Busted Dreams, Broken Heart: My Adventures with World Cup FeverWho would have thought it? In terms of all the people you know who might get seriously addicted to watching sports, I'm probably at the bottom of the list -- if I make the list at all. That changed this summer as the World Cup grabbed my attention match after match. Granted, I used to play soccer, but I've never been that into watching it -- watching it on tv anyway. Live is a whole other story.
At first I stayed away from it, as I was teaching five days a week and trying to do some of my own work at the same time. I couldn't afford to get sucked it, so I just didn't watch. Things started out slowly -- watching the Brazil Ghana game a few weeks ago before I had to teach. Then things started to snowball... The France Spain game was amazing -- probably my favorite of the entire tournament. It was aggressive, but very clean. No dirty plays, no real fouls, no diving. An exemplary game of soccer. By the time the Brazil Germany game rolled around, I was starting to learn the players' names. B. was Tivo-ing games if I had to teach, so that we could watch them later. Let's just be plain about it: I got obsessed. France became my favorite after the France Spain match due to their excellent play, and the speed and skills of players like Ribery and Henry. I wanted the final to be Germany France, and was pretty crushed when Italy beat Germany in the semis. I went to our local indie theater, who were playing the broadcasts on a huge screen (in HD no less), and after the game ended, I sat there with my hands covering my mouth for a good two minutes. After those crazy scores in the second half of overtime...I was shocked. Yes, great shots, to be sure. But I was a bit broken up. Way more upset than I'd ever expected. Yes, I was the one they focus on after the match on tv who seems both shocked and truly upset. When had I become this person?
I was even excited about the third place match (Germany Portugal). Goddamn, what a match! This reinforced my thoughts that the final should have been Germany France (in addition to the fact that Germany was hosting the tourney.) The captain of Germany's team (Michael Ballack) wasn't playing because he was injured...but it didn't matter. The combination of Klose, Podolski, and Schweinsteiger was INCREDIBLE. Schweinsteiger had 3 goals (one of which was sort of an own-goal on the part of Portugal, but off of Schweinsteiger)...and both Podolski (Gillette Best Young Player) and Klose (adidas Golden Shoe) got awards based upon their play in the tournament.
You can't even imagine what watching the final was like. I got to the theater crazy early to get seats, and I was glued to the action from minute one. Hell, I was glued to the goddamn pre-game show. When Henry got hit in the head within the first minute of the match, my heart almost stopped. I was wowed by his footwork throughout the game (mad fakes!) as well as the same on the part of Ribery. Check out this crazy scissorhands move that Henry did after a sweet fake:
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/photos/index.html?aid=406926&d=1I couldn't believe it when the game went to overtime. Slowly, the players that I have come to l0ve were subbed out...Henry, Ribery, and Vieira after an injury. Then the Zinedine Zidane fiasco happened, in which he headbutted an Italian player during the 110'. Awful. I'm sure that he was talking all kinds of smack. It even looked like the Materazzi was tugging on his injured shoulder. But his reaction, during the last game of his career (allegedly), as team captain, when his team really needed him was awful. I've gotten into arguments with people about this already. I thought I was ready to talk about the match, but clearly, I was wrong. If anyone else suggests that this was "awesome," they need to have their heads examined. And, as well, if anyone suggests that Italy deserved to win the game...France dominated the entire match, and even after Double-Zed was red carded, they still didn't give up a goal to Italy, even though they were down by a man. France had so many more shots, and much better possession especially in the second half, when the team really gelled. Italy wasn't even making shots!!! To have France lose in a penalty shoot out is heartbreaking. Yes, Italy have a much better goal keeper (Buffon), and France's Barthez made me nervous almost the entire match. Sure, I see how the game got to the point where Italy won. Am I still upset about it? Yep. Sure am. France outplayed Italy and still didn't win the game. I think I'll be upset about this for a good while.
