The Beautiful Game

Art is where you find it.

Last night it was in the air and all around us, the Fourth of July brings out the kid and with that kid comes firecrackers, so if you have all of your fingers and toes this morning, it was a good holiday.

Yesterday was important for another reason. Over there, yes, the same over there as in the song, over there the Women’s World cup was idle. Why you ask? Can’t soccer players play on the Fourth of July? Yes, they can and everyone knows it. Our Women’s team is the number one ranked team in the world and in case you haven’t heard soccer is the world’s number one sport so why can’t they play on the Fourth? Cause no one, absolutely no one wants to give the American women another advantage.

The FIA, that’s the capo de tuti capi of soccer, was afraid letting the US women play on the fourth would give them an unfair advantage and they couldn’t let anyone else play on the fourth cause the Americans could say, “They got to do it, so why not us?”

Today the teams played double duty doing two sets of important games at the same time to make up for not playing Monday. Cause nobody wants to admit that the Americans already have an advantage, with the world’s best goalie, the world’s best striker, the world’s best attacking midfielder and the world’s deepest bench. Nobody’s saying nuttin’.

So how is this art? Watch. Get up get your chores done, get the kids outside, get the Big Guy off the couch and tune in tomorrow for the game. It’s on ESPN2 at 11:30 our time. It decides who wins the Group. Sweden wants to dodge Brazil, and who wouldn’t? They took Norway apart. But to get around Brazil they have to beat the U.S.

And to beat the U.S they have to beat Abby Wambach, who missed three goals in the last game and made the look so beautiful that they should have gone in on artistry alone. They have to beat Hope Solo, who has been like wall when the shots come flying in, they bounce up, they bounce down, they go everywhere except in. They have to beat Megan Rapinoe, whose off-the-bench as a sub goal had enough snap, crackle and pop for any Fourth celebration. She rattled one off the crossbar a bit later that left the goalie looking for signs of an earthquake.

They call it “The Beautiful Game”, we haven’t completely caught on here, but there are thousands of youth league players who will be watching with a worm on their tongues, and when you play like the American Women’s Team it is the beautiful game. Don’t pass up a chance to see kinetic art at its best, 11:30 Pacific on ESPN.