THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: ‘The beautiful game’ as a cure for this @#$%&* virus
You know what?
I’m tired of writing about the novel coronavirus — and its effect on sports across the globe.
For one thing, I don’t see any novelty in it, not anymore.
Besides, they’ve been playing soccer in Europe’s largest leagues for weeks now — so far without fans in stadiums, but there’s talk that crowds are coming back soon.
Meanwhile, here in the backwoods…
Numbers reported over the weekend suggest that 40 states have rising cases of the coronavirus — so fairly soon, the hissy fit between Democrats and Republicans over wearing masks will basically disappear as almost every store or restaurant that wants to stay in business will announce a mandatory mask restriction.
It’s a shame we’ve come to this, and thousands of Americans have died because our decision-makers dithered.
But we’ll get there, and eventually (like most countries in Europe and Asia) we’ll bring this damned coronavirus to heel.
And then, more people in the U.S. will enjoy the “novel” freedom to care about something besides this crappy virus.
Like sports.
IT’S A bit ironic, but I wanted to use this entire column today for an (ever-so-slightly selfish) discussion of “the beautiful game,” the sport we call soccer — but is known everywhere else as football.
What?
You don’t believe that football should be acknowledged as the world’s game?
Well, here are some numbers that aren’t quite “novel,” but still fit easily into the “wowza” category…
The 2018 World Cup in Russia caught the attention of enough people that viewership totaled more than half the Earth’s population.
Let me share the official statement from FIFA on that most recent World Cup (it will be in Qatar in 2022).
Oh, and if you’re dying to know what the acronym FIFA means, it’s Fédération Internationale de Football Association — with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
Anyhow, here’s what FIFA has to say on the sport’s popularity:
“A combined 3.572 billion viewers tuned in to world football’s ultimate competition, according to audience data for official broadcast coverage of the 2018 World Cup.
“The global in-home TV audience watching at least one minute of coverage totaled 3.262 billion, while a further estimated 309.7 million people watched no coverage in home, but caught the action on digital platforms, in public viewing areas or in bars and restaurants.
“The final between France and Croatia on July 15 attracted a combined global audience of 1.12 billion.
“Over the 64 matches, the average live audience was 191 million, as each game was a global televisual event in its own right.”
FEEL FREE to notice that back at the start of this essay on soccer, I used the word “selfish” — as in, ever-so-slightly-selfish.
That’s because I’m a long-gone soccer junkie.
More specifically, I’m a fan of the English Premier League (which has TV contracts totaling $6.3 billion, in 188 of the world’s 193 countries).
Sorry, the Premier League isn’t available in North Korea or Afghanistan, so I won’t be visiting either of those resort spots anytime soon.
I did enjoy a match while visiting a pub in the Canary Islands (right after our midday camel ride), so I’m absolutely sure the Prem has reached the island of Lanzarote.
I’ve mentioned the Premier League in general here, but even MORE specifically, I’m a devotee of Arsenal, the pride of North London.
Yes, of course, I’ve mentioned this before, but there’s no such things as too much Arsenal.
Naturally, I have a collection of Arsenal hats, shirts and assorted other items — some of which have stayed in the closet while the once-mighty Gunners have been rebuilding what was once the most feared club in the universe’s toughest league.
And yes…
The only club in England’s top flight ever to go unbeaten in the current 38-game Premier League format.
Preston North End managed to avoid a loss over just 27 games in the 1888-89 season.
I WAS just a kid then, and wasn’t all that impressed. Preston had no one like the Gunners’ Thierry Henry.
You can Google him, but I’ll help: In the 2002-03 season, Henry had 31 goals and a staggering 23 assists as part of Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run that had carried over from the previous year.
Supporters of neighboring North London club Tottenham have continually tried to say they’ve caught up to Arsenal, but as former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger put it: “As far as I know, they’re still four miles and 11 championships away.”
During the past decade-plus, it’s been harder finding reasons to shout from the rooftops about being a Gooner (the supporters’ much-loved nickname).
Therefore, I’m absolutely obliged to tell you that Arsenal beat LAST year’s Premier League champion, Manchester City, with a brilliant 2-0 masterclass in an FA Cup semifinal on Saturday.
There’s more…
Arsenal dispatched THIS year’s powerhouse champion Liverpool with a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph last Wednesday.
Back-to-back, down went the top two teams in England.
We now face the much-despised Chelsea in a couple of weeks, bidding for another FA Cup title, and this thing would be a VERY big deal for Gooners around the world.
I wish desperately that I could describe our wins over Liverpool and Man City in long, exciting and excruciating detail for you — but I don’t have space today.
With this current reconstruction project under young, first-year manager Mikel Arteta still building momentum, we’ll be underdogs against miserable, money-soaked Chelsea in the final — but it wouldn’t be a complete, mind-numbing shock if Arsenal won the thing, since we’ve captured the FA Cup a record 13 times.
For which I join millions across the planet in saying…
“Up the Arse!”
Email: scameron@cdapress.com
Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.
Steve also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball, once per month during the offseason.