I love trashing soccer, so what would year's end be without one final salvo? John Crumpacker of the SF Chronicle recently wrote a great piece about how "minor" sports can be so much better than the big pro leagues, said some great things about XC. But he also said,
<<Then there's soccer. I'm sorry. I tried. There's just so little payoff for the time invested. The alleged nuances and subtleties and shades of gray that attract so many people are lost on my vulgar eyes. The only time I get excited at a soccer game is at the final whistle, when I can remove the tape that had been holding my eyelids open for the past 110 minutes of a 0-0 game. >> Then there's Bud Geracie of the San Jose Mercury News, who penned, "Playing with a juiced ball at the World Cup would lead to outrageous scores, such as 2-1 and 3-2." gh
