So last night was the Champions League Final between FC Barcelona and Manchester United. For those of you that don’t know what any of those things mean, let me break it down for you. Soccer is pretty big in the rest of the world, but they call it football. Considering how big football is in the U.S., there must be something in the name. Because nobody watches soccer, but everyone loves whatever it is that you call football.
Anyway, the Champions League is the “match” or “game” between the two best teams in Europe. Europe, for those of you who don’t know, is that place across the Atlantic where Eurotrash comes from. Ok, I might be getting too deep into the explanation process. Where was I? Oh yeah, the “match.” So FC (which stands for Football Club) Barcelona was playing against Manchester United. This game was billed as the two top teams with the two greatest players in the world, Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. If that really is the case, the two best teams and two best players, then there should at least be a couple dozen people watching in the U.S. But why would there be so few? Maybe because the game was a 1-0 win by Barcelona. And the goal came in the first 10 minutes. No need to watch after that. Now, I actually like soccer, or football… whatever. I watched a lot of the 2006 World Cup, and several games of the ‘08 Euro Cup. Both tournaments were really exciting, and got increased interest with Americans.
But just when you think that the sport is going to catch on, you are reminded why our country, with it’s short attention span and need for everything to be bigger, better, stronger, faster, will never totally embrace soccer/football. When only a fraction of your game contains relevant events or suspenseful moments, people are going to lose interest and change the channel. I should know, I was one of them. In the end, the only goal was scored by Messi, which I guess makes him the best player in the world or something. For a more comprehensive comparison between the two, check here and here. If you want to decide who the greatest of all time is, check here and here.
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Wow did you fuck this up. First of all, the game was 2-0. The second goal (the decisive goal) came in the second half by a brilliant header by Messi. The first goal was by Eto’o, a fantastic player from Cameroon. The entire game was relevant as Man U was psyched into trying to defeat Barcelona at their own game: a creative open-ended game. They never showed up. It was a great game filled with stars. A frustrated Ronaldo fouling, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney, etc. And I’m just a casual fan.
Bottom line: you can’t bash Reilly for being an ignorant bastard and then follow suit. At least check the score before you report on a game you obviously didn’t even watch. You lost me on this one.
I agree with Josh, but props for putting up that Messi highlight reel that featured “Rearviewmirror”. I’d wager it’s one of the most underrated Parl Jam songs (if not songs of the 90s in general).
I admit I stopped watching the game, and didn’t fact check before writing my piece to the extent that I didn’t know the score. But my argument remains. America is only going to pay so much attention to a game that ends 2-0. It’s why hockey is so low in the totem pole, and that’s even after they increased scoring. Also, I didn’t pick on Reilly for getting facts wrong, I was picking on him for saying some pretty ignorant shit on a socio-political level. We’re talking about the same guy who said that we should take away Bonds’ ‘03 MVP due to PEDs and give it to Luis Gonzalez, a guy who hit 57 that year when he only hit 30+ HR one time prior in a long career and has been accused by former teammates (*cough* *cough* *David Delucci* cough*) of being on ‘roids. Reilly is both an idiot AND an asshole, while I am alternately EITHER an idiot OR an asshole. Big difference.
You said the word “Eurotrash”. You made fun of the word “match”, which wasn’t funny and just makes you sound stupid. After all, you like tennis. Do those things not qualify being ignorant on socio-political level?
Furthermore, soccer is not a game for people who watch “part” or “flip-back” to it, and I’m fine with that. It is full of subtleties and nuances that are only understood when one watches a lot of it, plays it, or coaches it. This post qualifies you as an IDIOT an ASSHOLE and a SCHMUCK.
Josh, you really need to calm down. You took my sarcasm seriously, and my serious statements as mean jokes. Lighten up buddy.
It’s sure tough to read tone in text. I am calm (I’m not even drunk), just challenging you.
Soccer is a game I grew up playing and am still involved with. I will always defend it. Despite an ability to create a great post, yours was not insightful, researched, original, or comedic. I think you’re better than that and I will always challenge you for that reason.
I on the other hand am drunk, very very drunk. I also don’t like soccer because Kobe Bryant doesn’t play it.