World Cup Thoughts

As we spin towards the final match days of the group stage in Germany . . .

• I never thought I'd be disappointed with a draw against Italy in a World Cup held on European soil, must less one where we finished the game with 9 men. Still, there's a feeling that but for the red cards and with a late addition of Eddie Johnson to the game, we could have snagged a win and all three points. The Italians, diving all the way, certainly didn't look as good as they did against Ghana on opening day.

• Speaking of cards, I've come to the conclusion that the two red cards handed out to Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope on Saturday were not the travesties of justice they were made out to be by some of us. Pablo's challenge was reckless and could have broken a leg. Yes, similar challenges have not merited straight reds at the tournament, but the ref's decision to issue the red doesn't seem to be (to inject some legaleeze) clearly erroneous. As for Pope and his second yellow - a bad move from a guy who got beat bad for the Italian goal (keep your friggin' hands down and play to the whistle, OK!!). This theory that Marcelo Balboa is floating that the ref didn't do his job because he didn't warn a player with one yellow already that he might be ejected it just nuts. Eddie's a long-time professional and should have known better. And 'Celo - time wasting is not "smart" play - it's a blight on the game and should be punished harshly.
  

• At least the US v. Italy match didn't have a large throng of pantless fans in attendance. Apparently, a thousand or so Dutch fans showed up for their match with the Ivory Coast on Friday in traditional orange garb, but with a Dutch beer company's logo prominently displayed on the pants. In order to protect the "official beer of the World Cup" status of Busweiser, FIFA officials forced the fans to leave their pants at the door!

• Yesterday's New York Times had a column by Michael Agovino about how some countries are permanently scarred and defined by World Cup failures. As a soccer fan, there are lots of times I wish the game was more popular in the US, but I hope we never get so into it that a loss in a soccer match is ranked alongside wars, natural disasters, and the Bush administration as blights on our history.

Oh, somebody please find us some goals before we hit the pitch against Ghana this Thursday!