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Shame on most of us for missing Wimbledon, World Cup
Mon, Jul 10, 2006
 Two of the biggest sporting events we hold on our planet ended Sunday afternoon.
It's highly unlikely many of us on this side of the Atlantic noticed.Oh, sure, flipping through the channels Sunday, you may have found the Wimbledon men's single final or the World Cup final. You may have given each a passing glance en route to the Braves or the PGA Tour or NASCAR. Really, I can't blame you one bit. Rank those five events on a list, and the three you landed on eventually are higher on my list than the two things I came to write about today.But as they say, variety is the spice of life. And, if you'll allow a little seasoning onto your sports plate, you might like the taste of something different.Every year, we get Wimbledon. Every year, it's hard for America to get fired up about the proceeding at the All England Club. I remember Pete Sampras' grand run there, and I remember Andre Agassi's victory there in 1992 serving as the turnaround to his great career. But mostly, I only give the tournament a passing glance. Maria Sharapova's title in 2004 was cool, only because I covered her winning the 2003 Cloister Cup title at Sea Island. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have cared one bit.Yet there is history and pageantry at Wimbledon that is worth attention. Yes, the folks that run the place are still stuck in the 19th century — come on, y'all, pay the women's singles champ as much as you pay the men's single title winner — but the action on the court is worthwhile.Every four years, the world stops for the World Cup. We got a taste of the hype and hysteria — albeit just a slight taste — four years ago when Team USA made it all the way to the quarterfinals.Back to reality in this year's tournament, with the Americans falling on their face (and getting jobbed by the refs in the final game against Ghana). But while most of the nation turned away once the Red, White and Blue were through, those of you who stayed tuned watched one heck of a passion play.I watched more of this World Cup than ever before, and I was hooked. Soccer on TV is tough, but when you've got so much riding on the games, and the fate and mood of entire nations riding on each rush upfield, each counterattack, each excruciating minute of overtime, you can't help but get caught up in the rush.Sure, the U.S. isn't as good in soccer as Italy or France (or Portugal or Germany, or fill-in-the-blank or insert-team-name-here). But it's not called the beautiful game for nothing. At this level, deep in the World Cup, it's more than beautiful. It's breathtaking.Yet we continue to roll along on this side of the big pond, hung up on baseball and racing and golf and, oh yeah, can't forget about our brand of football, which begins soon. But there's just a slight part of me who feels we as a sports nation miss out when we turn away from events that mean so much to the rest of the folks with whom we share this great planet.Wimbledon and the World Cup are over, just in case you didn't notice. And, you probably didn't.
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