Costa Rica - Greece and other thoughts...

Watching this was a throwback to how soccer was played in the early 1990s. Boring. I can appreciate Costa Rica's stingy defense playing with 10 --  but come on -- if all World Cup games were like this, we'd tune out.

I am anticipating a somewhat stupid response by American sportscasters to Robben's penalty and the flopping. Russell Westbrook and Dwyane Wade routinely flop worse. In basketball, we call it drawing a foul. In soccer, there is a perception that it is a "cheap" play. This is the observation of an amateur.

Alexi Lalas criticized the water breaks and suggested it should happen in all games. Another dull observation from a dull person. I'm fine with the water breaks in extreme conditions. It does not ruin the game or give undo advantage to one side. When you see the stands empty in sections of the stadium because of the heat, you know the players are dealing with really tough conditions. These are people who travelled thousands of miles and spent thousands of dollars to watch their national teams in the World Cup and it's so damn hot, they go into the grandstands to cool down.

Also, it sends the signal that as big a deal as these games are, they are just games for entertainment. The water breaks do not take away from the entertainment factor. Our culture has become insane when it comes to sports meaning something more than a fun pastime. From NFL fans criticizing players for not playing hurt (Jay Cutler) to the insane scrutiny we put star players - particularly basketball players (LeBron James) - under for "not winning," often it seems we've very much lost perspective on things.

And there are ramifications to the fans/media perspective when we put too much on these things. I find it unseemly that LeBron, Bosh, and Wade are again collaborating to get players to join their team. It is the equivalent of going to a playground game and all the best players deciding to be on one team and then taking on the competition and winning game after game easily. It is unsportsmanlike.

But aren't the players simply behaving rationally to the system of the NBA and fandom? LeBron's manhood was questioned for being unable to win in Cleveland. So what he did - fixing it to play with other good players - was a legitimate, rational reaction to an irrational set of expectations put on him. I suppose it isn't the worst thing in the world and there is still competition in the NBA, but something about the way the league is headed -- to the players basically self-selecting themselves and the teams -- feels new and less connected to the franchises, cities, and fans.