My preferred media have led me, in recent weeks, towards the international celebration of soccer (futbol) called the World Cup (Coup du Monde). It's now 3:25 pm CDT, and I'm watching my second game. Germany beat Costa Rica in the opener, and now the Pols are down 1-nil (as they say) to the Ecuadorians.
Ultimately, I'm not that interested, and yet I feel that I should be. I've spent these past two matches playing Brickbreaker on my cell phone and checking my email repeatedly. Obviously, Americans are missing something, but I couldn't really tell you what. As a US citizen, I'm naturally suspicious of any sporting event that proceeds without commercial interuption. I watched the Kentucky Derby a few weeks ago; the race is two minutes long and I swear, there was a Cialis ad after the second turn. These matches are long and unruly, and the nature of the game forces the main camera angle waay up high, making the gameplay look sort of like a dance party in an antfarm. I must have fast cuts to out of shape coaches hemorrhaging emotion, not sly Europeans in gray suits looking pensive. Where is the traveling overhead camera? The cheerleaders? Couldn't they stop every few minutes to play that "House is Rockin'" song by Stevie Ray, or "Jump" by Van Halen or anything by the Black Eyed Peas?
Every one of the 64 matches in this year's World Cup will get higher international ratings than the Superbowl, and as a local NPR commentator put it the other day:
"Soccer is growing in America. The US versus Germany match in 2002 was the most watched Soccer game ever in America, with 4 million viewers. To put that in perspective, that's about as many Malasians watched the France/Senegal match the same year."
Wow. There are four million Malasians?
3 comments:
You really honed in on the essence of the problem. When Bobbi was here, he bought a soccer game for playstation. As much as I try to get into it, about halfway through each game I wonder: what's the point of this?
And then I put in a meaningful game like Madden.
i enjoy watching the ball get kick around as if the players want it, and then get rid of it...it sort of reminds me of that feminist class in college I never took..
Ignoramus...
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