Popular Commentary

Tactical fouling has been a hot topic in the latest Sports News reports after the humiliating defeat of Brazil against Germany. I, for example, was completely oblivious to this tactic used (apparently for some years now) in professional Football (the real football by the way). The basic tenet of it being that you "tactically" foul the opponent with the ball in order to interrupt the flow of the play. A more extreme version of this is to foul the star player of the opposing team and possibly injuring him out of the game. A very nasty tactic indeed, yet it is the Modus Operandi of a lot of teams; most recently evidenced by Brazil. This tactic can backfire and a team can end up inciting vengeance from the opposing team and get your players injured (which also happened to Brazil against Colombia).

But there are a couple of fundamental issues that go much deeper than mere football tactics:

Firstly, a mean and unsportsmanlike tactic like this is diluting the soul of a sport meant to foster cooperation, grace, skill and elegance, and it's turning it into cesspool infighting, insults, backstabbing, and downright international animosity between countries. I mean, don't get me wrong... I'm not as naive as to think that professional sports, specifically Football, more specifically Latin American Football, is devoid of other BIG problems like corruption, game fixing, player and referee purchase, etc. The problem is when a game is won by circumventing or bending the rules it ceases to be fun and enjoyable and becomes nothing more than fuel for regionalism mentality and destructive street riots (you can apply this point to any sport). The point of any game is to play by the rules and win because of TALENT. What is the point of playing Solitaire if you're going to cheat an place all the aces on top? It misses the point and stops being fun. But beyond that, it shows the world that the people who make and enforce the rules (FIFA in the case of Football) is operating by its own corrupted agenda (which is another topic in and of itself). The bottom line is that all of this generates a certain disillusion in fans like myself and many others who become disappointed in what the game has become. I know that I will not watch another match with quite the same enthusiasm, if at all, knowing the reality of how the game is played today.

Secondly and this being my main point, is that this is reflective of a greater problem we have in today's society. This problem is the attitude of "winning at all costs". This attitude, I argue, is the root cause of why so many companies are cheating the system, polluting the environment, cheating their employees, their suppliers, the next generation, etc. It is the mentality of doing whatever it takes to get to the top. I believe this to be the cause of most, if not all, of society's woes today. From Asian children making shoes for Nike working 14 hour days with one bathroom break to contaminated oceans around the globe. Why? Because every culprit is trying to be number one... number one in profit, number one in market share, number one in sales, etc. "Crush your competition or they will crush you" is the name of the game. But ultimately the people at fault, as in Football, are the people who make and enforce the rules.

For over half a century government has lost its political will to create a level playing field where the truly talented can thrive, instead of the most ruthless. It is time for a change, not only in FIFA, but also governments around the world to start setting better rules and enforcing them so that we as fans of FIFA and the world can enjoy both for a very long time to come.

¿Cómo hiciste para sobrevivir?

1.- De niños andábamos en autos que no tenían cinturones de seguridad, ni bolsas de aire...

2.- Ir en la parte de atrás de una camioneta era un paseo especial y todavía lo recordamos.

3.- Nuestras cunas estaban pintadas con brillantes colores de pintura a base de plomo.

4.- No teníamos tapas con seguro contra niños en las botellas de remedios, gabinetes o puertas.

5.- Cuando andábamos en bicicleta no usábamos casco.

6.- Tomábamos agua de la manguera del jardín y no de una botella de agua mineral...

7.- Gastábamos horas y horas construyendo unos carritos de chatarra y los que tenían la suerte de tener calles inclinadas los largaban ladera abajo y en la mitad se acordaban que no tenían frenos

. Después de varios choques contra los árboles o cordones aprendimos a resolver el problema.

8.- Salíamos a jugar

con la única condición de regresar antes del anochecer.

9.- El colegio duraba hasta el mediodía

, llegábamos a casa a almorzar

. No teníamos celular...

así que nadie podía ubicarnos. Impensable

10.- Nos cortábamos

, nos rompíamos un hueso

, perdíamos un diente

, pero nunca hubo una demanda por estos accidentes. Nadie tenía la culpa sino nosotros mismos.

11.- Comíamos bizcochitos

, pan y con manteca

, tomábamos bebidas con azúcar

y nunca teníamos exceso de peso porque siempre estábamos afuera jugando...

12.- Compartíamos una bebida entre cuatro... tomando en la misma botella y nadie se moría por eso

13.- No teníamos Playstations, Nintendo 64, X boxes, Juegos de vídeo

, 99 canales de televisión en cable

, videograbadoras

, sonido surround, celulares personales

, computadoras

, chatrooms en Internet

... Sino que TENÍAMOS AMIGOS.

14.- Salíamos , nos subíamos en la bicicleta o caminábamos hasta la casa del amigo

, tocábamos el timbre o sencillamente entrábamos sin tocar y allí estaba y salíamos a jugar.

15.- ¡Ahí, afuera!, ¡En el mundo cruel ¡Sin un guardián! ¿Cómo hacíamos?. Hacíamos juegos con palitos y pelotas de tenis

, en algún equipo que se formaba para jugar un partido; no todos llegaban a ser elegidos y no pasaba ningún desencanto llevado a trauma.

16.- Algunos estudiantes no eran tan brillantes como otros y cuando perdían un año lo repetían. Nadie iba al psicólogo, al psicopedagogo, nadie tenía dislexia ni problemas de atención ni hiperactividad, simplemente repetía y tenía una segunda oportunidad.