Yesterday I watched the team drawing and placements for the 2010 World Cup next summer in South Africa. While many throughout the world are already mapping out what they hope will be the easiest path for their team (and no doubt I will start considering the various permutations soon enough), I am struck by the ongoing "Le Hand of God" saga involving Thierry Henry. If you follow soccer even casually, you are no doubt aware that Henry handled the ball (not just once, but twice) before the goal that secured France's passage to the World Cup (and doomed Ireland's hopes). Apparently even this year's World Cup draw host nation babe Charlize Theron entered the fray. During the rehearsal for the drawing it is rumored that when she drew the ball for France she called out Ireland's name.
Always ready to defend honor (and perhaps also to criticize the French), the English soccer press has insisted that nothing short of the "honor of the game" is at stake. SMS alert: the honor of the game has already been lost. Anyone who knows me somewhat knows that I am a soccer fan. But I'm not a fanatic.
FIFA and UEFA are investigating one of the biggest soccer match fixing cases in history that might include matches in the Champions League -- the jewel of European club soccer. Only three years ago, mighty Italian clubs Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio were relegated to Serie B for match fixing. Players regularly dive looking for penalties or free kicks. Even one of FIFA's attempts at fair play has been twisted for perverse purposes. Players will regularly fall to the pitch and writhe around in apparent pain, seeking a stoppage in play or for the opposing team to kick the ball out of play. It's amazing how many of these players hop up right afterwards or if the ball returns nearby. And there continue to be truly unfortunate and reprehensible incidents of racism or violence associated with soccer. The beautiful game has a distinctly ugly side.
Apparently, Henry is quite distraught about this whole incident. This is the individual who helped launch FIFA's anti-racism campaign so he clearly has a civil streak within him. FIFA is investigating the matter. It's possible that they might even ban him for the opening match of the World Cup. France's last World Cup campaign ended with Zidane's inappropriate use of his head and their current World Cup campaign begins with Henry's inappropriate use of his hand. Let's hope that they and the other teams let their feet speak for them. With such a high profile case of cheating, it's possible FIFA might clamp down on unsporting behavior during the 2010 World Cup. Each World Cup offers another opportunity for FIFA to right the ship or at least keep it from hitting an iceberg.
There's a great deal of attention and focus on this first World Cup in Africa. Nelson Mandela was instrumental in bringing the World Cup to Africa and he offered words of inspiration and encouragement in the sublime manner that perhaps only he can manage. The movie "Invictus" will bring to the screen the story Mandela's simultaneously inspired and calculated move to unite South Africa behind their rugby team during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. At the least, sport is an interesting pastime and, at the worst, a terrible distraction from things that really matter. But it does have the power to unite, inspire and electrify an entire nation. If the 2010 World Cup brings attention to South Africa's remarkable journey, then perhaps we should celebrate that more than the soccer.
But at the end of the day, what drives soccer more than anything is money. Is it a surprise that players, managers, and football federations behave in an uncivil manner given the very large sums of money that are involved. Which team would sell more t-shirts and tickets: France or Ireland? This World Cup may bring attention to Africa but I doubt there will be much discussion about soccer clubs basically purchasing the "rights" to children from Africa in the pursuit of the next soccer legend. I have no doubt that FIFA will try to do something about fair play during this World Cup. But I suspect something else is worrying them even more at the moment.
World Cup ticket sales are much slower than expected.
Showing posts with label henry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label henry. Show all posts
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Friday, November 07, 2008
President 2.0
Over the last two years, there has been a tremendous amount written about the forces or trends that came together--or perhaps it's fair to say that President-elect Obama harnessed--on election night earlier this week. Here are a few ideas that I haven't seen discussed extensively:
Howard Dean's role in Obama's victory. Dean's 50 state strategy paid very handsome dividends in this election, both for Obama and the Democrats in general. But it was the combination of this strategy with the means to extend one's reach that proved most powerful. Dean's strategy of tapping into internet-based fundraising in 2004 was visionary. Obama clearly took this to the next level. In addition to fundraising, so-called Web 2.0 technologies have proven to be a powerful, alternative news medium and communication channel. Obama's advertisements on XBox Live as compared to McCain's statement about trying "a Google" speaks volumes about their respective understanding of building community in this age--and controlling one's image. Remember George Allen in 2006? The mainstream media in 2004 contributed to destroying Howard Dean's image with the incessant playing and replaying of the video of his infamous scream.
Is it a coincidence that Obama seemingly went out of his way to keep his cool throughout the campaign?
I have no doubt that the same mainstream media that continuously questioned whether Obama was "too cool" would have chewed him up if he had one of those "Dean scream" moments during the campaign. Obama's impressive management of both mainstream and new media was critical toward his victory.
John Edwards' role in Obama's victory. His "two Americas" theme eventually gained enough traction to become one of the major themes in this campaign, ultimately manifesting itself as the "Wall Street" vs. "Main Street" comparison. Obama's choice of $250k as the dividing line was somewhat risky, but it turned out to be a figure that worked for most people (please, don't mention Joe the Plumber). During the Democratic primaries, when Edwards challenged his fellow candidates to forgo financial support from lobbyists--and Hillary Clinton refused--it gave Obama an important point of leverage. It's too bad Edwards' personal choices were not as thoughtful. It's also too bad that the candidates didn't seem to embrace Kussinich's challenge to forgo financial support from hedge funds.
Henry Paulson's (albeit inadvertent) role in Obama's victory. Paulson's decision to let Lehmann Brothers fail and then react with the $700 billion bailout "proposal" (one Congressman apparently pointed out that at 3 pages, Paulson was asking for about $1 billion a word through his original document) started the cascading series of events that showed everyone the emperor is not wearing any clothes. Would we have noticed if Lehmann Brothers had been bailed out? Might the charade have continued long enough to last through election day?
No doubt that mistakes or ill-advised strategies of the McCain/Palin camp contributed to Obama's victory. I don't want to dwell on those mistakes. Perhaps I'm embracing President-elect Obama's urging to move past our differences. But I can't resist returning to one point in particular. The idea of "real America" (in this respect, perhaps George Allen could be thought of as a "visionary"). Consider the following results (as of Friday, November 7):
Obama: 364 electoral college votes and 65,319,143 popular votes
McCain: 163 electoral college votes and 57,349,323 popular votes
There's your real America. Your United States of America.
In the end, of course, no one deserves more credit for his victory than Obama himself. He built on strong foundations established by his predecessors and colleagues, engaged and energized the community through new means, appreciated the complexities of our economic crisis, persisted with the message of a unified country, and spoke eloquently with accessible, inspiring words. No one can know whether he possesses the considerable talents, skills, and leadership we will need to navigate the rough seas ahead. But anyone who ran this type of campaign certainly inspires hope.
Howard Dean's role in Obama's victory. Dean's 50 state strategy paid very handsome dividends in this election, both for Obama and the Democrats in general. But it was the combination of this strategy with the means to extend one's reach that proved most powerful. Dean's strategy of tapping into internet-based fundraising in 2004 was visionary. Obama clearly took this to the next level. In addition to fundraising, so-called Web 2.0 technologies have proven to be a powerful, alternative news medium and communication channel. Obama's advertisements on XBox Live as compared to McCain's statement about trying "a Google" speaks volumes about their respective understanding of building community in this age--and controlling one's image. Remember George Allen in 2006? The mainstream media in 2004 contributed to destroying Howard Dean's image with the incessant playing and replaying of the video of his infamous scream.
Is it a coincidence that Obama seemingly went out of his way to keep his cool throughout the campaign?
I have no doubt that the same mainstream media that continuously questioned whether Obama was "too cool" would have chewed him up if he had one of those "Dean scream" moments during the campaign. Obama's impressive management of both mainstream and new media was critical toward his victory.
John Edwards' role in Obama's victory. His "two Americas" theme eventually gained enough traction to become one of the major themes in this campaign, ultimately manifesting itself as the "Wall Street" vs. "Main Street" comparison. Obama's choice of $250k as the dividing line was somewhat risky, but it turned out to be a figure that worked for most people (please, don't mention Joe the Plumber). During the Democratic primaries, when Edwards challenged his fellow candidates to forgo financial support from lobbyists--and Hillary Clinton refused--it gave Obama an important point of leverage. It's too bad Edwards' personal choices were not as thoughtful. It's also too bad that the candidates didn't seem to embrace Kussinich's challenge to forgo financial support from hedge funds.
Henry Paulson's (albeit inadvertent) role in Obama's victory. Paulson's decision to let Lehmann Brothers fail and then react with the $700 billion bailout "proposal" (one Congressman apparently pointed out that at 3 pages, Paulson was asking for about $1 billion a word through his original document) started the cascading series of events that showed everyone the emperor is not wearing any clothes. Would we have noticed if Lehmann Brothers had been bailed out? Might the charade have continued long enough to last through election day?
No doubt that mistakes or ill-advised strategies of the McCain/Palin camp contributed to Obama's victory. I don't want to dwell on those mistakes. Perhaps I'm embracing President-elect Obama's urging to move past our differences. But I can't resist returning to one point in particular. The idea of "real America" (in this respect, perhaps George Allen could be thought of as a "visionary"). Consider the following results (as of Friday, November 7):
Obama: 364 electoral college votes and 65,319,143 popular votes
McCain: 163 electoral college votes and 57,349,323 popular votes
There's your real America. Your United States of America.
In the end, of course, no one deserves more credit for his victory than Obama himself. He built on strong foundations established by his predecessors and colleagues, engaged and energized the community through new means, appreciated the complexities of our economic crisis, persisted with the message of a unified country, and spoke eloquently with accessible, inspiring words. No one can know whether he possesses the considerable talents, skills, and leadership we will need to navigate the rough seas ahead. But anyone who ran this type of campaign certainly inspires hope.
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