The Head Butt Seen 'Round The World
Its official: I am in mourning. Not just the end of the World Cup - which I will have to wait an alarming 4 years to see again - but also, the probable end of watching players Zidane and Figo play. These two were by far my favorite players to watch, much due to their ages - in football, being in your 30s constitutes old, and I enjoyed watching their honed skill and admired their maturity, well, minus the incident yesterday. I can't say that I agree with the entire fiasco that happened - Materazzi really went down like he'd been bombed, but it was Zizou's choice to do it, and regardless of what was uttered between the two (in french or italian?), it couldn't have been as bad as the red-card was (rumor has it that Materazzi called Zidane "a dirty terrorist," ironic be/c Fifa is all about the "stop racism" this year).
I have grown to really admire and enjoy watching soccer - as i said earlier to Rob (basking in his Italian victory), i haven't been like this over a sport since college basketball, circa 2001 - 2002 when I was nuts of Duke and Coach K. I am not ashamed that I had never heard of Zidane and Figo before this World Cup but tonight, to commemorate my adoration for these players, I think I may just frame a photo of each of them and put them on my wall. Zidane was such a great player to watch this World Cup - explaining the Golden Ball award - but he also was a big part of why I have really enjoyed this last month - with Eduardo, his family, and feeling a part of something so much bigger than me, and America. Perhaps I wanted France to win be/c it'd be another jab at the US (driving back from watching the game on Sunday, Eduardo and I were behind a mini van with two bumpers stickers - one read Boycott France and the second was a BUSH 2004 election sticker - ironic, oh, and the minivan was a Ford). I don't know. I am sad today and will probably continue to be until Zidane publicly speaks about the incident, which I read he will do after he has cooled off. Hopefully my sadness will wane as the week goes by.