World Cup Talk

Okay, so since my writing is something I do for entertainment (my own and hopefully yours), I actually need to work a 9-5 job to pay the bills. Due to this unfortunate circumstance that I'm trying to remedy, all my World Cup viewing has been done on weekends, through highlights, or by staring at a static scoreboard and waiting for the score to change. (but I did get to see the amazing finish of the Italy-Australia game on my lunch break)

But this happens every 4 years: I get really into soccer for this month, then I forget it ever existed aside from the occasional qualifier match, or if I happen to catch a game on Fox Sports World (does that channel even exist anymore?).

Anyways, like a true American, I don't really know much about soccer outside the World Cup, so I'll give my ignorance a pedestal to shine here and I'll run down some of the things I enjoy, some of the things I don't like, and some of the things I don't know about this sport that I watch so infrequently.

Constant Action
Some find the sport boring, maybe because there isn't a score every 5 seconds like in other sports, and clear shots on goal are often few and far between. But what other sport can you watch for 2 periods of 45 minutes straight without a single break in the action? Shit, they take corner kicks a foot away from felled players on the opposing team. Get a yellow card for stalling. Tap free kicks instantly to get a jump on the opposition. There's no time to waste in these matches, and there's no such thing as a time out.

No Commercials
Related to the constant action, you don't have to sit and watch some asshole telling you why his Hyundai is better than a Toyota, or see some crazy hijinx involving McDonald's french fries in between the shit you actually sat down to watch. You can simply enjoy the game and then choose to acknowledge or ignore the Adidas logo in the corner, or the advertisements on the billboards surrounding the pitch.

Close Matches
It's not often you see a blowout reflected on the scoreboard in soccer. A team can dominate a match, and yet the game can still go down to the final minute with one goal separating the two. Even though the tide of a match will show that the outclassed team will most likely not score, it's not often that the game is so far out of reach that there's no need to keep watching. Soccer keeps your attention from the beginning to the end, because at any time a goal can be scored.

In the interest of the short attention-span of American sports watchers, I'll cut this one short

Jermain Taylor vs. Winky Wright

There's no bad blood here. There's been no trash talking, no pre-fight scuffles, no intense stare-downs, and no bitter history between these two fighters.

There hasn't been any calls for blood, no threats of violence, and no publicity stunts. These two couldn't be more different as fighters, but the one thing they have in common is an unusually laid back personality for boxers.

So why am I so damn excited for this fight?

Because this is a classic clash of styles. It's a clash of different experiences. It's a clash of training preferences. It's everything a pure boxing fan could hope for. Save the theatrics for WWE, it's the fights themselves that matter, and this one has the potential to be one of the all-time greats. And it's airing tomorrow night on HBO.

Here we have an atypical situation where the older, more experienced fighter is both lesser known and the challenger to the title (Wright, 50-3 with 25 KO's, pictured on the right) while the younger fighter with less experience is the celebrated champ (Taylor, 25-0 with 17 KO's, pictured on the left).

Wright is known for his near-impenetrable defense and amazing technical abilities, while Taylor is known for his aggressiveness and knockout ability.

Wright built up the bulk of his career overseas, becoming quite well known in Europe, but failing to get much hype in the states until recent wins over Sugar Shane Mosely and Felix Trinidad. Taylor, on the other hand, has had his career scoped out since he was an olympic bronze medalist in the Atlanta games in 2000, and has reached an unbelieveable amount of hype after two hard fought decisions over Bernard Hopkins.

Wright is looking to finally cement his legacy throughout the boxing world. Heads are up on him after his absolutely dominant wins of the past few years, but a win over Taylor and the chance to call himself Middleweight Champion could put him over the top and grant him status as one of the best ever.

Taylor is looking to add one more notch to his still-perfect 25-0 record. He's been questioned as to whether or not he really won those fights against Hopkins, but the fact remains that he is the champ, and he may be the most dangerous middleweight in the world. If he can get the victory over a man who some feel is pound-for-pound the most technically sound boxer on the planet, he may find himself at legendary status.

This is one of the most important fights in a very long time. And we don't even need PPV to watch it.

Saturday, June 17
HBO @ 9 PM

My prediction: Wright by unanimous decision