I reemerge under sad circumstances...

Wow...I must be the worst blogger ever. Remember when I said that I would be blogging and writing during my senior year, talking about all the cool stuff I do and how school is so crappy and all of those thing? Well...I fail, big time. At any rate, I apologize for my lack of posts...but I'm back. At least for today while I have a five hour break in between my classes and I don't have to worry about finals (yet).

I thought today of all days would be the most appropriate to get back to my blog, seeing as how I am very disappointed and need a cathartic release. If you didn't know what was going on today, then stop reading my blog because there is no way that we should be friends. Just kidding...kind of. Today was that day FIFA announced who would be hosting the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The USA was in the running for 2022, against Australia, Japan, the two Koreas (yeah...right) and Qatar (now pronounced like "cutter"), and was seen as the front runner for much of the process. I didn't really care to much about the 2018 World Cup because it was all just a bunch of European countries...and who really cares about Europe?

Anyway...I got up at my usual 6:30am and turned my TV to Sportscenter. Surely they were going to have something on the FIFA announcement. I went about my morning routine and by the time I was out of my apartment at 7:15, there had been no word yet on who the hosts will be. Since I was super anxious, I had my phone with me in the car, constantly updating my twitter app (which in hindsight probably isn't too smart to be constantly check my twitter while I'm driving, but THIS IS IMPORTANT!). I park on campus, still nothing. I call my parents, who of course are up watching Fox Soccer Channel and the live feed from Zurich, FIFA World Headquarters. My mom is giving me a play-by-play, starting with the announcement of the 2018 World Cup. There's a silence as Sepp Blatter opens the envelope, revealing that the winner is...........

Russia. Hmmmm...I bit of a puzzling vote, considering that their own Prime Minister didn't have enough faith in their campaign to even show up to its presentation. Especially puzzling since they will also be hosting an Olympics in 2014. Anyway, that makes the chances that much better for the US. Have a World Cup in the Eastern Hemisphere, then bring it back to the Western Hemisphere. Plus...the US is just better.

Blatter = Satan? Yes

Now it was time for the 2022 bid winner to be revealed. In their presentations, the US highlighted our country's diversity and our already existing infrastructure to hold such a large event. We wouldn't have to build stadiums, roads, trains, subways...we already have that. We wouldn't need to worry about TV rights or sponsorships, since all of the television things and sponsors are here. We also promised that the millions of fans that live in the US could easily sell out every game...something that should be very tempting for FIFA. Qatar (cutter) said that the World Cup would bring much joy to their country and the Middle East as a whole, as they have never hosted a World Cup (there's a reason for that) and how it could bring the region together. As far as the Gawd-awful 130 degree heat that the country gets during the summer (which is when the World Cup is played..duh), Qatar (cutter) said that they have the technology to develop open air stadiums that have air conditioning. I mean...What. The. F*ck. They also said that after the tournament, they would tear down their stadiums (which would only seat, like, 25,000 people) and rebuild them in poor countries that don't have stadiums. Boo-freaking-hoo. Needless to say, I was a little tense waiting for that short little Swiss man to announce who was getting the World Cup.

They way that my mom was talking on the phone, it didn't sound promising for the US. Then, finally, it was revealed in a stupid white envelope that Qatar (cutter) would get to be the host of the biggest sporting event in the world. I immediately wanted to curse...but considering I was in a hallway of a Pepperdine University building, that might have been a bad idea. But I did feel like I had been punched in the stomach. Pretty much my entire day was ruined, and it was only 7:45am. I couldn't, and still don't, understand why FIFA would want Qatar (cutter) over the US. Actually, I do know why. It's because FIFA just wants money (and Qatar (cutter) totally bought their votes, jk but not really) and Sepp wants to be seen as a great peace ambassador bring the sport of soccer to even the most desperate and war-torn corners of the world. (Well...I have a little something to shove up his amb-ASS-ador.) It's all totally BS.

This looks stupid

Now all that remains to be asked is what does this rejection mean for soccer in the US. Could it hurt soccer's chances for becoming a more popular sport in this country? Will I ever get to see a World Cup game in the States? So many questions and all they do is depress me even more. In any case, it was good to write this down. It just really bothers me that something like the sport that I love can be so beautiful and yet so corrupt.