I just got done watching the Ghana v. Czech Republic FIFA World Cup game. I haven’t watched soccer since the last World Cup. That’s my bad. It was a wonderful experience. The Czech Republic was expected to win easily but Ghana scored a goal in the second minute that changed everything. From the inital kick-off Ghana was relentlessly attacking. Obviously initially it paid off with the first goal. Throughout the first half they didn’t stop attacking and the Czech Republic was not able to match their intensity.

Now, I don’t claim to be a soccer fan, and certainly not a knowledgable fan, but watching these two teams showed me why soccer is called ‘The Beautiful Game’. Not only are the athletes in peak physical condition, the way that they are able to move, change direction, and make the ball do what they want it to is truly amazing. And even though each team is challenging the other on every loose ball, when someone is injured (or even just down on the field) it is protocol to kick the ball out of bound to stop the play so that the downed player can receive time and/or attention.

That kind of sportsmanship coupled with the sheer athleticism, and intrigue of soccer make it really attractive. I’m probably not willing to give up my baseball, or football, but perhaps I need to make time in my life for some soccer.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 17th, 2006 at 12:27 pm and is filed under FIFA World Cup, Soccer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.