Foot Balls
| 08:40 UK time, Thursday, 8 June 2006
I like soccer, as I may have mentioned before.
Indeed my work colleagues are having to face up to the evidence of that because I'm walking around with a black eye collected during a recent game.
With the World Cup coming, I'm as enthusiastic as anyone about the prospect of some classy football night after night on our TVs.
But how would we explain to a visiting space traveller the obsessive focus in today's British papers on one foot of one footballer?
In fact it's a small bone in one foot of one footballer called Wayne Rooney.
News bulletins were breathless last evening, waiting for the result of a scan on his broken bone, in case he couldn't play for the England team in the World Cup.
The outcome you can tell from my favourite of several toe curling headlines today.
The Daily Express croons: "Wayne Your Smiling, The Whole World Smiles With Roo."
And we're exploring the power and purpose of the footballing obsession in the other programme I'm lucky enough to be involved in, Reporting Religion.
I'm just off to the park to talk to an Anglican chaplain from a club in the English Football League - judging from the amount of swearing I heard the last time I was there he's got his work cut out - and a man who organises Unity Through Football matches in Israel and Iraq.
You can hear the outcome this weekend. (That's not me in the picture!)
What you hear will form the basis of my explanation to the space traveller.
Comments
Regarding this morning's commentary/discussion of the coverage of the World Cup: We here in the U.S. Northeast have been slogging through a cool, wet June with a variety of precipitation, including rain, drizzle, sprinkles, showers, mist, but no snow or hail, thank you very much. With the prospect of yet another rainy Saturday threatening any plans for yard and garden work, I was eager to see what the TV weatherman had to say about the forecast for the day -- even though his promise of a "no umbrella" day on Thursday had proved completely off the mark. But wonder of wonders when I turned on the TV for the usual 9:15 forecast I found that ALL the local over-the-air stations were carrying live coverage of the French Open. I was unaware that the event was under way as I pay little attention to pro sports. And I don't have access to the cable stations, including the Weather Channel. My local non-commercial radio stations generally ignore the weather on the weekend. Meanwhile, the World Cup? Well, when I finally cycled to the local convenience store to pick up the daily paper, I mentioned the lack of TV weather to the clerk who exclaimed, "Oh, the World Cup" meaning, of course, the French Open.
I guess it's a question of which world one is talking about. Or, which cup. In my world, it's a coffee cup. Cheers!
Why Americans don't like football--- One complaint is that players are allowed to take dives and then roll around on the field in the final throes of death, until they are forced to the sidelines, where crossing the chalk somehow revives them to heroically return to action.
In basketball, an offensive time clock prevents stalling, and a six second rule on a guarded man holding the ball ensures meaningful movement or loss of the ball. Watching a football team sit back and play defense is one good reason to change the channel.
Television directing of football (shot selection and pace)does not come close to the finesse and drama of American televison sports directing.
Small complaints from a fan of football.
I've been watching the WC best that I can, here in the US. Try as I might, I cannot seem to get any of my friends to be even remotely interested. Their lack of interest in soccer lie along the lines of "the field is too big", and "too low scores, it's boring". I cannot disagree more, but I also can't seem to convince them to even give it a try. Personally, I'm pulling for England (win win win!) and Italy. Those are "my" teams. The other problem with soccer here in the US - I find it HARD to find the coverage. I spent today on the FIFA website (okay I was at work but that's when the matches are - its not my fault!) hitting refresh every minute to try and keep up. Eventually I found my way to the EuroSport website where they do a running written commentary on the match! That was actually the best because I could basically follow what was happening, rather just the goals (as with the FIFA site). Coverage here in the US really isn't pervasive or even convienient, so that makes being a fan harder. Maybe if the US does well this year, it will come along and be more popular, but after the last US match...I can't see that happening. Oh well. Go England! Go Becks! Go England!
Regards and Best of Luck to All.
turtlex