World Cup 2010 South Africa – Soccer

South Africa’s 2010 World Cup has already been a wild ride.

Soccer, er, Football

I’ve been watching a lot of the World Cup. This year has easily been the most I’ve ever followed the FIFA tournament (in the interest of full disclosure, the only other one I eve watched a significant portion of was 1998, when I was hanging out with a lot of Europeans).

The more I watch, the more I enjoy. Heck, I don’t even mind the vuvuzelas on TV, though I’m sure if were attending the matches in person they would drive me deafeningly crazy.

I have come to the conclusion that soccer is much like baseball in that if you don’t understand the subtleties of the game, you’re missing a lot. Although I played a lot of soccer when I was a kid living in Tanzania, like most pick-up games, the specifics of the professional sport–the off side rule, red and yellow cards, stoppage time, etc–did not come into play.

So far the World Cup has provided everything one could ask for: the thrilling (New Zealand’s game-tying goal in stoppage time); the shocking (Switzerland upsetting Spain; the Kiwis–once again–drawing Italy); and the downright inane (the French players’ strike; the North Korean coach’s “invisible” communication device direct to Kim Jon-Il). Brazil has, of course, dominated, and even the USA has provided excitement with the Americans’ comeback against so Slovenia. The referees have been terrible, even beyond the atrocious call robbing the US of a victory, but anyone used to watching the NBA, NFL, MLB or NHL is quite accustomed to poor officiating.

So why don’t more Americans follow soccer?

Common American complaints are that soccer is too slow and that there isn’t enough scoring. We want instant gratification. And maybe that is the case. But most people who make such claims probably have never given the sport an honest, legitimate chance.

As I’ve become more intrigued with the World Cup, I decided to investigate why we (and a handful of other nations) call it soccer vs. football. Interestingly enough, the etymology of both terms traces back to the same original name, much as American football and international football themselves diverged from one original game.

For those interested, the derivation is as follows:

The word was derived from Association Football, which was the original term given to the game in the 1860s at the elite schools that spawned the sport in England. The abbreviation “Assoccer”, which became “soccer,” was used by the British upper classes of that period. When the sport was embraced by the less fortunate, the name of “soccer” was passed down. But most commoners used the word “football” to describe their new game. Nowadays, from the British Royal Family down to the passionate supporters in the terraces at Anfield (Liverpool FC), Old Trafford (Manchester United), or Stamford Bridge (Chelsea FC of London), the game is called football. Or “footy.”
From http://soccerlens.com/why-do-americans-call-it-soccer/3360/