Day 4: One man's 0-0 draw is another man's 0-0 draw
13 June 2006, 09:45
It turns out that it’s harder than one thinks to watch three games a day and to carve out time for other things: a bit of writing, a phone interview, some exercise. So I have great respect for the multi-tasking Trinidad & Tobago goalkeeper Shaka Hislop. After his valiant performance in the 0-0 tie with Sweden, he churned out a few hundred words for the London Times, describing his experience. Hislop combines humility with genuine pride. He writes, “For things to go as they did, well, I think I’ll die a happy man.”
Where you find death-bed happiness, though, you also find serious blues. I got a taste of these on Day 4. First Zico’s Japan team lost to the Socceroos of Australia. The Socceroos wore yellow and green outfits that, my friend Steve McClure pointed out, made them look like a college team. They played a rough match, Australian-Rules style. Japan grabbed the first goal. They had Mohawks and good skill, so I was rooting for them. But they couldn’t score again. In the closing moments the Japanese wilted. The Socceroos pounced. Suddenly it was 3-1.
Then the USA was up. Why do I root for this team? I have mentioned in this newsletter that I had a dream about the USA in which Bobby Convey and DaMarcus Beasley played at the same time. Bruce Arena must have had the same dream because that’s how they lined up. It turned out to be a nightmare. The comically tall Jan Koller scored after four minutes, and the Czechs never looked back, winning 3-0. The Americans enjoyed a lot of possession. Except for Claudio Reyna’s strike against the post, though, they did not threaten goal. Tomas Rosicky showed them how to score and score magnificently. I couldn’t appreciate it. I pretend I don’t care much about the American team. I do.
A bit woozy from the loss, I had to live-blog the Italy-Ghana match for the Times, but their server was down, so everything I typed would disappear. I began to sweat. I couldn’t watch the game, which was apparently entertaining, and I couldn’t get the blog to work. Two hours later, Italy had won. I shut down my computer and rushed to Harlem where I had my own soccer game to play. The 4 train stopped for a “police investigation at Fulton Street.” I fidgeted in my seat and replayed the day. When I finally arrived uptown, 25 minutes late, my game was canceled.
Shaka Hislop writes, “What do we play football for? Contrary to what you might think, we play to make people happy.” Really?
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— Austin · 13 June 2006, 16:44 · #