The Real Reason Why Beckham Won’t Help U.S. Soccer July 18, 2007
Posted by Bobby in David Beckham, football, soccer, sports, times i decided to be serious.5 comments
By now, everyone who owns a TV or reads a newspaper is well aware that David Beckham will be playing for the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS. In addition to this, everyone is also well aware that Beckham will do nothing to make soccer more popular here in the States. My question is this: Who decided that this is the case?
Most of our wonderful sportswriters here in America will try to make the claim that the American sports fans have made this decision. After all, every one of us would much rather watch tall, overpaid males throw a basketball through a hoop 80 times, none of which are meaningful until the last two minutes of the game. Slam dunks never get old, either, and we’re all perfectly content to see dunks constitute 8 of the 10 top plays on Sportscenter.
Sure, anyone could use numbers alone to make the case that there aren’t very many soccer fans in the United States. It’s still behind basketball, baseball, and American football. For some reason, sportswriters believe that a sport cannot survive in the United States if it operates in a niche market. While this may be true (or may not be), sportswriters have been reluctant to even give soccer a chance.
There are plenty of Americans out there who have a genuine interest in soccer. Many more have a genuine interest in David Beckham, for a number of different reasons : ). Sportswriters just lovvvve to downplay this fact and make the claim that nobody cares, nobody understands. Have the writers ever once considered that they themselves may be the reason that Beckham won’t have any impact?
Every single article I’ve read so far on Beckham is just another diatribe on the million reasons why he won’t do anything to increase American soccer’s popularity. Countless numbers of Americans read these articles and are immediately subjected to an extremely negative perception of soccer. These readers are then forever ingrained with a subliminal message: that as Americans, they must be uninterested in soccer, since “everyone else” is. If an American is repeatedly exposed to the idea that American sports fans hate soccer, he or she may instinctively decide that soccer isn’t a sport worth having any interest in. Automatically claiming disinterest in a sport without exploring it or giving it a chance is no way to make a decision. Unfortunately, sportswriters around the nation are causing countless numbers of individuals to do just that.
Yesterday, watching Chelsea win 1-0 was far more exciting than watching Tigres win 3-0, so forget about the whole lack-of-scoring argument. What the MLS needs is talent, and a lot of it. Buying 50-60 mediocre European players would help a lot more than snagging Beckham alone, but maybe Becks could be the start of something new if we all just give him a chance.
The point is this: if sportswriters and anchors continue to approach soccer with such a negative attitude, the sport has no chance at all of growing into something larger. The problem is not disinterest within the American public. There is a growing interest in the youth community, and a sizable contingent of my generation seems to be more interested in soccer than all the baby-boomers who control the media. The base is there, the talent is growing, and the interest is bobbing at the surface.
So to all the sportswriters out there: congratulations. You’re the biggest threat to soccer’s chances of gaining popularity in the United States. Keep demonizing the sport and everything it stands for, and it’ll be gone from here in no time- just like you all want it to be.
Dear United States Soccer Federation June 9, 2007
Posted by Bobby in football, soccer, times i decided to be serious.13 comments
A year ago you almost ruined my life. I eagerly anticipated World Cup 2006 for over four years, only to witness a horrid performance of epic proportions. To make matters worse, I was on a cruise during the group stages. The international crew actually cared about soccer and thus had no problem mocking me every time I passed by donning my ‘02 Jeff Agoos jersey.
In addition, there were at least 300 billion Brazillians on said cruise, most of them bandwagoners. I cringe every time I see a Ronaldinho jersey, mainly because he looks like an alien, but also because I have an intense disliking of all Brazillian soccer “fans” who aren’t from Brazil. Almost all of them laughed at me and my jersey. Tear, tear.
After witnessing the Czech game at my house and nearly breaking my dad’s new plasma TV in reaction, I watched the Italy “game” in a hotel room in Houston, Texas. It was then that I was introduced to a new version of the offsides rule, wherein a player may be flagged as being offsides even if said player does not make contact with the ball. To this date, I have not seen this stipulation of the rule enforced in any match since US-Italy in World Cup 2006, and I watch a lot of footie.
I was lucky enough to witness the Ghana contest in the sports bar of the Carnival Conquest. In the aftermath of the disaster I felt like taking advantage of my 18-instead-of-21-while-at-sea privileges, but my dad was there with me, and I hate alcohol anyway. Jittery fans wearing Mexico jerseys were extremely pleased to see the US fail to advance. Luckily I was able to taunt them a few days later. Viva Argentina.
My other favorite team didn’t fare very well, either, thanks to a timely knee injury to Michael Owen. David Beckham’s vomit trails weren’t a great sight to behold. I also found it very odd that his teammates signaled for a substitution the minute Becks hit the pitch; not a great way to support your captain, mates. Nonetheless, David has recently made a point to the almighty Steve McClaren that his services are integral to England’s success.
Back to the Yanks now. The team is soft as a Serta mattress, and they need to start playing matches outside of the Northeast. Foxboro, Massachusetts is OFF LIMITS from now on, alright? Stop playing there, play Mexico at the Rose Bowl in front of 100,000 hostile Hispanics. That’ll get the team used to large crowds and pressure situations, which in the long run will lead to success in the World Cup.
1-0 wins over Guatemala aren’t gonna do it anymore. Defeating a team led by the high-pitched screams of Carlos Ruiz proves absolutely nothing on the world stage. Over the next three years, the US team had better roll over all CONCACAF competition, including Mexico- who are by far the world’s most overrated team. It will be a great day when the national team horrifies millions of nativists with a win at Azteca.
Win the Gold Cup, perform well at Copa America, and please, please, please produce at the international level with the same dominance that we’ve seen at the youth level. Some of us actually care.
Why You Shouldn’t Blog About Personal Problems May 25, 2007
Posted by Bobby in effective coping strategies, life, times i decided to be serious.1 comment so far
DISCLAIMER: The entry below is indeed hypocritical!
I know it sounds a little strange to be saying this on a journal-based social networking site… but I need to find an effective form of self-expression. Everyone reading right now is thinking “wow dumbass, write whatever you want on here and reveal all your emo thoughts to the world,” but that really isn’t the point. If I want to talk about all my issues and receive direct personal therapy, I’ll just talk to my friends. What I’m looking for is a way to blow off steam without involving anyone else, because even I get annoyed when people come to me with the same unsolvable problem over and over and over again. I try my best to avoid doing the same to others.
One of the reasons I enjoy music so much is that it allows for personal interpretation. Almost all music reflects the beliefs and feelings of the composer, but material that is well-written/composed also allows for the listener to fill in details and perspectives of their own life, thus making it possible for one to “relate to” specific songs, artists, etc. My favorite artists are ones whose music I can relate to, though I rarely agree with the lifestyles and personal choices made by those in the music scene. I like to keep it clean.
I’ve tried to write my own material before, but I’m never satisfied with it. I can play both guitar and piano very well, and I would say I have a good ear, but the whole songwriting thing has never really clicked. I have trouble combining the styles of the artists who influence me to create my own niche. Plus, I really don’t think I can write anything better than the stuff I’ve heard already.
So… I think I should find something else. I have no idea what, though. In one of my psych classes I’ve been studying experiments regarding the benefits of expressive writing. Journaling has never really done the trick for me. Posting whiny blogs like this one are never really any fun, either. I feel much more satisfied after posting something witty and clever than after posting one of these. I think this is serious post #3. Not bad.
Another reason why I try to avoid throwing diary entries online for the world to see is because I’m never dealing with anything all that serious. Yeah, I have some problems and concerns, but who doesn’t? The 4-5 biggest things that induce emo-ness in Bobby are problems that everyone has, just in different contexts. Plus, I always feel better in about three days. On Sunday I will look at this and start laughing hysterically.
To close this out, I’m gonna tag this entry as “effective coping strategies” and encourage everyone out there to express themselves, but I’m also going to beg everyone to do it privately, because every time you annoy someone with an emo rant, a kitten dies.
To the four kittens who have passed from this earth during the writing of this entry, rest in peace. May your afterlives be filled with Friskies, catnip, and fresh furniture.
~Keep it real, mah readers.
All in the Details February 13, 2007
Posted by Bobby in irony, life, times i decided to be serious.add a comment
Sometimes I have trouble focusing on the big picture. I think I’ve gotten better at it lately, though. Minutia usually doesn’t bother me anymore. That said, a lot of times I believe that subtleties can totally change the way we perceive many actions and events. I pay attention to tone, initation, connotations, etc… probably a lot more than I should. Some people think I have OCD.
Perfection is a good thing to strive for, in my opinion. Whether or not it’s achievable is certainly debatable, since life wouldn’t really exist if we had all the answers to all the problems. Math wouldn’t exist either. I don’t see how anyone can enjoy math, since the entire subject centers around problems. “Solve these 30 problems for homework.” No thanks.
Anyway, I think its good to attempt to get as close to perfection as we possibly can.
Sometimes seemingly trivial gestures can turn an entire day around. A smile, a conversation, a phone call, even a lame/awkward hug (you need 8 per day in order to survive) helps. People with OCD probably notice and are affected by these things more so than others.
On my walk to the Subway in Isla Vista, I spotted the pirate. He’s one of the homeless people who roam the streets, easily identifiable by his eye patch and pirate-like demeanor. He’s actually a nice guy, though. There was another guy (who is ALWAYS angry) sitting next to him with a sign asking for spare change, which said “anything helps.” I see both these guys often, but this time they’re arguing. I usually don’t like giving straight-up-cash to bums on the street, so I just walked by as usual.
After I bought my sandwich, I ended up with a few quarters and dimes in change. As I walked back out to the street, I saw that the pirate was gone and the sign-man was still there. I figured the spare change would mean more to him than it does to me, so I decided to give him the money. I started walking towards him and commited the big no-no… I made eye contact. Suddenly everything felt personal. The ragged sign, sloppy handwriting, mud-stained clothes, and K-Mart crate he used for a seat suddenly all jumped out in vivid detail. I spot a bottle of vodka behind the crate and start second-guessing my decision. I’d rather help out the pirate.
Somehow, I nodded and dropped the change in the cup simultaneously. Then I started walking away. Suddenly, a few curse words grabbed my attnetion, and I saw change rolling down the street. Looking back, I saw the homeless man flipping me off and flinging the last quarter towards a passing car. Since I take everything personally, I felt pretty bad for a few seconds. Then it hit me. I chuckled, and started walking back towards my dorm.
Maybe the small things we do don’t make a difference, after all.
Why is Atheism so Dang Popular? February 2, 2007
Posted by Bobby in college, life, religion, times i decided to be serious.add a comment
Culture-Shock is a pretty interesting phenomena. Anyone who attends a public university after spending their entire life at private religious schools knows where I’m coming from. People get a lot more strange, in good ways and bad. You’ll meet people you thought only existed in movies. Yesterday I saw a guy walking his PET GOAT down the streets in Isla Vista. Somehow, that isn’t really all that weird to me anymore.
It’s the way people THINK that sometimes drives me crazy.
Ever heard the phrase “express yourself”? I’m starting to dislike it. People in college take it to a new extreme. Everyone has something to prove. Everyone thinks they’re different. Everyone thinks that they can do whatever they damn-well-please without having to fess up to the consequences. And for the most part, they’re right. College is the one place where you can pretty much get away with anything, all the while without being judged or criticized.
99% of readers (all five of you!) think this sounds awesome. But believe me, it’s usually not. If you sacrifice judgement, you sacrifice morals. Think about that the next time you go around claiming that judging is always a bad thing.
Which brings us now to atheism. Half of the atheists I’ve met here choose to be atheist because they don’t want to deal with morals or social guidelines; they’re basically advocates of free-for-all anarchy. But there are some people out there who have seriously given the idea of religion some thought, and have freely chosen to reject it. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but I’ll half-accept it.
Then you’ve got agnostics… who either don’t care at all about religion, or (more often) make the reasonable claim that we can never know for sure if God exists. Fair enough. I’m ok with agnostics who have given it some thought.
But atheism is essentially contradictory in nature. It directly rejects the presence of a higher power. Atheists reject the notions of absolutism and universal truth, then make the claim that “God doesn’t exist and I’m sure of it.”
So to you atheists out there: If you say that there’s no truth, and who cares, how come you say it like you’re right?
It’s too Cold to Walk to the Dining Commons January 19, 2007
Posted by Bobby in college, life, times i decided to be serious.add a comment
If you know me and you’re reading this, then you’re currently laughing at me whilst knowing me and reading this. Santa Barbara isn’t exactly known for being one of the chilly places of the world (like Antarctica, for example), but it really does get quite cold here on occassion. By “on occassion,” I mean every single blasted evening. The nighttime lows are usually in the 35-45 range, so consider that before you get all frisky and start to put together a sentence which uses the words “idiot, live, beach, warm, etc.”
The trek to Carrillo usually consists of me throwing on jeans and a hoodie while everyone else walks on over with shorts and a t-shirt. Cold never used to bother me. I must be getting old. I wish I had more body fat. Maybe I should start eating more of the imitation-chicken rice bowls.
I actually don’t mind the cafeteria food that much, to be honest. I really like the stir fry, which varies at a reasonable rate. It seemed better first quarter, though. They never had to substitute turkey for beef/chicken back then. The local cows and hens are probably freezing to death.
Turkeys are starting to anger me now. I see turkeys in places where no turkey should be (see: Carrillo Dining Commons stir-fry). This was the deli line-up last week:
M: Turkey
T: Turkey Ham
W: Turkey Pastrami
R: Turkey Salami
F: Turkey
Mitch Hedberg put it best:
“Come on all you turkeys. Just…..be yourself!”
Something you may have been confused by: “R” stands for “Thursday” in all college-related schedules, since the word Thursday begins with the letter R.
Last R, one of the girls in my hall was eating some UCSB chocolate chip cake. I noticed that she was leaving the bottom crust for some reason. I think it’s the best part, since its covered with fudge. Evidently some other people noticed too, since this girl soon found herself explaining that the bottom half had too many calories. Maybe someone should have told her that the four beers she had the night before contained about 300 calories each. The smoking probably wasn’t good either, but whatever- it was only hookah. This same girl was on the floor of my room the week before, holding a random bicycle tire. Good source of entertainment : )
Hunger is starting to set in, so naturally I’m attacking a bag of mini-Crunch Bars right now. Nothing better than a little chocolate at 11:11 PM. Time to make a wish, too. I should tell everyone in the hall about the 11:11 rule. None of them will know anything about it. Almost everyone is on the secular side here, along with the liberal side. Not exactly the most friendly environment for a conservative Catholic. More on that on a later date. Maybe.
Phew. One down. Hopefully I’ll get a little better at this as time goes by.
