Don't Mess With Messi!

Americans love sports.  We have long traditions of baseball and American football.  Hockey and basketball have also become very popular and millions of people watch these games every season.  I was a faithful fan of the Chicago Bulls when I was a child because Michael Jordan was the best player in the world, and he played in Chicago.  I started to enjoy American Football when I went to college.  My university had a popular team, and my friends and I went to every game, sang every team song, and lost our voices while cheering for our school. (GO COUGARS!)  However, there is one world-famous sport that Americans just don’t have a great love for:  soccer. 

Nancy and her friends at an American football game at their university (many years ago).  

I’ve always been surprised at how popular soccer is in other countries.  My mother still thinks it is a funny sport.  When she was a child at school, the girls played soccer when the boys played American football (which is usually considered too violent for girls).  So, she still thinks of soccer as a sport for little girls. 

I had friends who played soccer on our high school team, but generally, I didn’t know very many people who liked it.  Then I started to work with international students, and I started learning about how popular this sport is.  I learned about FIFA and the world cup.  I learned the names of different clubs and teams:  Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, etc.  I saw how passionate most of my students were about soccer.  All of this made me curious about the sport.  It made me think that maybe I was missing out on something that was a lot of fun. 

So, when my friend invited me to a soccer game that showcased Leo Messi, I decided to go and see for myself.  It was a game to support one of Messi’s charities.    He formed a team with some of his friends and they played against an American team.  I had heard his name before, but I had never seen him play and I didn’t know very much about him.  Apparently, he is the best player in the world. 

The game was a lot of fun.  Because it was a charity game and not a tournament, all of the players were very relaxed and were having a lot of fun.  In the end, Messi’s team won, of course.  I finally got to see a full soccer game and I realized why people like it so much.  The game was exciting and full of surprises.  You were never really sure when they would score, or when they would make a mistake.  The players were very good and very creative.  They had amazing moves and made incredible shots into the goal.  I never thought that I would become a fan of soccer, but I really look forward to watching another soccer game!  

Question:  What is your opinion of sports?  Give reasons and examples to explain your point.