Time For A Confession

Other than a few, regrettable, lapses, I've managed to see all, or some, or part of every World Cup Match so far. This might lead you to conclude that I'm some wild-eyed football fan, but that's not true, or, at least, I don't think so.

I don't follow soccer at all when it's not the World Cup and couldn't name more than a handful of players. I grew up before soccer had become fashionable in the US, but I have a vague recollection of sometime in Jr High, around age thirteen, hoping to be a goalkeeper when I guess we tried it once in PE. I wanted to be a goalie not because of my lightning-like reflexes or the desire to wear those silly Mickey Mouse gloves they all do now, but because that would mean I wouldn't have to do any of that hated running.

I have no idea if I ever played as a goalie, or at all, but I've been a fan of the Cup for the past twenty years. For romantic reasons, the teams I prefer are Italy, Croatia, The Netherlands, and Brazil, and I think a couple of them are advancing. The US isn't, which is good news, because I don't want us to dominate another sport, and certainly not one we don't care about like they do in the rest of the world.

What's so special about the World Cup is seeing the passion, the fit men in shorts that don't look like culottes, the acting. To keep myself from knowing far too much about what's going on, I've limited my lifetime's viewing of the Cup to the Spanish speaking stations. It's much more like being there that way, without any annoying play-by-play, and I can imagine myself soaking in the sun and surrounding seated next to some particularly talkative Mexicans.

Yes, they yell "Goooooaaaal," but they also say "Ai-Yi-Yi," which I find charming. This year I've found an Asian station that broadcasts the Korean games, so I watch those, too, and am grateful I don't have to see any of it with English speaking broadcasters.

Today was a sad day for the Croats. They got eliminated, and my "official" jersey isn't even here yet. It's not the real one, it's the one they wore in the prelims, before FIFA ruled it illegal. It will still make a good biking shirt, though.