Oh, for the Days of Detente The truly international sport of soccer was once a bastion of U.S. aloofness. No matter how much the rest of the globe prated and preened, the U.S. could ignore soccer noise. Instead, American policy was to encourage international basketball competitions, for reasons obvious to all. Things change. Now the sport of prepubescent American girls is actually beginning to be taken seriously in the U.S., primarily because Americans accidentally discovered a degree of talent for the game. It is easy to ignore a sport at which one has no proficiency, like pole vaulting, cricket . . . or American men playing soccer. Now -- and this is discouraging -- the U.S. has beaten Mexico to qualify for the World Cup quarterfinals. Discouraging because Mexico so rarely gets a chance to beat the Americans at anything economic and political. Soccer is an outlet. Mexico should have won. Consider that in the world of soccer, Senegal shines. South American countries are powerhouses and European countries can play at conquering the world, as they did in the "good old days." Alas, America, that nation the French have labeled the hyper-power, the dominator of everything, has now boorishly intruded into the international esoterica of soccer. So much of U.S. international relations may have been improved through soccer. Example: a country feeling slighted by U.S. political pressures could invite the Americans for a "friendship match" between soccer teams. The U.S. would lose to the great glee of the other country - and no one in the U.S. would care. Soccer was just not an American sport. Now, the prospective damage to U.S. international relations is incalculable. James Clark ============================================================== (c) 2002 Millennium Relief & Development Services, vol. 2 no. 24 'Insight' is a publication of MRDS to interpret current events in light of the experience of members of our international network. 'Insight' archives and other information can be found on our website. 'Insight' may be freely copied with this citation. If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, simply reply and request to be removed. Millennium RDS, 5116 Bissonnet #358, Bellaire, TX 77401-4007 Tel: (713)961-5645 Fax: (713)961-5735 www.mrds.org insight@mrds.org <mailto:insight@mrds.org>. ==============================================================