The Red Card

By now the world has seen the notorious headbutt that removed Zidane from the game. That's the culmination of why it was hard to find an underdog in this game: this kind of brutality is what one has to expect from one of the mechanized, faded, colonial powers. It's all the more ironic that it was Zidane who perpetrated the foul. And no, it doesn't help that some in the press are saying the headbutt may have been in response to a racist remark.

The reportage of the game on ABC was awful. It began with references to Adolf Hitler and Jesse Owens and went downhill from there. Cannot ABC find commentators who know and understand the game? And if they can't, why can't we just have the audio from the BBC's coverage? But that's not all. Last night, the Sundance Channel showed The Battle of Algiers, as if our distaste for the French wasn't already enough.

Personally, I look forward to next Sunday's game in desde Desdemona. Maybe we can get the bad taste out of our mouths, forget about the World Cup for another 3 years, and by playing the game, remember what we love about the sport.