Baseball vs. Soccer
According to a 2002 Forbes survey, in the United States more people were playing soccer than baseball. This year’s World Cup provided three compelling reasons why this is a bad trend.
First, the drama queen factor. There are way more drama queens in the World Cup than in baseball. Every time you look up during a Cup Match, someone is collapsing in excruciating agony.
A minute later, they trot around perfectly healthy, poised to knock down some other thespian anticipating his spotlight moment. Imagine a soccer team of Lady Gaga, Lindsay Lohan, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton, the Kardashian girls, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston and Brett Favre. You’ll see more “flopping” in a single half of World Cup play than you would in an entire season with that team (Well, except maybe for Favre).
Baseball’s code, the exact opposite – above all, don’t show pain. If you get plunked with a pitch, you are obligated to trot down to first base without acknowledging you may have a broken elbow (only exception –taking umbrage and going out to bop the pitcher with your bat). In his classic baseball treatise, Ball Four, former Major Leaguer Jim Bouton explained when a player gets hit in the groin after a ball takes a bad bounce, he must grab his head, never the affected area. Can’t let them see you sweat.
Second, soccer players pout, baseball players play.
During a first round Cup game against Mexico, a French player was sent home after an argument with his coach. The team captain intervened after the game. This led to an argument between him and the coach, which led to the captain’s suspension. At that point, the entire French team refused to practice and threatened to boycott their final qualifying game. Ultimately they played – badly - and were easily dispatched from Cup play. The French sports minister told journalists the French players “had tarnished the image of France”. Insert your own punchline here.
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