World Cup Fever

I don't have it. And neither should you. Not unless you were already a soccer fan to begin with. Otherwise it's just another excuse to stay up late, miss work, and party like it's 1985. And while everyone else may need an excuse to miss work I do not. I already have an entire list of excuses waiting anxiously for their turn to be used.

Now, don't get me wrong. I actually think that the World Cup is a great idea and I'm a big fan of it in theory. After all, whenever a majority of the nations of the world can come together in an international event and compete against one another for national pride it's going to be a great thing. The level of interest in this event worldwide is exactly what organizers have always hoped that the Olympics would become. Unfortunatley for them it hasn't exactly been that way since no one is going to be entering an office pool and betting on curling anytime soon.

Soccer on the other hand has taken on a life of it's own. There is even peace in the Ivory Coast for the first time in years which is truly remarkable. And as long as people don't take this thing too seriously and start rioting and killing each other over it I'm all for it. How can you not be?

On the other hand the thing that I'm not all for are all you posers out there who are just jumping on the World Cup bandwagon since the Miami Heat bandwagon was already full. These are the type of people who say corny things like, "I'm really getting into it." These are probably the same people who vote twenty times for their favorite contestant in American Idol, who actually watch Deal or No Deal, and who probably have had plastic surgery. These are the people in other words who only do things because society tells them to or because they want to be in on the conversation at the water cooler. And that's not a reason to do anything.

As I'm sure you all know I'm not one to conform with society. I don't catch fevers during international competitions or when a hot new show comes out. I do my own thing, form my own opinions, and let my own interests form my tastes. In other words I stay true to myself. And I encourage everyone else to do the same. Which is why it bothers me when everyone else sells out for two weeks every four years.

If you're not regularly a soccer fan then don't pretend to like it just because everyone you know is talking about it. If you can name more members of the Jackson Five than you can members of the U.S. team then don't call yourself a soccer fan. If you can't tell Landon Donovan apart from Billy Donovan then you have no business taking off from work to watch a game. And if you can't pick Eddie Johnson out of a police lineup don't even bother entering the conversation around the water cooler. And that's all I've got to say about that.