. If you want proof, you only need to take look at this World Cup and the Champions League of the past couple of years. Both gave us defense-oriented, low-scoring game after bloody game limping to its final whistle.
The trouble is - and it really mostly is this simple - it's become too hard to score goals in modern football; the defenses are too well honed, the players too good, and too many coaches play not to lose instead of wanting to win. Something's gotta give. You can say what you want about the Americans, but they certainly have understood something great about sports - it's entertainment, and if it fails to deliver, well, to hell with it. Sports isn't something dead serious upon which the fates of nations and the individuals within them hangs. It's bloody grown men and women running around, chasing after objects of differing sizes. So, when people in America have grown indifferent to a major sports league, they've introduced some changes to spruce things up, and with great results. The NBA and NHL have both seen the spectators returning in droves after introducing rule changes that make their respective games more audience-friendly. In this, if nothing else, Europeans should pay heed.
And what of The Headbutt Heard Around the World? Initially I was as baffled and horrified (even a bit depressed) as everyone else, but after getting over the fact that Italy undeservedly won it all, I find myself somewhat amused, even a bit sympathetic. After all, what would you do if a guy who looked like this called your mom and sister sluts? Of course, the incident has given rise to all manner of holier-than-thou huffing and puffing (sports writers are, after all, the worst offenders when it comes to knee-jerk moralism). I, however, probably liked this rather ironic take best - as it's said in the piece, "at least he went out like a G."
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