Quote of the Moment

"Those who desire to treat politics and morals apart from one another will never understand either." - Rosseau


Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Football is Not Flat

For decades, North America has viewed football (read soccer) as a one-dimensional, European based and South American conquered sport. To the masses and the media that maintains an ignorance/constant lack of depth in coverage of the game, football is flat. Not in the sense of a sport that was once fizzy, capturing the imagination of the masses, only to allow time to stale its appeal, no. North America sees football as flat, as people once saw the world. It possesses no fullness, not possibly having a global appeal worthy of continued interest in the US or Canada. Football is a game on a field, featuring players who run around and kick a ball in the net, there’s nothing more to it, full stop.

In seventeen short days, years of anticipation will culminate in an explosion of footy-fever. It will be an event filled with the grandeur and pageantry of athleticism, with billions of viewers globally, and a month of dedicated media coverage, as though it were something that CBC and the likes would have you convinced they adored to cover. Covet is perhaps a better word, since so many will become fans once again. And I do mean fans. You see, in football, the true followers of a club/country, are called supporters. The rest, the occasionally-follow-the-game fans, well they’re just that.

As we near the World Cup, I think it best to proceed with caution. The media coverage, especially from North American broadcasters, will be hugely misrepresentative of the beautiful game with an understanding of the sport like that off a fish out of water. Even if the gracious hosts of Soccer Central happen upon the air, no doubt Dobson will fumble over terms, players and what has actually transpired in the match, while Craig Forrest will entertain lush fantasies of his playing days at West Ham with a young Frank Lampard. The only broadcasters I will give any support to are those of the Footy Show on the Score, and shame I don’t anticipate they got the call from CBC for post-match analysis; them or any other foreign-born broadcaster with even a remote understanding of the game.

But the media isn’t even the worst of it. True, they perpetuate a lack of understanding and appreciation, pretending to be heralds of something they so falsely love. It’s when I hear someone with splash-in-a-puddle shallow understanding of football take up its banner for one month, every four years – two if they should happen to follow the Euros – that my heart really cringes. They wear the badge of certainty when they boast of their team, maybe even possessing the uncanny ability to name one or two starlets along the way. Bravo. Maybe they even checked the FIFA website, or ESPN so that they could have conversation points covered in advance. But when such people assume a position of knowledge that allows them to spew nonsense about the game and what should/will/does/could/did happen, that’s when I really draw the line. They’ve once again decided that their culture or the excitement that others have merits interest for a few weeks in something they care little for, and because of it the true passion of the game takes a knock in Canada. We have 4th world football, with developing nations far exceeding our own grasp and hopes with ease.

So don’t carry on under the pretext that you’re a passionate fan of footy, when all you do is follow it once every few years. Between people like that and the media, which is comprised of people like that, it could be a long and agonizing few weeks for the avid football supporter. When moments like that come along, I wish the world were flat, and that such people would manage their way over the edge, ta.