Futbol

Oh yes, I am writing about a sport, for the first time and perhaps the last time. And until the US wins the World Cup some day, I believe I should refer to soccer by its rightful name, football (futbol/ futebol in the other two languages I know...). But it is hard to switch cold turkey like that. Now I have never been interested in sports, except for a short stint with amateur wrestling. Embarrassing? Perhaps. My grandma bought be a letter jacket in high school but I played no sports to speak of in order to earn a letter. As a "mat-stat" (or "mat-maid" as I've recently heard them called) I was able to earn a letter in two short years, and seeing as how I had to understand the game intimately in order to keep score, I became slightly interested in it. Obviously I did not follow wrestling beyond the days of the Midwest Classic back in central Ohio, but now I have found a new interest in the sport of futbol.

I suppose I have caught the "World Cup Fever" I keep hearing about.

Ever since I can remember, my dad would prefer to "watch paint dry rather than watch soccer." Maybe I subconsciously took this to heart. After all, my dad watches golf on TV every day. If he doesn't find THAT as boring as soccer, then I wanted to steer clear.

Now, as the World Cup has progressed and my boyfriend has patiently answered my every question about the game (so that's what off-sides means), I have become more and more passionate about the sport and World Cup 2010. I even surprisingly got my dad to watch the entire match between Ghana in this WC's round of 16. Granted, we were stuck at the Knoxville, TN Hilton, waiting to go to my cousin's wedding, and there really wasn't much else he could do, but it was quite a moment of family togetherness when he and I yelled profanely at the TV while my mom hid behind her Christian fiction novel.

So while my dad, along with many other American football fans find fault with the sport (namely the score doesn't go high enough), I have found many reasons to love the game. I don't see FIFA taking his suggestions to heart any time soon (they need a bigger goal and no goalie). It is nice to root for the US in some capacity first of all. Although I will always have some issues with the government, I am the most patriotic I have ever been. And it's nice to see the US as the underdog for once, and I loves me some underdogs. I also love how popular the game is in Latin America, obviously (and was also rooting for my homeboys, the Mexicans. Sorry you didn't make it past those darn Argentinians again, guys. They're tough.)

And finally, I have found a new love for soccer because I appreciate its ability to bring all walks of life together in a way that no other sport can. Although the World Cup has plenty of bells and whistles, the bare bones of the game can be shared between everyone. You don't need any equipment, just a ball and a way to mark goals. I now wish I would have grown up with a love of the game, but I guess that was never meant to be, considering I run a 12+ minute mile and there is very little love in this world for women's sports...However, I guess I don't need to be good at the sport- athletic and coordinated- in order to enjoy it.

For those of you I haven't shared this with, I end this with my nerd thoughts Re: The World Cup:

How many thesis/dissertation observations about the World Cup are being carried out right now? If I had one: Language on the World Cup Field, what language to players resort to (if verbal language is used at all) in order to cross-lingually/nationally communicate. My hypothesis is that for teams with similar but still different languages, such as Italy v. Spain, communication can come through using one's native language with slight communication error, when N. Korea plays Brazil, a 3rd mutual language such as English is resorted to when possible. But mostly body language is necessary.

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!