• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Gilbert Quinonez gquinonez@media.ucla.edu Click Here for more articles by Gilbert Quinonez  

Goal! GOOOOOOOOOAL! Unfortunately, that word won’t be used enough during the World Cup, which starts today. A word that will be said a lot is nil.

Nil is another word for zero and is only used to replace zero when talking about a soccer score. Soccer scores contain zero so often that it seems soccer fans decided to call zero by another word in order to hide its true meaning.

I’ve heard many people tell me that they don’t like baseball because there isn’t enough action, there isn’t enough scoring. This logic doesn’t make any sense when you look at the most watched sport in the world – soccer. In the 64 games played in the 1998 World Cup, there were 180 goals scored. That comes out to 2.8 goals per game for the two teams combined. To put it in perspective, boring baseball games have averaged 9.1 runs per game so far this season.

Yes, I know, several soccer fans reading this will be quick to point out that while baseball games generally last three hours, soccer matches last two. The stat geek knows better. Soccer averages 1.4 goals per hour, baseball 3.03 runs per hour.

One goal or less was scored in 25 percent of games in the ’98 World Cup. 44 percent of the games had two goals or less. 72 percent had three goals or less. Now that’s excitement.

As boring as soccer may be, the World Cup is still a fun event to watch. Every team has amazing storylines behind it that gives the sports fan a reason to watch the game.

In the ’98 World Cup, Team USA went a pathetic 0-3, finishing tied for last in the competition. In this World Cup, it appears it will be harder for the United States to repeat that feat, coming in with a No. 13 world ranking and being put in a very easy group that consists of Poland, Portugal and co-host South Korea.

When South Korea, which has never won a World Cup game, and the United States meet on June 9, someone has to win, right? Wrong. Ties are prevalent in soccer, with 31 percent of the games in the ’98 World Cup ending in a draw. To further insult sports, after a 30-minute overtime period in soccer, penalty kicks are used. During penalty kicks, each team gets five shots at the goal, with a different player taking each shot.

Penalty kicks are ridiculous. Penalty kicks would be like using a home run derby to settle a baseball game, or a three-point contest to settle a basketball game.

The ’94 World Cup final went down to penalty kicks. Brazil defeated Italy, while zero goals were scored in regulation and the 30-minute overtime. Brazil won via a cheap method.

Brazil also provides another interesting storyline to this year’s World Cup. The Brazilian national team is a traditional soccer powerhouse, but has been slumping and barely qualified for the World Cup, needing to win in the very last game of the qualifying round.

China is making its first trip to the World Cup and is being coached by Bora Milutinovic. Milutinovic has previously coached Costa Rica, Mexico, Nigeria and the United States, taking them all to the Round of 16. Milutinovic is the only coach ever to take five different countries to the World Cup and is looking to be the first to take all five to the Round of 16. With China, that will be a much tougher task.

If nothing else, the World Cup can provide UCLA students with a cure for insomnia. Most of the games start at either 11:30 p.m., 2 a.m. or 4:30 a.m. because the host countries South Korea and Japan have a 16-hour time difference. While you are stressed out during finals or having a tough time falling asleep, turn on the television. Even though South Korea and Japan are in the same time zone as the infamous tape-delayed 2000 Sydney Olympics, every soccer game will be shown live. Fifty-eight of the 64 games will be shown live on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2, and all of the games will be live on Univision. Most of the games will be shown live during prime-time also.

If you’re trying to sleep and watch soccer on Univision, just don’t have the volume on too loudly. Announcer Andres Cantor is known for yelling “GOOOOOOOOOAL” at the top of his lungs several times after a goal is scored. Of course, he might never get the chance to scream.

•••

The e-mail of the week comes from UCLA gymnast Alyssa Beckerman.

“CHOKED? The word itself summarizes not observance but ignorance. Who are you to judge something that you obviously don’t know ANYTHING about?”

You’re right. Your 9.05 beam performance at the NCAA Super Six was well under your 9.77 average. You obviously know more about choking than I do.