Jen Iso
Staff Writer
It’s time for a sports update. Despite his motorcycle accident a few weeks ago, Pittsburg Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger reported that he will be back in time for the upcoming football season. The American League took home the win at the All-Star Game for baseball on last Tuesday. Dwayne Wade made an appearance at the ESPY Awards on last Wednesday night and Heat fans are ecstatic to hear the he will be staying with Miami until the 2010-11 season, if not longer. Barbaro, the beloved Kentucky Derby Champion racing horse, may soon be put down after suffering a right leg injury on Saturday. The Carolina Hurricanes are ready to defend the Stanley Cup come opening day of the National Hockey League on October 4th. Michelle Wie struggled at the John Deere stop on the PGA tour, when she scored six-over par; skeptics wonder if she can handle the pressure.
Oh, did I mention that Italy won the World Cup? Scrolling across the bottom of ESPN were the latest MLB scores and updates on the NFL draft. The sports bars were filled with talk of the NBA Finals or the results at Wimbledon. I opened my mailbox to find Lawrence Taylor adorning the cover of my July issue of Sports Illustrated. No offense to Taylor, but Italy just won the World Cup, something that occurs once every four years, and no one seemed to notice.
The only thing the United States took notice of was Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt in the 110th minute, maybe because it resembled the violence of American football. French player Zidane decided to drive his head, full force, into the chest of Italy’s Marco Materazzi. Materazzi admits using foul language towards Zidane, but denies saying anything about Zidane being a terrorist or referring to his mother.
Plenty of hustle and bustle surrounded the incident, as rumors spread that referee Horacio Elizondo did not actually see the headbutt occur. Fans and viewers were skeptical, claiming that Elizondo had seen the confrontation on video footage prior to distributing the red card.
“The incident was directly observed (ie, without the use of a monitor) by fourth official at the pitchside, Luis Medina Cantalejo, who informed the referee and his assistants through the communications system,” FIFA stated.
Let’s back it up a little. The predicted victors and defending champions, the members of the Brazilian team, were stunned by French player Thierry Henry’s winning second-half goal and were knocked out by the French; only two games away from the finals.
Hometown Germany played its way to the final four, resulting in a third place finish, defeating Portugal 3-1. German player, Miroslav Klose, received outstanding attacking player and the golden shoe award, finishing the tournament with five goals.
It all came down to France and Italy. July 9th marked the final game of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Aside from the occasional fans with the Italian flag hanging out their car window, soccer fans were few and far between.
Why didn’t anyone care? Where were all the soccer fans? I found them on Channel 54, screaming “GOOOOOL!” I also found them on the following Asian channel, where games were broadcast 24 hours a day. Other countries’ country colors and screaming fans were displayed in the short sports segments on the news. In a country where football and baseball fans are die-hard, it was disappointing to see the lack of support of the United States national soccer team.
I’ll take the blame as well. After my Argentines fell short in the final 16, I lost interest; even being a hardcore soccer fan that I am. It became “unpopular” to like soccer, even looked down upon.
On July 9th, I sat in my orange chair armed with peanuts and ice cream, preparing for the upcoming battle. I watched the two teams go back and forth, giving everything they had to win. Strike one… strike two… strike three. I sadly watched as my Giants fell short to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the eighth inning, I received a text message, receiving news that Italy had won the World Cup. Why was it that I chose to go to the Giants vs. Dodger game instead of watch the World Cup final?
I guess I’m falling into my own stereotype of careless Americans. I wasn’t sad I missed the game; I was upset I missed Zidane’s headbutt!
So farewell to the FIFA 2006 World Cup, here’s the latest soccer report: Zidane won the World Cup Golden Ball, despite his misconduct. Fans still hope that Zidane will be remembered for all his wonderful years dedicated to the sport. Portugal took home the Most Entertaining Team Award, and Brazil and Spain shared the fair play award. Lukas Podolski from Germany received the Best Young Player Award and Gianluigi Buffon from Italy earned Best Goalkeeper. Italy’s 5-3 victory over France in penalty kicks terminates the 18th World Cup.
This is it for this season’s World Cup. See you in South Africa in four years.
07-18-2006
