World Cup is one, true world competition

The thought has occurred to me in recent days that as Americans we are arrogant when it comes to our sports. The World Cup soccer event has made me realize there is only one true world sports competition and it involves only a handful of American athletes.

For some reason we as Americans think the team that wins our world series is the world champion of baseball. The same goes implication is there for the Super Bowl and the National Basketball Association Championships. Because a team in the best in the National Football League or NBA in a particular season doesn’t mean there isn’t another team, in another country that can’t beat them. In the case of basketball there almost certainly is.

I came to this realization when watching a match between Japan and Cameroon in the World Cup. In between there was a highlight of a New Zealander hitting a header to score his country’s first goal of the competition. Some where in there was the seemingly easy miss by the British goal keeper that allowed the Americans to tie the score.

Keep in mind I don’t watch a lot of soccer but these teasers of World Cup information got my attention. For the first time in my life I am intrigued by this event. There is no other event, short of the Olympics that features the diversity of the World Cup. Where else can you find a matchup featuring a team from the Ivory Coast?On what other stage is Brazil considered a “world power.”

Like any event the World Cup is developing its controversies and stories away from the field. That is what makes sports interesting. There was the sad note about the family problems that have distracted legendary South African leader Nelson Mandela from enjoying the games in his home country.
Some teams complained that the special ball, called the jabulani, was “like something you buy in a supermarket.”

The literal “buzz” so far has been about those annoying horns that seem to drown out announcers during the broadcast of games. Some networks around the world have figured out a way to drown what are called vuvuzela horns out so viewers could hear better. They are smart. I need every bit of help from the announcers I can get to understand this game without interference from fans.

I still have a lot to learn. I don’t know exactly how the point system of the World Cup works. Other than a few basics, there are a lot of soccer rules I don’t understand.  I am not sure I can name even one player, even with nearly every country on earth participating. That is sad for someone who writes about sports, of any nature, each week. It gives me something for which to strive.  One prediction, if you call it that, America won’t be the winner of the Cup. Sorry, guys we might have the world champion in baseball but when it comes to the sport everyone but us calls football we don’t measure up. If we are playing in January, with an oblong ball on an artificial turf field, maybe. In South Africa, with a ball called jabulani, not as likely. It will still be fun for fans, here and in every corner of the globe.