One of the benefits of being a tourist is that you are not expected to explain or account for the customs and traditions of the place you are visiting.
This is a very fancy way of saying that while this piece is about soccer, you will not be hearing any opinions from me about:
The time-keeping methods employed for World Cup matches;
The seemingly arbitrary way in which video review is employed;
The ejection of Folarin Balogun from the last U.S. match or his subsequent reinstatement.
I can’t give you an educated opinion on whether Balogun should have been ejected from the last U.S. match. I don’t watch enough global soccer.
Also, while I’m not accustomed to seeing a governing body treat rules like guidelines as FIFA appears to have done in this case, I also wasn’t under the impression that FIFA was a particularly ethical governing body. Wasn’t the last World Cup played in November in stadiums constructed by migrant workers who were subjected to dangerous and exploitative working conditions?
Yet the fact the suspension has been overturned — combined with the political influence that may have been exerted along the way — has the world boiling with hot takes.
Rules are rules
“The optics undermine the integrity of the competition,” wrote Mark Ogden of ESPN.com. “If you are a big player or play for a major nation -- and as co-host, the U.S. is certainly the latter -- the usual rules can be bent into whatever shape is required to achieve a desired outcome.”
The controversy is indicative of a deeper cultural divide
“Europeans are fundamentally different from Americans in one particular way,” wrote someone named Ellen Carmichael. “They expect life to be aggravating and at times unfair.”
The Europeans are big babies
“A ridiculous red card suspension was overturned. We now have to play against the full American team, it’s not fair.”
— Belgium who was awarded a fake penalty against Senegal a few hours before
The one opinion I will offer: It is high comedy watching the know-it-all energy of the American sports media directed squarely at a sport which it knows very little about.
Now, I’m not saying I know that much more than they do.
However, I can tell you that outswinging corner kicks tend to be more effective than inswingers. That’s just because I read the book “Soccernomics.” I also know about Manchester United because I not only read Bill Buford’s masterful book “Among the Thugs,” but one of my former roommates was (and remains) freakishly devoted to the club.
In fact, at some point each year, I decide this might be the year that I get seriously invested in the sport. Adopt a European club to follow. Buy a jersey, which I understand is called a kit, and learn how transfer fees actually work.
Two years ago, this occurred when Sharon and I went to Germany in the fall. Last year, it was when we went to Rome.
And right now I’m hip deep in the World Cup, and not just because the U.S. men’s national team is playing tonight in Seattle.
I’ve become invested in the whole tournament. Like soccer purists everywhere, I, too, was outraged at Paraguay’s tactics against France.
I marveled as the science experiment that is Norway’s Erling Haaland scored twice against Brazil, and the match between England and Mexico on Sunday night was absolutely electric.
I love the verbiage of the European announcers, specifically Ian Darke. Whether it’s a free kick being in a “position of menace” or a forward lurking “as a cat amongst the pigeons,” I can’t get enough of it.
But this time, I’m not trying to convince myself that this is the start of some deeper investment in the sport.
I don’t have room to watch more games on the weekends in the fall. I have a hard enough time keeping fully abreast of all the developments of college football without also trying to learn the nuances of the global soccer economy. Transfer fees will remain a mystery to me.
Also: one of the reasons I like watching the World Cup is because I realize that I’m a novice, an amateur.
When Balogun was kicked out of the last game, I was disappointed and worried, but I certainly wasn’t outraged. I don’t know enough about the sport to tell you the call was wrong.
Same with his apparent reinstatement for Monday’s game. It’s a crazy series of developments, and I’m excited and nervous to see how it all plays out!
This is not the way sports commentary works. At least not in the United States. But after years of being urged to give strong, loud opinions, I find it kind of refreshing to say, “I really don’t know,” when asked about a particular situation.
And honestly, this feels about right for my level of interest in the sport. Every four years, I become transfixed by the sport.
I just try to remember that I’m a tourist, though, and by the time this tournament is done, training camp for the other football will be on the horizon.