An Interview with Soccer

Q: Explain what it is that makes soccer the ideal sport?

It is universal. As Gary Lineker said, it is simply twenty-two men spending an hour and a half trying to kick a circle into a rectangle. Even better, you dont actually need twenty two men, or an hour and a half, or a rectangle. Your circle doesnt even have to be a circle. The fact that it is so simple, so easy yet provides so much joy and passion makes it the world’s game.

Q: What barriers have you faced in the spread of soccer?

Not those that you might think. Poverty is not an issue. Neither is isolation, or even age. Rather it is close mindedness and short attention spans. These prevent people from fully appreciating the beauty of the game.

Q: How do you use your influence?

To be honest, in large part it is for money. Think of the absurdly large market for my goods. The entire world practically shuts down every four years for the World Cup. Of course, I have seen some enormous financial rewards. But that is not to say I cannot be a power for good. The Ivory Coast called a ceasefire in the middle of a civil war so they could all watch Didier Drogba play.

Q: What is the biggest problem in the sport currently?

Probably corruption. Soccer is about the players and the fans. I truly wish money were not so heavily involved, but hey thats the world we live in. I have to be practical right? Seriously, I am very frustrated by how corruption creates an unnecessary layer to soccer. FIFA needs to straighten themselves out.

Q: What are you most excited about for the sport?

I am most excited by the thought of the slowly evening playing field of world soccer. As technology has exponentially expanded global access to everything, and billions of dollars are clearly present in the industry slowly but surely the rest of the world is catching up to the Brazils and Italys. As time passes I think the sport will become more competitive as the resources are spread around the world.

Q: What is your favorite way of playing?

Of course, I cannot pick one. A swift, brutal counter attack can be just as thrilling as a 45 pass concerto of passes. That is another great thing about the game, that there is no right way to play. While many are partial to skillful, attacking soccer I have to give credit to the teams who park the bus and have found a way to defeat it. It really is impossible to choose.

Q: What makes the World Cup so special?

It functions as one of the purest and most beautiful representations of the world. Nowhere else will you find such an awe inspiring celebration of humanity.

Exceptionalism

Exceptionalism had always known he was the best. He had heard it from the day he was born, and few dared question the claim. Those that did were summarily bullied into submission by Exceptionalism and his friends, Extremism, Ignorance and Xenophobia. No one could question the narrative, everyone had to follow Exceptionalism’s ways of thinking. When he lost in the little league finals he was still awarded the trophy, threatening to beat up anyone who dared question his right to it. Ignorance was his number one hype man, constantly hollering as he walked through the halls at school about how Exceptionalism was the best, the smartest, the most successful in the school. Of course Exceptionalism won all of the senior awards, best athlete, most community service, valedictorian. Some were deserved, others were not; it was a good thing only Exceptionalism and his friends could vote. For some reason, Extremism had always hated soccer. Its very existence seemed an affront to him; ties were allowed, games went by where no one scored, not being able to use your hands!? Xenophobia would whisper in Exceptionalism’s ear how soccer may have been the rest of the world’s game, but here it would never take root. It was impossible for something so out of touch with Exceptionalism’s views, his wholesome values, to catch on. But as time passed, cracks appeared in Exceptionalism’s facade. There were subtle signs that despite his whole life telling him so, perhaps he was not the best. He lost in the football state championship, and got caught cheating on his economics exam. College admissions officers saw that he was one among many, with varying strengths and weaknesses evaluated in their holistic approach. He was forced to attend his third choice college, while his friends dropped out or moved down south. It was in college that he met Curiosity, Globalization and Multiculturalism. He knew that his old friends would have hated them, yet he began to see that in fact they were great people. And he opened his mind to the world. He realized that he loved sushi, and found an interest in African dance. As time passed he distanced himself from his past persona, as he grew into a productive member of society who reveled in cinco de mayo, and welcomed his immigrant neighbors into his home. After a time he realized that he was no longer the man he used to be, and he changed his name to Humanity.

The Gods Came Out to Play

The Gods Came Out to Play

The gods came out to play

a blend of ballet and geometry

they stretched and flexed their youthful muscles

Everywhere there was genius

A shimmering globe

Flamboyant, Smoldering, Scandalous

songs of love and revolution

on a hot summer night in Barcelona

The bolt slams shut on the gods

Wunderbar

I made Brazil cry

Big, Intense, Beautiful

The World’s Game

And at Wembley, Mr McElroy locks up.

Soccer Instagram

8 World Cups

One interesting facet of Eight World Cups is that the book is very much an American story. Vecsey was born and raised in New York, rather than Barcelona or Sao Paolo. He was a part of the generations who saw soccer as an immigrants game, as anti-american. He has seen soccer's struggle for popularity and respect. The relationship between American and soccer is a fascinating one, and one that is of particular interest to me. Even as I grew up i was constantly told that "American sucks at soccer." My great-grandfather was an immigrant who loved and played soccer, but would never have had his son play. Even when my dad played, the evanston team was made up mostly of immigrants. But these people missed that soccer being the game of immigrants was positive, this multicuralism is part of the beauty of soccer. At James Park every night there are several groups scattered around playing, a group of haitians, a group of africans, a group of mexicans, a group of white people. And they are all playing the same game. They may play different styles, say different things in different languages, but they are all kicking a circle into a square. The American teams stars are a part of this. Jozy Altidore is the son of Haitian parents, Clint Dempsey played with his mexican neighbors in Nacogdoches, Texas, Chris Wondolowski is half polish, half Kiowa native american. Deandre Yedlin is a quarter black, a quarter native american, a quarter latino and a quarter Latvian, literally the most diverse man of all time. America is a country of immigrants who bring with them their own styles of soccer from around the world. The impact of immigration on soccer national teams could be very interesting to research.
On another note, it is cool that this book written from a journalistic standpoint, Vecsey went to these 8 world cups to cover them as a journalist. Vecsey sees the struggles that American journalists have in covering soccer. For example, there was a minor uproar when before the 2014 world cup Jurgen Klinsmann (the US coach) said that the US would not win the world cup. The writers, used to the blowhards and Cinderellas of basketball and football (not to mention that there is much less of a division between the best and the worst teams in those sports), thought it was ridiculous and downright Un-American to give up before the tournament. But Klinsmann, a german, knew the truth and was being straightforward. It was practically impossible for the US to win. It is good to read a book from a journalist who sees past the soccer bashing, who condemns the attitude that in a 0-0 tie nothing happens. It is also interesting to see how Vecsey evolved into his enlightened attitude towards soccer. Initially, he had no idea what was going on on the field, it took him years to figure out what was happening. Improvement in soccer journalism is just one more tool to assist in Americas embrace of soccer.

Eight World Cups - George Vecsey

After just the first chapter it became clear that I had chosen the right book. i had never read such a spot on description of why I love soccer. My love for soccer is extremely difficult to articulate. Of course I enjoy the feeling of playing, of winning, of scoring. And I love watching, seeing the superhuman athletes do things with their bodies that a mere mortal such as myself can not and should not be able to do. And I love the history, the pageantry and the multiculturalism. All of this makes the world cup so special and meaningful, and George Vecsey manages to capture it perfectly in a way that I never could. For the world cup last summer, I went into full lockdown. I watched every single match, taking over my basement with soccer paraphernalia on the walls, and a miniature field taped onto the floor. My parents could not understand why it was so important that I watch every single play, they did not understand the raw emotion that soccer brings out of me. I have read a lot of books. Some I enjoy for their creative storytelling, others for inventing an entirely new world and still others because of their beautiful writing. But this is one of the only books I have read in which I feel that I am the one writing it, or at least I could be if I had the words, and the ability to articulate how I feel on paper. It is supremely weird and awesome at the same time to have this feeling, where every single page I say to myself, "yeah, that is exactly how I felt when Donovan scored in extra time against Algeria," or "thats what I thought when I saw the brazilian fans at the world cup." I feel like I am reading at once an expression and an affirmation of my feelings. The universality has been made clear to me ever since I was little, but I love to see the way soccer makes millions of people feel can be put into words like this.
As a book that focuses on the World Cups (eight of them, from 1982 to the present), the book brings up several topics that I could look into. As stated in the subtitle (my journey through the beauty and dark side of soccer), Vecsey touches on both sides to the game. The easiest thing to research would probably be the obvious corruption and failures of FIFA, the sports governing body. Vecsey talks about the fixed match between Germany and Austria to knock off Algeria in 1982, then there is the more modern issue of the World Cup awarded to Qatar in 2022. I could definitely write a paper condemning that ridiculous decision. I am less sure how I could investigate the beautiful side of the game. This is much less fact based, more visceral and hard to explain. Maybe this would work better for my other more artistic genres. Whichever direction I choose to look at I am deeply enjoying this book, as it takes me through the soccer history I know and love.