Zidane's Cup Runneth Over

I'm not necessarily up on the world soccer scene, but I've probably never followed a Cup as much as I did this one. I watched whenever my schedule allowed, and it seemed like it was always when France was playing.

And being the traditionalist that I always have been, I rooted for French superstar Zinadine Zidane to go out on a high note, that being his second Cup in three tries. France won on its home turf in 1998, getting two goals from Zidane in a 3-0 shellacking of world power, 2002 champ and 2006 fave Brazil. That, incidentally, was the year I myself broke into video-game superstardom, as my PlayStation World Cup '98 victories over Tom Cunningham are far too numerous to recall.

Nonetheless, it was quite disappointing to see Zidane's ejection in such a high-stakes situation. It was one of the few times in the tournament when the officials made a big call and got it right. The old headbutt to the chest plate was blatant enough to get sent off indeed, and it's too bad Zidane wasn't around to participate in the post-overtime PKs.

The bigger picture of the World Cup, however, showed me something else significant. It reminded me that athletes around the world -- Zidane's behavior notwithstanding -- are far more loyal to their fans than their Yankee counterparts. Want proof?

When was the last time you saw Kobe Bryant or Peyton Manning walk off the court or field with hands clapping above his head, acknowledging the home team's support? Soccer players do it, as do tennis players, and that's a sport full of internationals. Baseball sluggers will come out for the occasional curtain call and pitchers will tip a cap after a nice ovation twice a year. But the rule in Eurosports seems to be that you thank the fans regardless of the outcome of your game every time you compete.

And the arrogance isn't limited to the athletes, but the leagues themselves bestow upon winners of the Super Bowl, World Series and NBA Finals the title of "World Champions," when in fact only Olympics athletes and World Cup soccer players can call themselves such. Perhaps that's why foreign fans of sport are so much more passionate about competitions involving their nations than are Americans.

Here in the States, it just seems like no one cares about apathy anymore.