10 July 2006

We've come to expect more from the French... wait, maybe we shouldn't

Even if you're not a soccer fan, chances are pretty good that by this point you've heard about Zinedine Zidane's amazing display of sociopathic behavior towards the end of overtime in yesterday's World Cup Final between France and Italy.



Now, I was cheering for the Italians (and not because I particularly care for the Italian national soccer team... winkwink) so I have to admit that it was a little satisfying to see a French national hero walking off the pitch with his head bowed in shame. Sure, I kinda felt bad for the guy: It was his last game and he put himself in a position to go out like John Elway or Jerome Bettis... at the very pinnacle of his profession... but, because he lost control for a couple of seconds, he'll be looked at more like Ty Cobb reviled for poor sportsmanship.

Of course, being an American who thinks that one of the coolest things in sports is when a batter charges the mound in baseball, I have to say that the whole incident certainly added drama:

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you believe the reports of what the Italian guy said to him to provoke the head-butting, I'm not so sure the "poor sportsmanship" label shouldn't be aimed in that direction instead and/or also. I would like to think that most American athletes are above throwing around (or taking seriously) "your mama" insults, but apparently the Europeans are not.

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