The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

The last game of the World Cup reminded me why I don't tune in to soccer as much as the average person. The estimated TV audience for the World Cup final match was projected to be 1 billion. 1 BILLION! That's pretty darn huge. Most people do care what happens in this sport, but I've lost enough interest so that I won't start following the professional leagues, but I'll probably tune in to see what happens in 2010. The hype always gets me early, but as it winds down, the disrespect to the rules and the lack of scoring (the semifinal games had a total 1 goal scored combined in 4 hours of play with OT. Sorry, penalty kicks don't count)will continue to hinder my appreciation for football.

France's biggest soccer hero, Zinedine Zidane, thought it was appropriate to say goodbye to the soccer world by deliberating attempting to injure another player. I have no idea what he was thinking, except to say that he probably wasn't thinking. Not only did he lose the respect of many fans of the game, but he may have cost France the title as he is considered one of the best penalty kickers out there.

The dives continued, on both sides. And how many time did the stretcher come out? You'd think these guys would be embarassed by all the theatrics. But they pride themselves on it.

Cheating is rewarded. Players aren't punished for their diving and embellishing from marginal physical contact. And the only time anyone is thrown out is when a player thinks he's looking at a bullfighter and takes a run at him.

Nice job Italy, I could care less. See you in 2010!