Diving in soccer, a disease that is reaching cancerous proportions.
For the non-football readers, Diving (or simulation - the term used by FIFA) in the context of football is an attempt by a player to gain an unfair advantage by diving to the ground and possibly simulating an injury, to appear as if a foul has been committed. (from Wikipedia).
Football matches are being tainted by this disease because a diving incident can often turn a match and yield a result to the diver's advantage.
Simply saying, to dive means to cheat.
The funny thing is some divers don't even know how to dive properly. Witness Chelsea's Shaun Wright Philips when he was caught on TV falling to the ground in a heap when the the player who is supposed to have fouled him is one feet away.
When divers are asked why they dive, often the excuse is that everybody does it, so why not he?
I do forgive the diver for not having a brain. If he has he would not be saying that.
So by his logic, the following is also possible :
A lot of people snort coke. So it is okay to snort coke?
A lot of people abuse kids. So it is okay to abuse kids?
Most brainless excuse I have ever heard.
It is darn depressing when you are enjoying a good football match and have it ruined by a diver. I don't mind my fave team loses, as long as they don't lose to result engineered by a dive. As long as they lose to a better team.
Ok, you may ask what if my team wins because one of my team's player dived? If you know me and which team I support in football, my team's players seldom dive (hardly) and even if one did, I don't brag about the result because I know he cheated and the result means zilch to me.
In a more innocent age, cricket batsman automatically walks off the pitch without a second thought before the umpire pronounce him "out" as long as he felt that he has nicked a ball that resulted in a catch by the wicketkeeper and thus is "out".
Golf player who accidentally touches a ball before a stroke will automatically admit the fact and take a penalty even though no one saw him do it.
Today? Batsmen who argue with umpires over disputed calls, bowlers who tamper with the cricket ball, golfers who lie without blinking. Doping. Diving. You name it.
The sad excuse that the consideration of fame and money does not justify one to cheat in sports, or else it will render the concept of sport meaningless.
The reason is simple :
Pele : One of the greatest, if not the greatest footballer ever lived.
Maradona : One of the greatest, if not the greatest footballer ever lived, but he once admited to cheating in a World Cup football match by using his hand to score a goal against England.
Which one do you want inscribed on your tombstone?
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1 comment:
It has reached epidemic proportions. The one I hate most on my team is the OTT Eboue. The bugger gets on my nerves trying to magnify the fouls that he received. Got a huge game this weekend in the form of Chelski - yikes!
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