I highly doubt it, but if you haven't heard, Spain won the World Cup. I'm happy, because I was pulling for Spain to beat Netherlands. Nothing against the Dutch; I just knew more players (Fabregas, Torres, and Casillas) to the only player on the Dutch side (but my heart will always belong to you, Van Persie ;)
Despite the happiness I felt, I also felt a bit of disappointment. I wasn't super excited about this World Cup. I was super excited to see it start, but with the daily shuffle of going to school and working, the World Cup fell to the wayside.
A Couple Factors contributed to this lukewarm feeling to the World Cup:
1) Big Disappointments:
Messi, Ronaldo, Kaka, and Rooney. All were big-name superstars expected to lift their teams to glory. Unfortunately, they all choked. I don't want to be a douche about it and say mean things, but when you're at the professional level, it shouldn't matter how much you're being paid to play for a club. Every soccer playing kids' dream is to play for the World Cup and I feel like they wasted their opportunities.
In addition, France and Italy: Returning finalist were booted first? What is the world coming to? Both teams failed to make it out of their brackets. I guess it's true what they say about soccer never being constant.
2) Spoilers
Everytime I wanted to do something innocent like check my e-mail, the score would be plastered on my homepage. That's how I learned the score of several important games. In fact, the games that I really wanted to watch were already posted.
It wasn't just me. My dad, a huge soccer fanatic, complained that many American radio stations who couldn't tell a corner kick from a penalty kick, would ruin the score at midday.
It's hard to enjoy a game when you know what the score is. I can't sit there in agony, knowing my favorite will meet their demise when I watch the recorded games with my dad.
3) America's Obsession with Landon Donovan
Landon Donovan and the US Team. That's another subject that still pisses me off. US got a few good wins, but their wins were based of last minute moments of brilliance and sheer luck; no good team should skate by on that alone.
Besides that, the American media, who has never taken a liking to soccer, decided to hoist America on their shoulders, join the World Cup bandwagon and overestimated US's potential. Needless, they got served by Ghana (Black Stars, ftw!). Which leads me to my next point.....
4) Ghana Getting Cheated by Suarez
This still really makes me mad. From a tactical point of view, it was a very smart and self-sacrificing move. From an ethical point of view, it was cowardly and dishonorable. I don't care if Ghana had a chance to make it up after, Suarez single-handedly (or double-handedly?) stole a victory from them. I couldn't believe it when I heard it and I can't believe that all the wanker got was a red card!
It's okay, Ghana had the support of all of Africa and we still love them for going farther than the other four countries in this World Cup. Plus, they got to meet with Nelson Mandela!
5) Cristiano Ronaldo has a Baby??
He waited til NOW to say he had a son! What the hell, man? I thought we had something special? Sob, sob, sob.
That's all for now! Thanks for listening :)
Until Next Time,
S.
0 comments:
Post a Comment