I warned you at the end of my last post that soccer talk was coming. And here it is. Little did I–or anyone except the US Justice Department–know then, however, that FIFA was going to command a good deal of everyone’s newsfeed between then and now. But now you’re here and I’m here and we’re gonna do soccer together. So let’s get a two-man wall together, cover up our nether regions, and hope we don’t take this one to the face.
Numero Tres – The Arsenal is Good, The FIFA is Bad, and The Chelsea is Ugly
Before I dive into some Arsenal end-of-season thoughts and what not–which is what I had intended to do–it seems silly to not open up this whole FIFA thing a bit.
To begin, I think we all need to come back down to earth somewhat. Just because FIFA is under all sorts of fire and Sepp Blatter is resigning, I think for anyone to expect an overhaul of one of the most corrupt organizations in our history would be naive. Is it good that this is happening? Of course. But FIFA is a worldwide organization bigger than the UN. And all the countries that feed into FIFA, no matter how small they are, get the same number of votes as their bigger counterparts. I don’t know if any of you watch Last Week Tonight, but they did a wonderful job laying out how difficult the taking on and enacting change within FIFA really is. To me, the biggest obstacle is this: the smallest country receives the same money that the biggest does. That means that countries like San Marino, with its population of a whopping 32,000, receive the same payout as the US, England, Germany, and you get the idea.
In addition to the financials, the FIFA government is flawed in a way that is difficult to correct. Imagine the US Senate and House of Representatives. FIFA’s governing body is like the Senate, meaning every country that feeds into it has the same voting power. This voting equality sounds good in theory, and perhaps in some sort of utopia, it would be. Unfortunately, however, it doesn’t really serve the soccer world’s best interests because the power that these small countries can wield together is the power that keeps bribe-taking, arrogant sons of bitches like Sepp Blatter running the show. This is why I have my doubts that any lasting good is really on its way. My depressing and deflating prediction is that another Sepp will step in and keep the corrupt FIFA status quo. This is because as long as small countries keep greasing those money wheels, why would FIFA change a thing? They’re the most profitable non-profit ever. What a racket.
Despite my thoughts on this, what is happening is good. What the US Justice Department is doing is good. We should always try and reduce the bad in the world, even if we can’t completely eradicate it. I get that if you want to kill it, you’ve got to cut the head off the snake, but sometimes if you can’t reach the head, it’s better to take what you can than nothing at all. Besides, maybe I’m wrong and this movement is exactly what FIFA needed to get its shit together and become the governing body that the world’s favorite–and greatest, just deal with it *insert any other sport* fans–sport deserves.
Transition to Arsenal
Oh Arsenal. I just don’t know what to think anymore. Obviously I’m thrilled that we won the FA Cup for the second year running and that we qualified for the Champions League again, but isn’t this kinda just more of the same? I love Arsenal, truly I do. But years of dashed Premier League title hopes have left me a little bit jaded and hollow inside. I just don’t think I can really increase my excitement level any more until that happens. Was this year a step in the right direction? I think so, but I have thought that for a few years too so it doesn’t look like we’re taking particularly large steps. And I also think that for at least a few years now, Arsenal has had the talent necessary to win that elusive title, but lacked the consistency to make it happen. In these more recent seasons especially we’ve seen some stretches of seemingly flawless soccer, only to be interrupted by some god-ugly ones. And maybe in the past, the cause may have been a personnel problem (e.g. lack of talent or injury), but that isn’t the case anymore. In fact this summer, we’re actually in a position where, if we want to add talent, we’re going to have to let some go. There’s too many players on this roster that think and are starting caliber players to add others. So it’s a coaching issue then? Piers Morgan, professional blowhard and perhaps Arsenal’s biggest fan, would say, “Yes, Wenger out.” I’m a maybe. These days I lean more towards the idea that this is just what we are: capable of trophies and brilliant soccer in spurts and incapable of the trophy we want and consistent brilliant soccer to win it. What can I say, I’m a cynic.
Transition to Chelsea
F those guys. They’re the worst.
Well, I suppose this concludes our nut kick soccer post. I’ll try and keep them relatively few and far between, but they’re gonna happen. And you guys are just gonna have to deal with it. My blog. My passions. My posts. Don’t want soccer? Start a new blog and copy and paste all of my non-soccer posts into it. Still having fun with this. Hope the four of you that read it are enjoying it as well. See you next time.
– Ryan Johnson
@CRyanJohnson on twitter and instagram
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