On The Ball with Mark Wheat: A Stunning World Cup and a Big Doubleheader in Minneapolis
by Mark Wheat
July 28, 2014
On the Ball with Mark Wheat is a Monday feature on The Current that celebrates the connections between music and soccer. Listen on Monday at 7 p.m., as Mark plays the music selection of the week.
Sorry I was away on vacation for the rest of the World Cup; I've saved my thoughts for this week. But you really didn't need this blog to tell you that the World Cup in Brazil made big news everywhere this year. There are few things left that can bring such a huge global audience together. And it wasn't just the football that made news, one way or the other, but the geo-political ramifications of these events on the local people and in the standing of nations in the world.
The hangover, after the extraordinary excitement of the tournament, is that now after the Germans decided the football result, the arguing about economics and politics continues. This weekend FIFA, whose own reputation was battered throughout the Finals by various corruption scandals, tried to plead that the World Cup could be a "powerful catalyst for constructive dialogue between people and governments, helping to bring positive social developments." High ideals for a simple sport, but you saw how important it can be for people across the world, and FIFA believes this will be the case for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
One senior British MP this weekend, however, suggested that the decision to award the World Cup next time to Russia should be reversed, because of the situation in Ukraine. The 2022 Finals are supposed to be in Qatar, which has already started building its extra stadia, with a heavy cost of human life and world renown. Wouldn't it be great if we could figure out a diplomatic way of suggesting that the Finals always be held here in the USA — we'll take over the role of host nation?!
What this blog did tell you, though, was that I predicted that there would be a huge upset with a small country going a long way, proven beautifully by Costa Rica; and that the Germans would or should win. In the end, they made heavy going of it in a slightly disappointing final which Argentina should have grabbed. But their demolition of Brazil on home turf must rank as the most extraordinary result ever in the history of the competition, seriously! I was in Germany that night watching with the missus and her dad — who traditionally is not a big footie fan, he's into cycling — but like the rest of the country, he had been swept up into a subdued frenzy by the Mannschaft's progression in the early games. Flags were everywhere; I brought some designed to clip on top of your car's side windows! I was proud that the USA did well to keep them at bay, only losing 1-0. After the fourth goal went in during the 20th minute of that bizarre semi-final, though, a strange shift occurred in the atmosphere: the TV commentator lowered his tone, the cheers that could be heard across balconies in the warm summer night were more muted, my folks shifted uneasily in their chairs and started to feel very sorry for the Brazilian people, not the team.
By the Sunday of the final we were in Austria with my mother-in-law. She's not a big fan of Bayern Munich, however, and the German team is built around seven of their players; there's a lot of Bavarian pride associated with the success and many are still a little wary of that powerful show of regional glory. But it had been a long time coming for the country who thought that an era of dominance would be theirs when they last won in 1990, a year after the Berlin Wall collapsed. One of the team that day was our own U.S. men's national team coach Jurgen Klinnsman and he, along with Jorgi Low and many of the administrators of the Football Union can take great pride in the system for coaching soccer that they re-built, to help incorporate the two parts of their nation. My mother-in-law is a big fan of Mario Goezte, however, as he used to play for Dortmund, her faves, before moving to Bayern last year. She kept calling for him to be brought on, so when he arrived with the stunning late winner, there were massive high fives all round!
It was an absolute joy for me as a life-long fan of the game to see how wrapped up in it America became this time. Viewing figures were way up, and the White House watched the Belgium game and the President called Tim "The Hero Goalie" Howard on the phone. Our workplace, like many, had viewing parties for the first time and thanks to everyone who stormed The Nomad all month long — what a party this nation had on the back of the beautiful game! Coming as it did on the heels of a fabulous season in the EPL, lots of you might be well primed to see some the stars of both the World Cup and EPL.
Well … in many places in the USA, you can for the next couple of weeks before the new Premier League season starts Aug. 16 (once again, every game available through NBC).
My boys Man Utd made a great start under the new manager, beating LA Galaxy 7-0 and Roma 3-2 in Denver!! They're on telly live tomorrow night on NBCSN against Inter Milan in D.C.; their noisy neighbors, League Champions Man City, meanwhile, are going to be in our own backyard this Saturday, Aug. 2, at TCF Bank Stadium, taking on Greek perennial powerhouse Olympiacos.
And stay around for a double header featuring Minnesota Utd vs. Ottawa. I have often wondered if Americans think a 90-minute soccer game is too short to come out for. After all, baseball and football games can go on for 3 to 6 hours! So this doubleheader is a good idea; maybe we could have more of those somehow?
AND it's the same night Macca's in town! Tune in Friday for a daylong celebration of Sir Paul's music through out the years.
Speaking of music, who's your fave Man City fan musician? Here's a few of mine: Badly Drawn Boy, Mark E Smith of The Fall, Oasis' Gallagher brothers, and local Chris Pavlich.
Here's his band Two Harbors, who'll be playing at First Ave next week Friday with our own DJ Jake Rudh, Carroll and Tickle Torture.