EDITORIAL – The once Beautiful Game is getting much more to our liking

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

AFTER ALL these weeks, it’s done. The World Cup came to an end on Sunday with Spain prevailing over Argentina 1-0. In some ways, it was an exciting finish; in others, it was dull as dishwater.

That’s just the kind of game it is. Much time is spent with most of the players just standing around or walking from A to B, slowly, with occasional moments of brilliant passing and heart-stopping action around the net.

The World Cup, though, was a lot of fun. The scale of it is immense, the excitement it generates is unequaled in any other sport. We even were given a taste of it in the Tournament Capital with several bit watch parties. But it’s the enormity of the even itself that’s the big draw; not necessarily what goes on down on the grass.

I think I’ve figured out why Canadians are suddenly so excited about the game. This instant love it seems odd, since it’s been taught and played in our schools for 75 years or more.

In elementary school, I was put on a team as an extra-curricular activity. Our understanding of it amounted to one player kicking the ball down the field and everybody else galloping after it. There was no big investment in equipment but if a kid happened to own a ball, that kid was very popular.

One of the reasons it was an integral part of physical education programs — and, I assume, continues to be — was that it was a non-contact sport. Ah, there it is. The difference between 75 years of merely living with soccer, and a sudden passion for it.

Things have changed out on the pitch. Soccer is called the beautiful game for its skills, grace, artistry, precision, acrobatics. But these days, there’s plenty of contact, too. We got a good look at it up close in this World Cup.

Players grab at each other’s arms and legs and jerseys. They elbow each other in the face, smack opponents on the back, hard. Between plays, they violently push each other to the ground. On corner kicks, they jostle and push and shove and grab in order to interfere with play.

And, of course, there’s the faking of injuries, the rolling around on the ground while grasping a leg and hoping the ref will fall for it. All the while, the coaches pace up and down on the sidelines screaming their heads off.

All of this doesn’t reach the level of what goes on in other team sports but at least they’re trying. Three- and four-down football is designed to be violent, rugby is all about rough and tumble, and fighting is a major part of the popularity of hockey. Soccer/ football/ footy is supposed to be different, and that’s been the problem.

It can be a very boring game, and has badly needed more physical contact to keep spectators — North American spectators, at least — interested.  In Canada, after 75 years of boredom, we’re now interested.

Oh, yeah, and then there’s this thing about soccer supposedly being such a world unifier. For the fans, that’s probably true. Certainly, the fever within each country is intense, as lovers of the game will travel thousands of miles and put out thousands of dollars for tickets. As for the players and coaches… I’m not so sure there’s a lot of unification going on between rivals.

Whether or not soccer can still lay claim to the title of The Beautiful Game, the World Cup event provided plenty of fun these past few weeks. Especially now that it would make Foster Hewitt proud.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, writes for the Kamloops Chronicle and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and was a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.