Fifa

Fifa

 

In the midst of all the controversy generated by the upper echelon of the “Beautiful Game”, Canada and the Netherlands have once again shown the way for this broken and corrupt sport to regain some of its dignity. Listen, this ain’t no chicken liver sport. The play is as hard an’ intense as any other . . . AND . . . they don’t get to wear the kind o’ paddin’ an’ equipment them hockey an’ football players hide behind neither. Nosiree, this ain’t no panty-waist game. It’s the ‘Beautiful Game’ an’ as such, it deserves some proper respect.

An’ wouldn’t ya know it? It’s the women what’s carryin’ the torch for the dignity of the sport. We oughta remember that. We men are so full o’ ourselves we lose sight o’ the purpose o’ the game. Well, case in point:  I was talkin’ to my son the other day about the women’s world cup an’ he said he’d rather watch golf. Well he knows how to push my buttons in that I like to watch golf on the TV. Let’s face it, them golfers can shoot a ball a whole lot further than some NHL’ers can shoot a puck – an’ probably a lot straighter too. He says he’d watch the women’s soccer if they played more like the men. WHAT? They play exactly like the men, same rules an’ everything. No, says the kid, they don’t ever finish anythin’ off. Ever notice how the men when they score a goal rip their jerseys off an’ run around? Well, the women don’t do that ya know. There’d be more people watchin’ if they did. Smart ass!

But I digress. I was talkin’ about the “Beautiful Game” and who makes it live up to its reputation. If you remember a couple’a weeks ago I was talkin’ about the special relationship between the Netherlands an’ Canada in my VE Day blog. Well them two teams had it out right here in Winnipeg an’ it wasn’t no sissy pants contest neither. It was all out war out there on the field (or I should say pitch) within the rules o’ the game of course. An’ when it was over, it was a tie game with no score an’ a bunch of very tired women who had gave it their all. Well they shook hands in the tradition and carried themselves off the field with the dignity that befits the relationship that exists between Canada and the Netherlands. Now that’s what makes a beautiful game. At least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin’.