these past few weeks have made me proud to be a soccer player for so long.
today i watched france beat portugal in the world cup semi finals. i may have been on the eliptical but my mind was clear and i thought about exactly why it is that soccer's popularity exceeds any other sport. lets just talk about how after the game was over figo and zidane take off their jerseys and exchange them. they fucking exchange jerseys. two rival captains. does this happen in american football? no. does this happen in the olympics? nope. christiano ronaldo's tears almost broke my heart, but who was there to hug him instead of me after their loss? thierry henry. why the fuck is it that every other sport has a "world champion" every year, and soccer takes four? because it really fucking matters. some people's entire sports careers can begin and be done in four years, but not these players, because they are real ATHLETES. while skaters and surfers and hockey players are caught up in being anti-corporation, they spend hundreds of dollars on gear and what do soccer players do? they pick up a ball and kick it (can someone find me a study on how much $ is spent on soccer merchandise compared to other sports?). relative to its international popularity its no wonder america doesn't love soccer - we can't seem to make much money off of it, probably because most of its biggest fans don't have any. what other international sport schedules a world championship semi-final game on the USA's independence day? none. why? because soccer doesn't care about the united states. soccer is bigger than the united states, and for that i love it.