GOL!

Although I am not a huge sports fan (mostly I like to watch American football), I must admit that I too have been swept away in World Cup mania. At this point, I have seen almost every game, I know that Ranoldo is “fat”, what off-sides means, and I watch on Univision because the Spanish announcers have more passion (GOL! GOL! GOL! GOL!) Aside from the fact that soccer is an awesome sport to watch, there is just something chilling about the whole World Cup thing. Each nation is represented by its team of citizens. Each team embodies our notions about the history, culture and political climate of that country. There is so much baggage and political turmoil surrounding some of the teams.…. Iran and its nuclear weapons and tensions with Israel. Mexico with its illegal immigrants. The Ivory Coast with its civil war between the Muslims and Christians. America and its war on terror. And yet despite all of the political and ideological differences, the human emotions exhibited by the players are all the same. It’s like the game surpasses everything else and we completely identify with those who are so seemingly different from us... It’s a beautiful reminder that the human condition should transcend what divides us because deep down, we are really all the same…..

(We are the world…we are the children…we are the ones who make a better place, so lets start livin….)

Ok, Ok…. Here’s the real reason I love soccer -