Benjamin,
I don't know who you are but I am a member of this list who has always
enjoyed the helping-with-useful-information nature of the kind experts.
Although I prefer not to receive off-topic mails that are nothing more than
a not-at-all funny, and sometimes sexist comment by some wise-ass, I have
considered it as a side-effect of the site and ignored it until your mail
today.
As a Korean male, who in a few years will have split his life equally in
number of years living in the U.S., Korea, and now Japan, I have had many
rewarding experiences and friends here in Japan and especially with this
World Cup, along with my Japanese and other nationality friends, I was happy
to see Japan and Korea advance unexpectedly up the tournament. But there
are some, and I think a very small minority which usually is the case,
sourpuss supporters of countries which unexpectedly did not make it higher
up raising a stink about 'conspiracies' and such.
I don't know what purposes you were trying to reach with your mail(maybe you
were simply tired or a supporter of some other team or just in awe of the
movements and colors of the website), but I just got a bad taste in my
mouth, and am hoping it is not giving false information to people who do not
know what is really going on with World Cup at the moment. If you are
interested, please read the short articles from SportsIllustrated.com(link
below) as well as the New York Times (pasted below).
Finally, to all other members on this list: I truly apologize for the
off-topic reply to the off-topic mail. Sorry to have wasted your time.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/news/2002/06/21
/pinto_mailbag/
June 24, 2002
Blame Club Owners for Europe's Failures
By GEORGE VECSEY
(Embedded image moved to file: pic24474.gif)HE conspiracy theories are
kicking in about the World Cup ? or, as one e-mail correspondent called
it, the Third World Cup.
The fix is in, according to some fans who believe that the world soccer
body, FIFA, has favored one of the hosts in this World Cup. (And if so,
why South Korea and not Japan?) People in traditional soccer countries,
whose teams have already gone down the drain, believe that South Korea is
getting a break from the referees, upon orders from the home office in
Switzerland.
You can hear those bleats emanating from the European teams that have been
left in the dust by the roadrunners from South Korea. Some fans cannot
believe that South Korea outhustled and outthought and outlasted their
pampered millionaires to reach the semifinal against Germany tomorrow in
Seoul, South Korea.
Meanwhile, Turkey has also reached the semifinals for the first time in
its history and will play Brazil on Wednesday in the Tokyo suburb of
Saitama. While a European country, Turkey has the exotic feel of an
outsider, as the first predominately Muslim country to reach a semifinal.
Like South Korea, Turkey has played hard, inspired, united soccer.
If anything, the world should be thanking South Korea and Turkey for
showing that teamwork and preparation and persistence still count. The
attachment to a national soccer team runs extremely deep among fans,
however, including the subway alumni of other countries who now live in
the United States.
When Italy runs out of psychic gas in the second half, it must be
somebody's fault. When Spain chokes on penalty kicks, it must be a plot.
When Portugal plays dirty and then mugs the referee over a red card, it's
somebody else's fault.
Whatever else the fans want to believe, the concept of FIFA's arranging
for a tilt in the direction of South Korea is downright ludicrous. FIFA is
the ultimate house divided, even though his majesty Joseph S. Blatter got
himself re-elected by cronies around the world (including the United
States, which doesn't say a lot for our values).
Blatter has so many enemies under his own roof that if he, or his
opponents, tried to fix something, the other side would be waving the
transcripts in a heartbeat.
To its credit, FIFA has indeed tried to broaden its base in recent years,
opening more spaces in the World Cup for African and Asian teams and
insisting on referees from many countries.
In the broad sense, this is good because it cuts down the Eurocentric look
to world soccer, although it is fair to say that allowing only one referee
from a soccer-rich nation like England or Argentina could cut down on the
talent pool and bring in a few lesser officials ("village referees,"
Christian Vieri of Italy said with a sneer, before he missed a point-blank
shot for the winning goal).
No matter how hard FIFA has tried to include all regions of the world,
players still have to go out and play hard. Bad or even mediocre teams
will give up goals. In this tournament, South Korea has lived up to its
slogan, "Korea Team Fighting."
The South Koreans have given Americans a glimpse of old-fashioned
teamwork. We are used to watching the richest clubs buy championships ?
and not only in college football and basketball either. The Los Angeles
Lakers can afford to keep Shaq and Kobe. The Arizona Diamondbacks went out
and obtained two great pitchers and won a World Series. The Detroit Red
Wings can buy expensive spare parts that win Stanley Cups.
The World Cup has traditionally been a first-world old-boy club. The
insolent waltz by West Germany and Austria in a World Cup game in 1982
("Here's the ball, Hans." "Back to you, Dieter.") kept Algeria out of the
next round. That stuff doesn't happen anymore.
Besides, Europe brought this disgrace upon itself by expanding the soccer
season to fill the great maw of cable networks around the world. There are
preseason tournaments in August, midweek cup games all season and
championship games stretching into May.
Want to know why Zidane and Figo and Batigol and Maldini all looked as if
they were running in quicksand this past month? Because the European
leagues and team owners are greedy. One does not hear Silvio Berlusconi,
the Italian prime minister, who also owns A.C. Milan, blaming himself
because his captain, Maldini, has aged in dog years. It's money in the
cable bank for Berlusconi.
That buffoon who owns the Perugia team had the gall to fire the South
Korean glamour-boy striker, Ahn Jung Hwan, after his header eliminated
Italy last week. It's a safe bet that owner pockets the swag from the
player-killing schedule of Italy's top league.
There's your conspiracy, amici sportivi (sporting friends). European
soccer leaders have made money from the dead legs, dead brains and dead
national teams. They should bank their Euros, and stop whining when their
boys cannot keep up with the South Koreans.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Benjamin Kowarsch" <>
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 1:41 AM
Subject: Off-Topic: The K-Team
> Hi
>
> off-topic but hilarious (you'll need Japanese for this) ...
>
> http://www.geocities.co.jp/CollegeLife-Labo/6907/korea.swf
>
> Did anybody suggest the Japanese didn't have a sense of humour or lacked
> creativity ?
>
> rgds
> benjamin
>
Received on Tue Jun 25 11:36:04 2002