Okay, so I've survived two weeks of World Cup Hell! It wasn't easy but I really did manage to achieve the unthinkable - almost ignore the games. My neighborhood has never been as quiet as when the games were airing on TF1. When France scored, I've never heard the place more animated. Honestly, when was the last time you've ever heard the sound of 70,000 people cheering in unison literally OUTSIDE your window and they were NOT at a sports stadium?
But last Sunday, I did break down and watch the World Cup Final - not because I really wanted to, but because there was nothing else on television and my arm was being twisted by three children (ages 3, 9 and 37)! There they all sat in soccer jerseys chanting endlessly, "Allez Les Bleures (Go Blues)!"
I didn't really care about the outcome of the match because it was exactly as I'd predicted. However like the rest of the the world, I was very interested in the scandal surrounding French player Zinédine Zidane and what would make him snap on the field. I remember looking over at my husband on the sofa and saying, "That Italian guy just said something about Zidane's mother!" My husband ignored me, in the way only the French can, and kept watching the game. Guess I knew something that the rest of the soccer world didn't - that the only two things that will make the average person snap are derogartory comments about one's mother or racial slurs.
Over the last week so much coverage has been devoted to this story - prompting Zidane to appear on two television programs in order to tell his side of the story and apologize to young fans everywhere for his "poor sportmanship" behavior. It turned out that my assessment of the incident was correct, but I didn't think Zidane owed anyone an apology.
I respect what Zidane did because there's something to be said about men honoring the women in their lives. When they do, integrity and a sense of honor become a part of everything that they do - both in their person and private lives.
Many years ago when I was a little girl, my paternal grandmother said something that makes my point. She said if you want to measure the true character of a man, look closely at how he treats his mother and sister. If he doesn't honor them, he doesn't honor himself and he'll never honor his wife or daughters. Glad I listened because I saw that honor in my father, and I now see if in both my brothers as well as my husband. But I also see that honor in Zidane.
In a world where it sometimes appears that women are the least valued beings on the planet, and yet soccer is the most popular sport on the planet, Zidane's actions not only served as a possible example for youth here in France but all around the world. Even if the soccer world doesn't appreciate that sense of honor, I'm sure the people who matter most, the women in his life, certainly do. I appreciate it, too. You're a good man, Zizou.
