#because futbol

[marvinos-world]

[goddesscru]

Breathe, COME ON!

Really @jalapenorodriguez?! 😩😩😩

[mari-flor]

Do you know what it eels like...(cue the song) 

having your favorite team play in your home city and you can’t go see them. 

[coolstuffon]

[wilsheregirl]

Me: mom I'm going to be so disappointed if I don't date a professional football player

Mom: will you go into depression?

Me: probably

Mom: you should start therapy now then

[hidden-immigrant]

Because fútbol.

            Love it or hate it, it’s pretty much an indisputable fact that soccer* is the world’s sport.  And because of this, it has power that other sports can never have: the power to break down barriers and bring souls together from every race, creed, and culture.  Everywhere you go, people are in love with this game.  It unifies those who couldn’t be more different.  It’s more than a sport—it’s a passion.

            Everywhere…except America.  Before I left the States, the World Series was a bigger deal than the World Cup, and David Beckham was just that guy who had that Keira Knightly movie named after him.  But everything changed when I moved to Germany.  There, Fußball is as much a part of the culture as lederhosen and sausage.

            Sadly, I’ve come to realize Americans will never love soccer the way everyone else does.  They’ll say it’s too boring (which is BS, because Americans will sit through a 6-hour football or baseball game without complaining), too unfair, too much of a “pansy” sport, etc.  But I believe the truth lies much deeper than this.

            A quick anecdote: the other day, I went to Sports Authority in Norfolk, VA.  I asked if they had any World Cup apparel, to which the sales associate said, “No, honey, they got rid of that soon as we was kicked out.”  According to statistics, the 2014 FIFA World Cup generated the highest American viewership in World Cup history.  That is, until America was eliminated.  Then it was back to the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest (I’m not kidding, that is what came on ESPN after the Germany-France match).  Americans got behind the World Cup (the tournament, mind you, not soccer) while we could still wrap ourselves in our own star-spangled flag.  But in order for it to really catch on, we would have to shed our patriotism and for once root for someone other than ourselves.  We would have to see ourselves as one country among many equals rather than the greatest country in the world.  We’re not too good at that.

            Not to mention the sporting industry in America.  Soccer has two 45-minute halves that cannot be interrupted by commercial breaks.  Compare that to the Super Bowl, which generates billions of dollars from advertising spots alone.  Compared to American sports, soccer is not very lucrative and thus, in the true spirit of capitalism, not very popular.

            I’ve come to terms with the fact that I can’t share my love for soccer in the US like I can in Germany.  And honestly, the rest of the world couldn’t give a shit what America thinks of the Beautiful Game.  But I do wish Americans would stop and realize that it is a beautiful game.  It's beautiful because it's simple–it can be played by anyone, whether you’re 6’5” or 4’3”, buff or scrawny, male or female, young or old.  You can play with the $160 Adidas Brazuca ball or the free one your mom made out of crumbled newspaper in a pillowcase.  It can bring happiness and hope to countries where poverty and war have nullified the meaning of those words.  The movements are flowing and the goals can be stunning (along with the players, ladies!)

            And most importantly, there’s an element of sportsmanship in soccer I’ve never seen in any other sport.  Americans, you don’t have to love it.  But if you want a game that unifies, the Beautiful Game is the answer.

*Yes, I call it “soccer”, not “football”.  I lived in Europe, but I’m from fucking Amurica, and that’s what we call it here.  Deal with it.

[scrunchie-face]

[lilypicz]

I would

If I had a chance to meet one famous person. That person would be, Giovanni Dos Santos because he is the BEST...NO....MOST TALENTED FÚTBÓL PLAYER THERBE Is To OFFER!! i Woukd Also love to Were my THERBE crushes ocheo because hes saved our assess gonnna getting creamed but making sure that we never lose. Plus Oribe because he maid us have many goal attempts in the past games. And we thank you three.