I’m afraid I agree totally, and not just because I’m married to our Chief Football Commentator :-). One of the many things I got out of my 10 weeks in Uruguary back in high school (summer of 80) was, if not a personal love of the game, a powerful sense of how much they loved the game. It’s easy to make fun of the classic “Goooooooooaaaaaaaaal!!!!!!!!!” cry, but there’s a lot more life and truth in that response then I think most Americans really understand.

I got to watch the second half of Brazil’s clean up job on Japan, and it was a wonderful example of The Beautiful Game. In their best moments it really was art and ballet and athletics. I’m not much of a sports fan, and I’m certainly no athlete, but watching the Brazilians dance is a real joy.

One has to wonder, then, at the remarkably lifeless commentary in most of the U.S. coverage. It’s a bit like a bunch of people listening to James Brown and failing to be moved. I just don’t get it.

One of our recently graduated students was the goalie for UMM‘s quite successful soccer team and regularly sported a nice shirt with the slogan “Birth Soccer Death”, which summed it up nicely.