John Flinn on World Cup Diplomacy
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 06.05.06 | 12:57 PM ET
In Sunday’s paper, the San Francisco Chronicle editor recalls his own travels in Europe during World Cups past and offers hard-won wisdom for Americans heading abroad during the competition this summer. “Inevitably, you’ll be chided for America’s lack of passion for the game,” he writes. “It’s best to just shake your head sadly at this inexplicable moral failing. It’s wise not to point out, as I once made the mistake of doing, that if the United States was as bonkers for soccer as the rest of the world, there’s a pretty good chance we’d come to dominate the sport. The rest of the world, I said, should be grateful that most Americans find the game stultifyingly dull. This line of reasoning didn’t play as well among Europeans as I’d hoped.” We’re shocked.
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
Ian James 06.05.06 | 5:28 PM ET
Soccer as you call it is far more interesting than Baseball (similar to girls game called rounders) and american football which in not as violent as rugby yet you feel the urge to where battle armour. Urrm.
There are 2 maybe 3 decent leagues for these sports of yours. Why? Because they are boring. The rest of the world plays soccer. Nearly every country on the planet attempted to qualify for the world cup, it is the biggest sporting event in the world by a mile. Yes the odd game can be boring, but this is the exception not the rule.
The american attitude to sport will never match the passion that is held for this game globally. You dominate sports, which only you really play. If it became your number one game tomorrow you still wouldn’t mean that you would be the best.
Relatively small countries consistantly do well holand and the czechs; how? They don’t have big college structures, yet year in, year out turn out great players.