The 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup of soccer...a sport that is called "football" in nearly every other country of the world...is underway with matches in the group stage. It's held every four years, the even-numbered years not divisible by four is how I like to remember it (or during the Winter Olympic year). This time around, the little Persian Gulf country of Qatar is the selected site, and the United States...unlike with the previous World Cup...qualified for it. Not that I'm especially rooting for my country...I probably have more "viewership roots" in soccer with the Mexican national team since I've been a regular follower of that country's premier league since 2014, more than with our homegrown Major League Soccer. Truth be told, though, I have long been sick and tired of the excessive nationalism in international sports and if you've read past articles on this blog about soccer, tennis, golf, or other sports, you might notice that I have consistently downplayed the national origins of various players or the teams they represent...and I objected to this year's banning at Wimbledon of Russian and Belarusian players because of a war that they had no personal role in. For this World Cup I have yet to watch a match, but as time grinds on I'm sure I'll enjoy a few...it's going on up to the finale on December 18th. It's a lot easier following a televised drawn-out sports event like the U.S. Open in tennis or the Olympics when I'm off from work on vacation, or last year, when I was recovering from surgery. My opposition to excessive nationalism doesn't mean that I won't pick a side of a World Cup match I'm watching to pull for...and yes, I suppose the USA and Mexico are going to naturally be among my favorites although I don't plan on being nutty about it...
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