Cancun Day 2 And The US Got Beat By England...Big Shocker

So I woke up yesterday and went to this meeting where they tried to sell me and mom a place in a vacation club. Sadly, we did not have the $55,000 they wanted for the top level of the club or the $32,000 for the lower level.

We went out and walked around for a bit and came across an open air mall where we were approached by two gentlemen who also tried to sell us membership in vacation clubs with their hotels. At one point I just wanted to tell them, "thunder's loud, guys." I came across a footy shop that had a very nice selection of kits and boots and balls. I could have easily spent $1,000 in there.

After dinner last night, we went up to the bar on the roof where I had a very interesting conversation about footy with the bartender, Jose. We talked mostly about the Mexican teams and Portugal and Argentina. I had a bit to drink and began to amaze one of the gentlemen who showed up with his drunk friends. We were talking about the program and the stuff that we did for our first project at the Hurst. All in all, it was a good evening.

In other news, the US lost to England. What else is new? John Terry scored the opening goal at 36'. His header was stunning and it scooted just past Tim Howard. Steven Gerrard netted the second goal of the evening. He punched the back of the net with a ground ball past Howard to send the Lions past the US in what I am sure will not be the last time the US will loose over the next year or so leading up to the 2010 World Cup.

Well It Seems We Were Wrong....

My intelligence communications class final project this past term was to put together a list of events that would effect US national security over the next twenty-four to thirty-six months. We mentioned the Olympics and the election in Iran. We also mentioned the 2010 World Cup. Against the discretion of my professor to look for smaller events, I focused on the Cup. I can not help it, it's the fan in me. My estimation was that the Cup would fail for infrastructure reasons. The builders of the stadiums walking out over the past six months surely brought to my mind Heysle. The last thing that FIFA needs is for a stadium to collapse because it was put together at the last moment.

Well... it seems like my analysis was a bit off. Violence against foreigners has erupted in South Africa and for the time being it doesn't look like it's going to stop. To my knowledge FIFA has never moved the site of the Cup but this could happen if the violence continues for another few months without any decrease in it. But, Bela, the Cup isn't for another two years. True. However, do you really think that FIFA will allow a country to host the tournament where the nations of the world come together. If the situation does not get better within the month, look for FIFA to begin to discuss the possibility of moving the games. Truly sad.

Global Politics and Soccer?

You bet your sweet ass they go together! I've met a lot of footy players over the years and most have been rather chill individuals, like sub-arctic... well, until you score on them. Anyways, most of them couldn't tell you the five members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), but they should really get acquainted with them if they have hopes of seeing Tibet in the World Cup ever.

We live in an amazingly connected world these days. I mean come on, there are three hundred page books and thesis work on the extent of globalization and rather or not it exists. From the footy fans perspective, I doubt the world is really all that flat because some countries simply can not seems to be able to get onto the moving ball. If you are still reading this and wondering why I brought up the UNSC in regards to this topic, here's why. FIFA, our beloved governing body, will only admit national teams that are recognized as a country/nation and the UNSC makes that decision.

This is truly sad. Football is the most popular team sport on the face of this flat earth of ours. No other sport can even begin to say that it has the fan base that the beautiful game does. But, when you start to ban teams from competition because five stuck up diplomats sitting in a building in New York fail to recognize you as a nation, how beautiful is the game?

I think it is pretty damn ugly. It is a disgraceful practice and one that you would think FIFA would not go along with. What do they loose if they allow Tibet to play? China? The Chinese can not even play decently, except their womens team and who really watches the Womens World Cup? And what about Greenland? What does FIFA really have to loose by not admitting a team from a damn country that most high school seniors in America can not find on a map?

What are the consequences here? Maybe the five security council member nations will pull their teams from the cup. Do it! That's one less grouping of teams to have to go through. And seriously, the US and the UK will not miss much by not going to the World Cup. Hell, maybe then they could devote money to building a better youth program (at least here in America). Russia has only attempted to go to four World Cups and they did not qualify for two of them. See the above paragraph for my opinion on China. Lastly, the only team that would really be hurt if their nation left FIFA would be France.

When it comes down to it, at the end of the day, the situation is rubbish! So, there is a snippet of how politics can influence something as beautiful as international football. Happy footy all. And as of this moment, I am officially boycotting the 2010 cup until FIFA can get its head out of its ass, wipe the shit from their face, and make football beautiful once again.