The World and The World Cup

As we get into the knockout stages of the World Cup, with a tournament that has already been exciting and entertaining as any I can remember, even with the move from 32 to 48 teams participating, I was planning to write about how great it is to have events like this (and the Olympics) where the troubles of the world seem to be put aside for a bit while athletes have an opportunity to vie for individual and national pride.

And while I started the tournament feeling that way in early June, I can honestly say it has subsided in many ways. While the game on the pitch is as intriguing and entertaining as ever, it's hard to avoid the political challenges that are at odds with the event. The most jarring has been the treatment of the Iranian team, who have been forced to fly in for just game days and not allowed to stay in the US thanks to the unofficial war being fought over the Strait of Hormuz.

And if that were the only incident, it would probably go down as a footnote, with Iran being eliminated early after failing to win a game, but playing competitively in every game.

But then add to that the US government's announcement of targeting Haitian immigrants (like those falsely accused of eating cats and dogs in Ohio during the last election) with timing far too coincidental to not be coordinated with the Haitian team being eliminated from the World Cup tournament as well. And let's not forget the Somalian referee who was denied entry to the US for his assignments almost exclusively over the current administrations beef with the people of Minnesota, denying him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity he duly earned.

And then this past weekend, the dichotomy of the world coming together to celebrate a global game in cities across North America, and the white nationalist co-opted celebration of our country's 250th birthday going on in D.C., and it's hard not to see how sad and pathetic the latter is. It's hard to see the passion and pride of all these fans supporting their teams, and not be embarrassed by the state of US policies today.

And from there it just seems to grow. While there have been great stories, like tiny Cabo Verde taking the defending champion Argentinians to the brink, as the tournament goes on there are also heated rivalries and resentment that emerge in disappointing ways, and other stories, from questionable calls to opaque enforcement of punishments, that highlight the corruption FIFA has long been accused of.

While as fans we generally want to take pride in our players and ideally see a fair competition of top-level athletes, sometimes the shine is taken off when the world around those ideals reminds you that it may never actually happen.