World soccer fans are empassioned to a degree that we don't understand, often including politics in their rooting interest for futbol. It raises the stakes to a level you couldn't imagine in the US. Referees around the world are often afraid for their lives after blown calls cost teams games!
As another example, I grew up rooting for Madrid and when some friends and I were going to take a ferry to Ibiza (a Mediterranean Island) from Barcelona, my friend insisted on taking his car with him because it had Madrid license plates and he was afraid what would happen to it. It cost him an extra $100! LOL
Honestly, I am proud that US fans are in an uproar over what happened because normal US behavior toward soccer would have been more along the lines of "meh, at least they came back and tied." Had this happened to Spain, Italy, Brazil, England, etc. you would still be hearing about it and the press there wouldn't accept FIFA's non-response.
Add new comment
1