Boston-Homer

FIFA beats out NCAA as most controlling governing body.

Today a nation was delivered a blow. A blow that will probably cost them a trip to the World Cup Finals next summer. A blow that as of one week ago should have never been allowed to happen. This morning FIFA held one of the most important, and scandalous "draws" in the history of the association. The draw was to decide which eight teams would play each other in home-and-home matches to earn the final four places in the World Cup.


Roy Keane. My soccer idol.

The eight teams involved in the draw were: France, Bosnia, Portugal, Greece, Ukraine, Ireland, Russia, and Slovenia. As of ten days ago this "draw" was going to be done randomly. Meaning, everyone had an equal chance at playing each other. However, ten days ago FIFA realized that if they followed through with that idea then there was a chance France and Portugal could face each other, meaning one team would be out of the competition next summer. Meaning there was a chance Christiano Ronaldo might not be there, there was a chance Thierry Henry might not be there. FIFA could not take that risk. Therefore FIFA made an about-face and changed the entire way the "draw" would be set up. The teams would be seeded.

This meant France and Portugal would not face each other, it was impossible. It meant France and Portugal would face a weaker team and would boost their chances of making the World Cup.



Ireland's hope lay in the hands of an Italian...honestly...

Today the draw was done, and today I found out that Ireland would be playing France. As a son of two Irish born parents I grew up loving the Irish soccer team. I remember being on the phone with my friend when Ray Houghton scored the only goal in a 1-0 Ireland win over Italy in the 1994 World Cup. I remember being so sick when Packie Bonner let a ball slip through his hands to allow the Dutch team to beat them in the second round of the World Cup in 1994. I remember waking up early to watch the Irish, without Roy Keane, nearly beat Spain in penalty kicks in 2002. Ireland is my team, not the US, not any other country. To have them in the World Cup again would be amazing, it would might be enough to drag me to South Africa, seriously.

The problem now is the French are in the way. Would I be ticked off if this was done fairly? No, just upset at the bad luck. But knowing that Ireland should have had a better chance, knowing there were five teams, other than Portugal and France, that they would have a great chance against, that is what ticked me off.

Is there an equivalent to this? If I were to try this might be the closest:

MLB a week away from the playoffs starting, realizes the two best teams in baseball are both in the AL (not too far fetched). Therefore, to avoid having these teams face each other before the World Series, MLB decides to seed the playoffs and allow AL and NL teams to play each other before the World Series.

When things like this happen, something always backfires. Some team is galvanized and begins to believe they were mistreated, disrespected. I am hoping that an old Italian manager, who has transformed this Irish team, will work his magic. I am hoping that the Irish team that recently tied the defending World Cup champion Italy 2-2 in Dublin will show up and spit in the face of FIFA and their lack of fair governing. I hope I might have a reason to consider a trip to South Africa, man I hope Ireland are back. The World Cup needs them, the World Cup needs their fans. And selfishly, I need them to go. I need some new memories.

The Bhoys in Green will be up for the challenge, and we all know how the French react to resistance...