I love technology and I love TV and I love live sports. Which is why I can’t believe I am about the type this next sentence, really.
I am happy that FIFA is not evolving with technology during the game. And I love that too.
Off the field, use technology to advance away. Better equipment, better training, better players, better fans.
I digress, back to the technology thing. First, it was refusing to use goal-line technology. You know, a microchip in the ball that would signal to the ref if a goal is scored.
Now, and even more pleasing, is the strong stance against instant replays. “It’s a game played by human beings, a game with a human face,” WFA secretary general David Collins said.
“Other sports regularly change the laws of the game to react to the new technology. … We don’t do it and this makes the fascination and the popularity of football.”
I’ve written about what soccer has taught me about life previously. One of the main strengths of soccer is players play and coaches prepare you for a game. There are no timeouts, coaches can’t stop and reset the pace of a game, and shit happens. It comes down to preparation and teamwork. My high school coach gave this advice to his players: “It doesn’t matter if you are one step ahead if you aren’t thinking 3 steps ahead.”
Handballs happen- sometimes intentional and sometimes not. Goalies move before a penalty kick. You take a few extra yards on free kicks and throw-ins. Elbows are thrown, and sometimes hair is pulled. And yes, slide tackles hurt. It is all part of the game. A game that is played for 90 minutes in the sun, rain, wind and snow. All you need are a pair of shin guards and cleats and it’s game time.
My loyalty is with the women’s national team and I am certainly not a fan of the French national team, but the only controversy in the Henry handball over Ireland is that it happened at the end of the game. If you have the time, watch the game second-by-second and report back to me. I will bet you Ireland wasn’t innocent throughout the game. I beat they took a few cheap shots. I’ll bet the ref let the play go on. And more importantly, I will bet they would do a few things differently next time.
Every team has benefited by a missed call.
Don’t get mad at the handball, get mad that the ball made it past your defense with a minute left. Get mad that you didn’t score. Get mad that it came to that. And, for the love of God, don’t beg to be an extra team at World Cup. It is embarrassing. Become stronger players, work harder and score more goals.
Don’t jump on the Ireland bandwagon or applaud Elizabeth Lambert being expelled from her team. I don’t advocate cheating and I don’t advocate playing to hurt the other player – even when some people deserve it. It is not cheating if/when you get away with something that falls outside the rules while on the soccer field. And look, I intentionally made it through this entire post without saying, “if it ain’t broken…” Because it is broken and always has been. Flaws make things beautiful. It is part of the game. The better team will win 8 out of 10 times, the dirty player will get theirs, refs will make mistakes, players will get away with breaking the rules and players will get hurt. And that my friends, is the beauty of soccer.
So, US soccer fans… sit back, enjoy that soccer is making it to ESPN, enjoy that people know the names of players, join the debate and keep watching.
“Let it be as it is and let’s leave (soccer) with errors,” Blatter said. “The television companies will have the right to say (the referee) was right or wrong, but still the referee makes the decision — a man, not a machine.” Amen to that.
the world according to schmogel. 