Football, errr, Soccer is King!

Living in a country where soccer (football) is king, it is hard not to get wrapped up in the excitement of it all. I'm more of an American football kinda girl. I still don't understand all the rules even after many attempts to explain them to me. Last year during the Men's World Cup, I gave a strong effort into developing some sort of interest into the sport. It was all France talked about for a month and being that I was living with a French family who really liked soccer, it was all around me. Every night, the hot topic on the news was the French soccer team. But they didn't just talk about the World Cup at hand, everyone seemed to refer back to the 1998 World Cup. You see, France won that year and when it comes to national pride, winning the World Cup ranks as being one of the most prideful moments for a Frenchman in the last 50 years. When there are world-wide events, France must perform well (at least in men's sports). So last year, when France didn't do so well, it was a big let down. But it wasn't just that they didn't advance very far in the tournament that caused so much pain, it was the shame the team brought upon their country by acting like a bunch a babies and going on strike. That's right ladies and gentlemen, the French National Soccer team went on strike during the 2010 World Cup. So while all that was a little entertaining and wasn't all that surprising considering the French are the Kings and Queens of Striking their jobs, I still couldn't find much interest in the matches, even those of my own country.

The main issue I have with the sport (men's) is how much the players act. Every time you turn around, there is a player crying for his momma because another player ran into him. I just don't get how that helps them that much. From the few matches I've seen, the acting doesn't seem to pay off all that much.

So all that to say, once the Women's World Cup got to the final few matches and France and the Unites States were still in it, I wasn't all that interested. Of course I didn't mind glouting in front of my husband and his family when we beat France in the semi-finals, but I only caught a few minutes of the game. But, the little that I did watch, proved to be more interesting than any of the men's matches I've ever watched. I believe this all stems from the way women play the game. There is almost no acting, just strong athletes playing their hearts out and doing their job. So tonight I watched the game (while scrapbooking) and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It didn't have my full attention, but perhaps I'll grow to like the sport a little more and one day I will be content to watch a women's match without scrapbooking at the same time.

Congratulations to the Japanese National Team and a job well done to the US team!