Zidane and the Head Butt Debated Around the World

The Headbutt as Seen Around the World:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/13/zidane_headbutt_outrage/

I think it’s pretty unfair to extrapolate, from one doofus news anchor, another negative lesson about all of us horribly ugly Americans. [I thought the world was fairly secure in the knowledge that Americans didn’t know anything about soccer anyway? So why bring us into it?]

Anyway, maybe in the U.S. we’re just better at separating sports from, like, real life. And in sports, unfortunately, there is very little gray area.

One could argue that the search for deeper meaning in the Zidane headbutt—the virtuous “gray area”—leads us into even more silliness and trouble because it ignores the fact that this was A SPORTING CONTEST among highly paid professionals, not a diplomatic gathering or a cultural exchange.

One might reasonably point out that Zidane is a 32-year-old professional who’s been playing rough and tumble soccer in various countries for a long, long time and was well aware of his actions and consequences.

Further, I can’t imagine Materazzi said anything to him he hadn’t heard from opposing defenders on the pitch at some time since he was a boy. He also knew it was late in extra time and his team needed him very badly for the forthcoming shootout. He also knew he would likely receive a red card for a headbutt.

From a sports’ fan point of view, therefore, it is pretty black and white.

Zidane, in the waning moments of the biggest game, fucked up and made the ultimate error.

As a fan of the Italian side, for whatever reason he decided to lose his cool, I was the opposite of sad for Zidane’s headbutt.

I respect Jason Wilson’s point of view, although I do find it - sorry - a bit black and white.

I apologize if my comments came off as painting the country’s reaction as a whole in an ugly American light, as that was not my intent.

On a separate note, I do find many Americans are so defensive on this topic - our perceived ugliness - that, at times, it is a challenge for me to question friends/family/acquaintances on certain issues without it playing not only as an anti-patriotic attack, but as a personal one.

My intent was to explain how I felt after hearing this sole anchorman’s turbospeed verdict on the Zidane headbutt. As a fan of France and Zidane, I do not deny my bias.

I agree with Jason Wilson that Materazzi likely didn’t say “anything to (Zidane) he hadn’t heard from opposing defenders on the pitch at some time since he was a boy.”  In fact, this solidifies my feeling that Zidane’s reaction was somehow more nuanced than a hotheaded, poorly timed screw-up.

It is pure speculation, but to me it looked like Zidane reflected, then reacted - I imagine he knew exactly what he was about to do and that the red card was coming, and this is where the whole gray area (of why he did it), for me, comes into play.

As for separating sports from real life, I think there are certain nations where soccer, in particular, IS life. Now there’s a topic with a lot of gray…

I hear what you’re saying, Terry. I know, the “soccer is life” trope is important, and certainly fans in different countries are moved to extreme acts of devotion. But in the end, it’s simply a trope.

In Philadelphia, where I live, we act like we can’t possibly separate Eagles football from life either, and Eagles fans do crazy stuff like get tattoos on their face and beat up people just for wearing a Giants or Cowboys jersey. (Of course, I’ve never known even the most rabid fan in the U.S. to resort to the sort of racial taunting that regularly happens during European soccer matches.)

Anyway deep down, MOST of us all over the world realize these guys are just athletes in the end. And we’re just projecting our own biases and perceptions and wish fulfillment onto these guys.

And soccer is not that different—pro stars like Zidane move from club to club following the money. The World Cup, looked at from their point of view, is perhaps the biggest free agent audition—held in advance of the lucrative transfer season—in all of sports. Zindane is a soccer player—he may the greatest and most popular soccer star of his era, but he is not a philosopher or a political activist.

We’ll never know what was said. And if Zidane really wanted to score a point about taunting, or nationalism, or racism, he would have come clean about exactly what was said. He would have been defiant rather than regretful.

I think much of the speculation about Zidane’s “nuanced” or “gray” response has taken on crazy dimensions. The speculation allows all of us to see evidence of the stereotypes we tell each other about people and nations.

Yes, saying Americans generally see things in black and white and the French see things as much more gray, are both very popular stereotypes. But are they really true? And even IF you were able to prove that 57 percent of Americans saw issues as black and white, and only 53 percent of the French did…well, then what?

Otherwise, much of the speculation comes from people who love Zidane so much that they need to make excuses for him.

I do believe the Italian sportswriters at La Gazzetta Dello Sport saw things pretty black and white on the day after the final. You would have been able to read the Italian word for “lout” and talk of Zidane’s “brutal attack” in that paper. What does that say about the Italians? Or about the Italian media?

I’m sorry, a headbutt is loutish behavior. So is ugly taunting from a defender. But they’re a part of sports. People do crazy things in the heat of the moment they regret. With no nuance at all.

I should point out that Zidane is a 32-year-old professional who’s been playing rough and tumble soccer in various countries for a long, long time and was well aware of his actions and consequences.