I swore to myself I wouldn’t post another word about ‘the headbutt’. But these aren’t my words. They’re joe’s:
even though Zidane’s headbutt was absolutely shameful, I am a huge fan of it. Bad for his legacy, great for soccer. Pardon monsieur, don’t apologize to the children. Are you kidding? Little kids love ramming their heads into shit! Especially into other little kids! Little kids get it, and this thing will only increase their love of the game.
The Headbutt added an incredible flavor and color to a mostly drab World Cup. People who hate soccer are still talking about it. Because it was awesome. The shamefulness of his exit only adds to the incredible audacity of it.
Little kids love ramming their heads into shit! Especially into other little kids! As a father of 4 kids, no truer words… I almost snorted Pepsi out my nose reading that. Too funny. Not that I’m advocating them doing it or anything.
Loading...
July 26th, 2006 at 8:52 am
There’s something in us all that loves audacity, I guess. For me, there’s something else again: there was a time in my life when, in the face of persistent and unrelenting verbal abuse, I should have defended myself with minor violence, having exhausted all other options. I didn’t. The resulting loss of self-respect followed me and cast a shadow over my life for years afterward.
As much as we may moralize about how Violence Is Never The Answer, I think deep down we all know that sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do. Because the personal cost is too great not to.
As for kids, I think that teaching them never, ever, ever to defend themselves with violence for any reason whatsoever is a very bad idea. I think that if you put in place reasonable punishments for violence, that will teach them that it’s an absolute last resort and only to be used if it’s worth paying the price. Then they can make that decision. We all have to learn that some time.
July 26th, 2006 at 9:44 am
Well said human. Well said.
I know with my team, I will never teach them how to use violence in any manner against another team. But you better believe I teach them how to defend themselves against whatever they might face. In youth soccer its usually just pushing and an occasional elbow, but as they get older, the ability to avoid tackles and be light on their feet as well as a willingness to tackle for the ball is key, even if there is the possibility of a miss.
They need to understand what they will face from other teams just like in life.
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:23 pm
Sorry, i disagree. It was not a classy move, and I would seriously worry about any youth player doing such a thing. . .a strange defense of a collossally bad moment in soccer history.