Rush Hour

As you all know, the World Cup is being played in Africa for the first time in history, and rightly so, in South Africa, given their recent history. Now, I am not won to dwell too much on the past and I certainly don’t believe that modern-day Holland is connected to apartheid however, one cannot avoid considering the history between the mainly Dutch-Afrikaner rule in South Africa and their role in slavery and apartheid in that country. Yes, of course, this is sports and the Dutch in Holland (and elsewhere) are as nice as anybody else nonetheless, the history of what their ancestors did to the black people of South Africa….I mean, I just can’t seem to be happy about their soccer victories. It’d be like supporting the Germans in the World Cup on Israel soil 20 years after the Holocaust. You know what I mean? And even though one of Holland’s players is on the Italian team I support (Wesley Sneijder), I can’t help but have mixed feelings about all of those ‘orange supporters’ roaring their happiness through the streets of South Africa. Many South Africans have gone beyond the past, however for many, the wounds are still fresh. On a brighter side, this could help create a more positive and stronger bond between the two countries, which would only enhance South Africa’s economy. In any case….

…tonight, it’s Spain against Germany. I am supporting Spain; my husband is Spanish and I worked in Madrid for four wonderful years. ¡Vamos a por ellos! However, should the final be Germany – Holland, the young, multi-racial, and exciting German team gets my total support. It is what it is.

Here in Europe,  a lot of people are following Champions League football (soccer to you Americans) with great interest, as usual. We are now approaching the quarter-finals (I guess you could say I support Inter. You can change countries, you can’t change football teams) A few days ago, Lyonnais (France) whipped Real Madrid’s butt. So you may think, ’so what?’ and considering all of the other important issues taking place around the world (Haiti, Chile, Iraq, and Afghanistan, just to name a few), you would be right. However, there are a couple things to consider about the Real Madrid loss. Firstly, and importantly, Spain has been going through its biggest financial crisis since Franco’s military rule (when only a chosen few were happy, as with all dictatorial governments), that is, since it became a democracy. What does this have to do with sports and, specifically, Real Madrid? Well, RM is the capitol city’s team, and it has a history of being one of the best football teams in history. Lately, this ‘historic team’, has been owned and run by Florentino Perez, one of the richest men in the world. He holds the record for spending the most money on football players in history. Want to know how much he spent this season? 250 million euros. That’s right. 250 million euros for men playing with and kicking balls.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I find this sum that he paid in a period when Spain has almost 20% unemployment, absolutely grotesque, vulgar, and insensitive…it should be illegal. AND – this is a big and – most of the cash doesn’t come from his pockets; he gets it from bank loans and financiers. As you have guessed, there isn’t a salary cap in Europe, as there is in the United States (and some Europeans try to make us feel stupid! Ah, the stories I could tell!). Why the Madrileños don’t stand up and protest against this ignominious behavior is beyond me. To add insult to injury, Real Madrid’s loss against Oympique Lyonnais pulled them out of the running for the Champion’s League title. If the economic crisis weren’t so critical in Spain, it would almost make me laugh. Instead, I feel disgusted.