World Cup Fever

Count me as one person who has not yet caught World Cup fever. I tried…I really did to get excited about Saturday’s game between the United States and England. I was not home for the first ten minutes but actually listened to the game on radio in my car…now that shows I’m making the effort. When I got home I put the game on and watched it in it’s entirety, except for the brief spells in which I would fall asleep because let’s admit it…the game is boring. Sure the crowd is great…they are dressed-up in the colors of their country, chant and sing and often provide more excitement then what’s on the field.

Even back here in the states the World Cup is a really big deal to a lot of people. Bars and restaurants are promoting the event and my son told me it was like New Year’s Eve in New York City on Saturday with streets closed and people running around after the U.S. scored a goal on their way to a 1-1 tie with the favored English. Again I want to be fair because the World Cup is a major event worldwide…its soccer’s version of the Olympics as it’s held every four years. I love the fact that people are really passionate and because we here are from many different countries there are many of us who care about the fortunes of Mexico, Italy and the 32 countries who make up this spectacular.

But again with all of this said much of the game is simply boring. I know many refer to soccer as a beautiful game but anything that ends in a 0-0 tie is not pretty to me. I greatly appreciate the talent but the problem with the sport for most of us Americans is there is simply not enough scoring and too often not even real scoring chances. Jump out to a 1-0 lead in soccer it’s like being up 14-0 in football….get a 2-0 lead and you can pretty much turn your TV off. But with this all said I will closely follow what takes place in South Africa over the next three-plus weeks and maybe before its over I will come down with World Cup fever….for now I’m reading 98.6

On a somewhat related note…the Beachwood Soccer Club holds its final regular registration for the fall season today from 4-6pm at the soccer complex on Berkeley Avenue. For more visit beachwoodsoccer.com.