Friday, Jun. 25, 2010

The Ball Is Round

If the controversy over those vuvuzelas wasn't bad enough, we had to put up with players and coaches moaning about this year's World Cup ball. Called the Jabulani (which ironically means "to rejoice"), it has upset many in the game, who have suggested it's making life unfair for goalkeepers (such as this Rob Green gaffe for England vs. the U.S.) because of the way the ball moves in the air. But the carping seemed to cease when Brazil made the Jabulani bend to its will, scoring goals of beauty against North Korea and Ivory Coast. And the other team in that group, Portugal, managed a not unhealthy seven against the Koreans. As former player Alan Hansen said on the BBC, "The ball is the ball. It always has been."