World Cup Fever
Well, the U.S. embarrassed itself yesterday, losing to the Czech Republic 3-0 in a game in which we had something like six shots on goal, only one of which was really close. Ouch. We stank, pure and simple.
Nonetheless, I'm having a fantastic time watching as much of the Cup as I can.
Soccer, which I played as a youth, is
o jogo bonito, the beautiful game (though that's actually the expression applied to Brazil's style of play). It is not as obvious as, say, American football or basketball. There are no sacks, no dunks, no spikes. The things to love about soccer are more nuanced: a beautiful pass into a space that's about to be filled; the footwork of a wing who seems trapped in the corner of the field and somehow escapes; the fluidity and speed with which a play can emerge and move from one end of the field to another, like a school of fish suddenly changing direction.
No one does it better than Brazil, and as soon as the U.S. gets eliminated, that's who I'm rooting for.
No, not just because Brazil is the favorite, not just because of Ronaldinho...
...although, let's just talk about Ronaldinho for a second, shall we? If you don't really appreciate the glory of soccer, take a look at this video clip. It shows Ronaldinho trying on a new pair of cleats, then fluidly, oh so fluidly, starting to dribble a soccer ball with his feet and knees. Then he does something that is hard to believe: From about 25 yards away from the goal, he casually bangs a shot off the crossbar. It bounces back to him and he chests the ball, never letting it hit the ground. Then he does it again. And again. And again.
Four times off the crossbar, four times he catches the ball—and not once does it touch the ground.
Astonishing. There's not an athlete in this country who could do anything like that. (It's so astonishing,
some people think it's a fake. It's possible. But the dribbling alone is worth a look...watch closely, for example, the first time Ronaldinho picks the ball up with his feet. Beautiful.)
But the reason I'll root for Brazil is because watching their team is such a joy, and because the game is so important to them. I've had occasion to spend time in Brazil. It's a wonderful, beautiful, sad, friendly, scary, optimistic, broken country. It's a love song of a country, a poem, a dance, and all that passion and humanity shows in the way that Brazilians play soccer. Watching them, you can't help but be caught up in
o jogo bonito; you can't help but better understand why soccer moves the world.
Brazil plays Croatia today. Check it out, around 2:45 on ESPN2.
