SLAM! Sports - World Cup 2006

For anyone living under a rock, the 2006 World Cup is presently in full swing in the host country of Germany. Contrary to silly naysayers, football (soccer to you North Americans) is the greatest, most universal sport on the planet. No expensive special equipment is needed. No expanse of land is needed. No sanctioning by governments are required. No uniforms even need be worn. Here is a list of what is need to play the game:

1) An understanding of the official FIFA rules.
2) For a full, proper game, eleven players a side including the keeper/goalie.
3) A round object that can be kicked without hurting the object or the player's foot, head and body (minus the arms and hands). Naturally, a proper foot/soccer ball is preferred but it has been and can be played with a volleyball, a basketball, and veen a tennis ball or orange (see Pele).
4) Desire. And the ability to run up and down helps too. Skill will come with experience and practice.

Anyhow, while there is a fairly complex set of standards to work with, to join, to qualify and such, the end result is that ANY country can qualify a team to play in the World Cup; ANY COUNTRY! Name another sport (not even the Olympics can make this claim) that can do this.

So, along with lines being drawn along country lines (in most of our cases, it is the country of our birth originally or that of our parents or grandparents), we have many rivalries that crop up. So, our good friend Famine (and yes, DW) has his origins in England. I, Dtrini, naturally have Trinidad and Tobago to thank for my gene pool. The two teams are grouped together for the first time ever as this is the first berth that T&T has ever earned (long story some other time on why they missed the 1990 World Cup in Italy). They play each other on Thursday. Enlgand currently has three points based on their win over Paraguay on Saturday; Trinidad earned a point in their Nil-Nil draw with Sweden.

Famine's clan from BF Everett will be trudging down to the big bad city to watch the game at our house for a little friendly up close and personal cheering, eating and drinking session. It promises to be loud, controversial, biting but, as the World Cup itself is, in the end friendly. The heat is on England to not lose to a first timer yet again. Can anyone say "Cameroon"? For Trinidad, another draw (that's a tie, you noobs) means more respect and more importantly, another point. Should they then win against Paraguay, and Sweden beats England in the last group game, then Sweden and Trinidad would move forward to the round of sixteen. Sweet indeed.

So, you ask yourself, and me, what does that have to do with the article linked here. Well, Famine, in the attempt at explaining why that English git that is announcing the games that TSN/Sportsnet are tapped into insists on saying that the Trinidadian squad are "wating to meet their heroes on Thursday". You see, you can play for a country if you, or your parent, was born there or you married and took primary residence there. So, the first white player to play for the national squad hails from England because his mother was born and lived in Trinidad until she was eighteen. So, as a boy, he followed and held as heroes certain players he will now be playing against; good for him. That does not go for the whole squad, but wanker boy would have you believe that they will enter the pitch (that's field for you noobs) with awe in their eyes. Kick one of them the wrong way and see how much awe is exclaimed when they put a foot in your ass.

Should England beat them? Probably. Will they? Probably not. And the simple reason is that EVERY team that makes it to the World Cup deserves to be there. It takes only a single goal to go from goat to hero. Whose in awe of whom now? We will see. :)

GO SOCA WARRIORS, GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!

Peace.

SLAM! Sports - World Cup 2006