Sunday, June 25, 2006
God Save the Queen!
Just finished watching England's 1-0 triumph over Ecuador in the World Cup. This sets up a probable quarterfinal matchup between the men of St. George, including Wayne Rooney, left, and the Netherlands, provided the Dutch can get the job done later today. Note: the English haven't made it to a World Cup final since 1966, so let's not upset Cubs fans everywhere with talk of how long-suffering English soccer hooligans are.
The match was an example of everything I love about the World Cup and soccer in general. Two pretty good teams (at this point in the Cup matches, they're all pretty good by virtue of surviving the round-robin portion of the draw), a lively crowd (soccer fans are the only ones I have seen who sing LOUDLY during a match -- nothing better, by the way, than a rousing chorus of "God Save the Queen" by 50,000 or so fans. I figure you have to be pretty damn loud to be heard on a TV broadcast) and spirited play all around.
A few words about England's David Beckham: No, he's not the soccer stud he once was, but he can still deliver on occasion. Witness his stellar free kick in the second half. The thing went up and over a group of defenders, then down quickly, curving away from the goalkeeper as it found the back of the net. Still, the weak-ass American announcers made a big deal until then of saying how Beckham didn't belong on the field and that he slowed the game down too much. But still, there he was bringing home the breakfast meat for his side. Even after that point, the commentators kept up their assault. Beckham is still too old and slow, despite remaining a threat during set plays. Pity the man who's considered washed up in his thirties!
It'd be interesting if, as I've heard a few times recently, Beckham retired from his club team in Madrid and came to play in the states. As said before, he's not the player he once was and, if anything, he's now a more consistently known pop culture figure than a world-class football star. My guess is the American celeb watchers (I just can't call them the PRESS) would have a field day with Becks and his wife, the former Posh Spice, but can anything top the tabloidal bashing these two have received in their home country? See the following story, titled "Beckham orders pink mobile phone." Link: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32448. Regardless of its full meaing, check out the last sentence: "Becks has history with mobile phones, of course. His steamy text messages to Rebecca Loos eventually turned her into a pig-pleasuring media star." Even Inside Edition wouldn't do this type of thing.
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