World Cup

So, it appears Zidane will pay the equivalent of $6,000 US and do community service for the amount of time it would have taken him to extend his now-hulabalooed career by 6 games. Before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, I recognized Zidane as the powerful, bald attacker for a French national soccer team that won the cup in 1998 at home. Later, I watched him move onto the roster for Real Madrid, a powerhouse whose payroll featured soccer goliaths Ronaldo (who is now the World Cup's career scoring leader), David Beckham (who makes the cover of British tabloids and style magazines more often than I shave my face) and, among others, another Brazilian star, Robert Carlos. Removed as I am from the European soccer scene, I, as a fan and onetime participant of the world's most popular game, viwed Zidane as a guy with tremendous skills, a cool name, and a background as a person and player that I knew little about. Same goes for the rest of America. Now we're asking questions. Now my mom is asking people if they saw the headbutt. Now I see kids out on the street bending over and reenacting the moment. It's too bad how the world's cultural event offered so much hope (Underdogs like the Ukraine! And Ecuador! Classics like Italy! And Germany and France!), then at the last moment was tainted. Maybe for people out there like me, the tournament displayed enough quality matches and exciting talent to overlook the World Cup MVP's moment of passion. We've all been there. Maybe not a headbutt, but who hasn't snapped upon being insulted? Don't lie, I saw you exhibit road rage yesterday when that little Blue Geo idiot cut you off on 494N.
Problem is, everyone in the world was watching that snap. The angry fire inside snapped your twigs and consumed you in front of the international community. That must feel like you flicked off a church full of angelic sunday morning devotees. And now America, a country that is hesitating to embrace soccer, is shying away even more from the juga bonita. And kids raised on the aggression of football and video games are headbutting each other. And the world's highest paid player, Ronaldinho, failed to impress as Brazil stumbled out of the quarterfinals. So, congrats to Italy, who played not at all like the tripping weaklings they seemed to be early in the tournament when they tied the US. And here's to the US stepping up and playing like they should be ranked #4 internationally by FIFA. Oh yeah, and maybe FIFA actually will strip Zidane of his World Cup MVP trophy and make a lesson out of the worst foul on the highest level of soccer I've ever witnessed in my life.