I know we live in a fragile day and age where running with the first sign of a conspiracy might be the easiest (read: laziest) thing to do, but we've really got to get a grip on how we're talking about Argentina in the men's World Cup.
Yes, this is the final international tournament in the legendary career of Lionel Messi, the greatest player in the history of soccer. Yes, reigning World Cup champion Argentina, Messi included or not, is a wildly popular team considered a traditional men's World Cup power. Yes, FIFA is a notoriously shady sporting organization (perhaps even the shadiest) that already has what sure looks like a massive scandal involving the United States men's national team at this same tournament. And yes, an underdog team like Egypt happened to get screwed by a broken Soccer Computer (a.k.a. Video ******* istant Referee) in a Round of 16 match against Argentina.
But, and stick with me here, that doesn't mean FIFA is "rigging" the biggest sports tournament in the history of human civilization, just so the best player can ride off into the sunset with the first men's World Cup ******* le repeat in six decades. That's such a huge leap to make. Yet, with Messi and Argentina waltzing into the World Cup semifinals of this coming week, that "rigged" conspiracy theory seems to be the prevailing sentiment in some of the darkest corners of the internet. So much so that Breel Embolo's egregious flopping for Switzerland is somehow a point of contention.
For anyone who actually believes FIFA is manipulating this World Cup for Argentina and Messi with an "invisible hand," uh, pardon my French: Do you know how utterly stupid you sound? How irrational? It boggles the mind.
Do you know how difficult something like this would be to execute on a logistical basis, even beyond the parameters of the five-week tournament? Do you understand the sheer financial and ideological commitment it would take from every person who is even tangentially ******* ociated with the FIFA organization, from the people in suits to the referees on the field, to execute such a Herculean task without getting caught? Rest ******* ured, every soccer reporter on the planet would already be all over this story.
Yes, this is the final international tournament in the legendary career of Lionel Messi, the greatest player in the history of soccer. Yes, reigning World Cup champion Argentina, Messi included or not, is a wildly popular team considered a traditional men's World Cup power. Yes, FIFA is a notoriously shady sporting organization (perhaps even the shadiest) that already has what sure looks like a massive scandal involving the United States men's national team at this same tournament. And yes, an underdog team like Egypt happened to get screwed by a broken Soccer Computer (a.k.a. Video ******* istant Referee) in a Round of 16 match against Argentina.
But, and stick with me here, that doesn't mean FIFA is "rigging" the biggest sports tournament in the history of human civilization, just so the best player can ride off into the sunset with the first men's World Cup ******* le repeat in six decades. That's such a huge leap to make. Yet, with Messi and Argentina waltzing into the World Cup semifinals of this coming week, that "rigged" conspiracy theory seems to be the prevailing sentiment in some of the darkest corners of the internet. So much so that Breel Embolo's egregious flopping for Switzerland is somehow a point of contention.
For anyone who actually believes FIFA is manipulating this World Cup for Argentina and Messi with an "invisible hand," uh, pardon my French: Do you know how utterly stupid you sound? How irrational? It boggles the mind.
Do you know how difficult something like this would be to execute on a logistical basis, even beyond the parameters of the five-week tournament? Do you understand the sheer financial and ideological commitment it would take from every person who is even tangentially ******* ociated with the FIFA organization, from the people in suits to the referees on the field, to execute such a Herculean task without getting caught? Rest ******* ured, every soccer reporter on the planet would already be all over this story.
4 months ago
