18 giugno 2006

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'....

As most of you know (that even read this blog anymore) I am very pro-American. I am also very proud of my Italian heritage. Therefore I looked to the U.S. vs. Italy soccer match with great interest. The match itself was a tightly fought battle worthy of World Cup competition. It was billed – fairly – as a David (U.S.) versus Goliath (Italy).
The outcome, however, is up for interpretation. The final score was a tie, 1-1.
What was surprising to me was the spin carried out by the American media.

MSNBC: “Bloodied, short-handed U.S. ties Italy”
CNNSI: “Point taken -
United States draws with Italy in ejection-filled match”
ESPN 1: “Bloodied McBride is our hero: Keller”
ESPN 2: “Refs favor football superpowers, complains Arena”
While across the pond, you get this:
"Italiani, non perdete fiducia in Azzurri" – that from the Italian coach, “Italians, don’t lose faith in the Azzurri (weird, but the “blue” is what Italians call their nationals…I think it has to do with the “blue angels” or “angeli azzurri”)

While watching the game I heard the commentators talk about the “valiant effort” of the US squad being “dominant” to keep the Italians “on the run.”

Reality: 98% of the first half was played with the US having an 11 to 10 advantage and still the only goal they managed to score…wait, they didn’t. It was scored by the Italians, in their own goal. In the 2nd half, there were certainly some loose red card action, but “dominant?”

I guess we’ll see in the next round.

Nessun commento: