04/23/24
July 09, 2002
"This World Cup was fun, and that was precisely the trouble with it: who wants fun at the biggest and most important sporting event we have?" Nick Hornby in the New Yorker.
Hrm... it's pretty well written, but maybe I missed it: if it isn't fun, what should it be? Dull? Angry? I'm a little unclear. I personally thought it was a great ride.
posted by tieguy at 08:06 AM on July 10, 2002
"It used to be the aspiration of every professional footballer to play in the World Cup, but this time around there was a growing sense that, for some of the wealthiest — especially those who didn't have the good fortune to play for one of the stronger footballing nations — it was an unattractive alternative to a well-earned beach holiday." Well said. I got that impression too.
posted by Miguel Cardoso at 09:40 AM on July 10, 2002
My favorite line from the article was his take on the absence of English hooliganism at the Cup:
"But in Japan and Korea the English behaved impeccably (possibly because the Far East is a long way to go to punch a Swede) ..." [emphasis mine]Hahahahaha. Brilliant.
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:51 AM on July 10, 2002
It's a very Hornby-esque piece, actually. In the sense that there's an undercurrent of irony, a sense of the disparity between the 'fun' and the 'obsessively serious' that runs throughout his books. (Of which Fever Pitch is the best.) Yes, it was more like the FA Cup than the Champions League, but I'd sooner watch China-Costa Rica again than sit through a first-round Champions League match, played for little reason other than the demands of the sponsors. I suppose Hornby's point is that the World Cup is no longer the apotheosis of football; then again, was it ever? In our remembrances, sure: but the apotheosis of football is one of those great inattainables that Hornby and his lead characters is always obsessing over.
posted by etagloh at 01:24 PM on July 10, 2002
And I thought all Mr Hornby did was write books that turned into Hugh Grant movies. Now, I've discovered Fever Pitch. I shall have to buy it for myself and my Arsenal-fan dad. Thanks for the great link.