Things are slow in the NFL these days. As I tweeted the other day, things are so slow in the NFL, two of the biggest stories in the NFL this week involved JP Losman and Daunte Culpepper. And I just confirmed it, it is no longer 2004.
Today, the biggest story in the NFL is that an overrated linebacker (that is famous mostly thanks to the Tyler Hansbrough effect) is irritated that an all time great from his team, pointed out that his team is in fact not very good.
The team has a quarterback more likely to find the other team than his own wide receivers, a defense ranked 21st in the NFL last season and a team that posted a 7-9 record. To me, it would be bigger news if the alums of this team actually thought the Bears were still good. Though it would be validation of the NFL alums concern over long term head trauma.
Anyway, I haven’t written much lately because frankly there isn’t much to write about. Besides, I need to save my Tebow jokes for the coming season. I can’t waste them all now.
With that said, I am shifting focus. It is time to start talking about the ‘other football’, the sport most of us here on this continent call ‘soccer’. With football offering us third rate news (even the current Favre “news” reeks of a sad desperation to stay in the limelight – sadder than his usual desperation to stay in the limelight I mean), let’s talk about soccer.
Next month is the World Cup – despite what the Super Bowl likes to market itself as – the biggest sporting event in the world. Countries from every corner of the world will stop what they are doing and tune into the action from South Africa and cheer on their teams. Sadly, those of us in the US will likely never understand or relate to this level of passion, but with a respectable national team and an opening round game against England that rivals Favre’s return to Lambeau for sub-plots, now is the time to jump on the soccer bandwagon.
Secretly, I have been on the soccer bandwagon for awhile. I adopted Arsenal after the 2006 World Cup and have watched from afar as the play out their EPL, FA Cup and Champions League schedule each year. Last summer, my foray to Barcelona (and seeing Barcelona play the Sounders in Seattle), brought them into my interest. In short, while not an expert or a hard core hooligan, I like me some soccer.
With 3 weeks to the World Cup, now is the time to start to get soccer smart. Saturday afternoon is the Champions League Final, matching up Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. For those, not in the know, the Champions League is a year-long tourney matching up the best teams from each European countries’ professional leagues. So the top teams from the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A battle it out first in a round robin, then a knock out stage.
Quite literally, Saturday’s final is the best of the best.
Beyond the importance of this game to the city of Munich (ahh, my Oktoberfest peeps) and Milan, it is also the perfect primer for the World Cup. Bayern’s roster includes Arjen Robben from Denmark, Franck Ribery from France and about half of Germany’s World Cup team. Inter Milan includes Samuel Eto’o from Cameroon, Alberto Diego Milito from Argentina, and half of the Italian World Cup squad.
In short, this game is the soccer equivalent of the NBA All Star game. If the outcome of the NBA All Star game was as important as the NBA Championship.
But this is just the predecessor to the big show next month. So, over the next month I am all in. Of course, I am sure there will be the occasional football post, but other than that, it is going to be all futbol all the time.
In a couple weeks, we will be going global with The Hierarchy of Hate. Turner, Shadow and I have laid the groundwork for a grand blow out of THH. Putting together an approach appropriate to the biggest sporting event in the world.
After that World Cup THH, I have a special surprise.
The World Cup comes once only every four years. It is time to dive in.
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In my youth I dabbled in following soccer after catching a Celtic-Rangers match in Glasgow. Got tired of defending it to my baseball and football loving friends….and this was before having cable systems or the internet so not a lot of ways to follow it anyway. I am looking forward to diving back in. Kind of nice to follow a sport where our national team is a true underdog. Ole,ole,ole,ole,eh!