Well, it’s hard to have breaking news on a weekly blog entry, no? NY Times beat me to it, but it’s still relevant (hey, they just posted this morning!).  Times Online (UK) did too, and to no surprise, I find their commentary better informed.  Before this becomes a link fest to organizations that have covered the topic before me, I just want to say what I think and why.

I’m frustrated with the power of FIFA (there are only 8 votes counted on these things??).  No sporting organization is nearly as powerful as FIFA.  I hate that FIBA rules are different that NBA (and to a lesser degree IIHF/NHL), but without that tension there’s a monopoly. US sports don’t have monopoly status in the same way because college sports are separate and very important.  Also, whatever you think about it, the US Congress isn’t afraid to step in.  I have a hard time believing the UN is going to pose sanctions on FIFA-nation though.

Of course, as I mentioned, FIFA isn’t the only global organization, but the only one that can even claim to be in the same ballpark is the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  Yes, the Olympics are huge, but  the Olympics only happen once every four years (let’s not kid ourselves, much as I personally love the Winter Olympics, they are a side show).  FIFA’s once-every-four-years event, the World Cup, is bigger in some respects than the Olympics.

It’s a little off-topic, but I think it’s worth going down this FIFA vs. Olympics debate briefly.   There were 715.1 million viewers for the 2006 final and total viewership was 26.29 BILLION (down from just under 26.4 billion in 2002…different time zones and such).  Before the soccer-hating Americans rush in to claim that USA Today reports 40 Billion viewers, let’s think about this a bit more.  How many countries compete in the Olympics?  Let’s guessimate…all of them.  The UN says 192, so let’s go with that (even though that’s low due to multiple examples like Puerto Rico).  There are 32 countries competing in the World Cup.  192/32.  That’s exactly 6 times more.  Not all countries are the same size of course, and some of the big ones aren’t even in the World Cup: Russia and China are notable.  India, with it’s billion people, has never qualified for the World Cup.  They are too busy playing cricket.  China has only qualified once for the World Cup.   I think it’s safe to say on time slot saturation, the World Cup is doing a better job.

I think that little tangent was important, but it’s not really the point. FIFA operates all the time (not saying the IOC doesn’t plan for the summer games for four years, but that’s not what I mean).  Every year there are EPL games.  Every year there is a UEFA Champions League.  Every year is a Copa Libertadores.  These, and every other top teir league and tournament around the world, is governed by FIFA.  When the MLS tried to do things the ‘American’ way (read: ridiculous), FIFA stepped in and was going to withhold cash.  I think it’s really hard to impress upon someone who doesn’t follow the game just how powerful FIFA is.  Any analogy is going to be ridiculous, but let me try.  Let’s image that the European leagues in basketball were dominant powers in the world.  The NBA is a powerful league, often thought to be the best, but the NBA teams aren’t the best teams in the world.  The Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Pistons and Cavs all have worldwide popularity due to their past and present stars, but Uppsala Basket had an unstoppable center in the 70s and were a best team in the world for a while.  The Munich, Milan, Rome, Paris, London and Barcelona teams could any year be the best team, even if top-to-bottom the NBA is still the greatest league.  This is more-or-less, the way the EPL is now.  Let’s say the top 2 teams from the NBA enter a NorthAmerican/European tournament akin to UEFA Champions League.  The Celtics and Lakers dominate these spots (domination in the NBA doesn’t happen like domination in European football, but that’s another story) and teams like the Bucks are less interested in winning the league and more interested in knocking off either the Lakers or Celtics (let’s for get the conferences here) to get that NATO League spot.  Now, let’s say that the NBA really didn’t like the trapezoid lane, but to cash in on the millions of dollars of the NATO League, they had to follow FIBA rules.  If you can imagine this, you can imagine the power of FIFA.

We’ve established that I don’t like FIFA’s power (even if I do adamantly believe in standards), that the World Cup is ridiculously huge and that that power I don’t like FIFA actually possesses.  What we have not established is that video replay is a good or bad thing.

I do *not* think video replay should be the start of things.  I do, however, think a chip in the ball to determine if it crosses a goal line would help the game.  How many goals are scored in a game?  I don’t have stats, but let’s say 2-1 is a common score.  Just as common as 2-2 and 1-1 so it balances out to three times a game.  Thus, technology is going to come into play, let’s be generous, six or so times a game (ok, that’s not being generous to current officials, but you know what I mean).  If I’ve got Americans reading this, I’m probably preaching to the choir.  We love video replay in American football, basketball, hockey and baseball.  There was a fight in baseball because of it’s “tradition” and that’s the same fight FIFA is putting up.  Up until World War II, the norm was for countries to have protectionist economic policies.  Up until the invention of the printing press, the tradition was for people to be illiterate.  The world changes and while I do think it’s important for people and organizations to stick to their roots, those roots weren’t established in stone.  They were established in a changing world.  One that is changing faster now than it ever has before.  Perhaps that’s why there is a backlash of traditionalism from FIFA and from the MLB.  With technology and communication changing on a daily basis, we want to be able to sit on our couch and watch the same game we’ve always loved.  Well FIFA, I’ve got news for you, I didn’t have an high definition TV a couple years ago.  It made the games better, not worse.

So, game reviews take longer than expected.  I guess that’s why I’m a sports writer and not a game reviewer, eh?  Speaking of ‘eh’, what a game by the US last night! Watching Olympic hockey is what has me not beating myself up about this post being late.

Hockey Notes

People are already talking about the rematch in the Gold Medal game.  Wait? First off, Canada could very well lose to Russia in the quarterfinals.  If Malkin and Ovechkin are on, all it’s going to take is some solid goalkeeping and Russia will be unstoppable.  Football keepers can play for years – see van der Sar or Friedel (among many others) but I wonder if Brodeur is past his prime.  I’ve not been keeping up with The Devils, but one has to think the Olympics is a step up from the NHL season and maybe he’s a little off.  I’m not saying things were Brodeur’s fault – far from it, the Canadians gave up massive amounts of turnovers – but maybe he’s no longer unstoppable.

Random News and Notes

I’ve also been working on getting my gym membership set back up after my move, working on getting more sportazine writers and spending a fair amount of time talking X’s and O’s with my roommate.  Not altogether a lazy week!  On the sportazine front, it looks like we are going to have an NFL blogger starting a monthly post in March.  So excited!

I passed out of casual observer phase to true fan this past week by picking up my first Manchester United gear.  I suppose the walk from my office to the building where the dock is was the liminal journey.  Fittingly, the hallway is called ‘The Chunnel‘.

Ideas for columns? Let me know! Right now, it’s looking like the next one will be some form of coaching/playing tips for indoor soccer, probably with some notes on the differences between the two sports, with some coverage also of beach soccer, Homeless World Cup and futsal.  As always, open to suggestions!

Why FIFA 2010 Review?

I was supposed to write a review of FIFA 2010 this week…apparently I spent too much time playing and not enough time writing.   One of the sections I did finish was why I thought it was a good idea, so I’ll go ahead and post that.  When I finish the review, I’ll either rehash the reasoning or link back to it.

One might ask what a game review *really* has to do with sports, since you sit on a couch and aren’t following real athletes.  There are plenty of studies that suggest that gaming can teach and/or hone skills.  There is a reason the US Military funds video gaming.  When I coached for Triangle FC, I suggested the boys play FIFA so that they could learn terminology (through ball, pitch, etc), to build interest in the sport and to better think the game (when is a good time to play a through ball, etc).  My roommate likes to talk about being a couple passes ahead in the game.  That’s exactly what playing a game can help you do.  As to the players, had I subscribed to Fox Soccer Channel or GolTV at the time, and realized the coverage of the sport on TV, I probably would have suggested they watch the pros, but things have come a ways since then with ESPN now covering EPL games in HD.  Of course, at the time, Fox Soccer Channel wasn’t named that, but that’s another post.  Also likely another post – active vs. passive learning. That’s what’s going on in watching versus playing.

There are two points I want to make clear:

1. For coaches, you’ve got to meet players on their level. Especially for older coaches, video games may seem like the most unathletic thing imaginable, but kids love video games.  If you’re teaching kids that the way to become a better football player (or any sport) is to run a ridiculous amount of wind sprints, you’re doing it wrong.  Just think of a video game as an extension of the ‘game tape’.
2. For players, study the game. Even if your coach thinks winning a state championship is solely based on hustle and outrunning the opposing team (I’ve had coaches where ‘hustle’ was something akin to ‘the’), don’t be fooled.  Watch the game.  Study opposing players if you get a chance.  Do all of this without being a jackass to your coach, even if s/he is an idiot.  No amount of one-upsmanship is going to keep you from riding the pine or being sent back home to play video games.

And, just to be clear to both sides, you need to run wind sprints too.

It’s been an amazing first day for the Winter Olympics from Vancouver British Columbia. The one event that is getting a lot of attention though was the Nordic event. The nail biting finish between Jason Lamy Chappuis and Johnny Spillane really shows how competitive and exciting the next couple weeks will be.

The most amazing point of this win for Spillane was that it was the first American medal in Nordic combined. He achieved Silver and what some will say abolished a curse that has plagued Americans in the Nordic event for 86 years. 10,000 meters in 30 minutes, now that’s an awesome feat.

Lamy Chappuis – representing France – won the Gold. The two came down to a photo-finish to determine the winner. Chappuis had edged ever so slightly to take the top prize.

Some say it’s similar to the curse of the Bambino for  baseball. Be it as it may, it was still a fun event to really watch. Definitely an exciting event in the opening days of the XXI Winter Olympiad.