American idea of ‘football’ pales to British version
PETER HOCKADAY
TWO MINUTES
FOR
CROSSCHECKING
Did anybody see the United
States take down Mexico, 2-0, in a
World Cup Qualifier last night on
ESPN2?
Did anybody see the United
States beat one of the world’s most
storied teams, in “the world’s
game?”
Did anybody care?
Mexicans did, and so did British
people.
“Football,” to an American,
means helmets with decals, Ray
Lewis and the Super Bowl. To a
British person, it means “life.”
British people track every World
Cup Qualifier, every Serie A (that’s
Italy’s premier league) game, and
of course every English team — all
90 of them.
English soccer is like the NBA,
NFL, MLB and NHL all rolled
into one. It starts at the top with
Carling Premier League teams
such as Manchester United and
Arsenal — both with huge fan
bases and payrolls over £15 mil
lion (almost $22 million) — and
ends in Division Three, with
teams such as Chesterfield and
Kidderminster.
But the non-Premiership leagues
aren’t minor in any sense of the
word. The best feature of English
soccer is that at the end of each
season, the top team from each
league moves up, and the bottom
team moves down a league. “Pro
motion” and “relegation” are two
terms that, when used in English
soccer, can mean the. world to a
team.
Just imagine if the NFL could get
rid of the Bengals and replace
them with a European Football
League team — say, the London
Monarchs. The Clippers would
have been long gone from the
NBA, replaced by some Argen
tinean basketball team.
Back to Great Britain, where
even the best Premier League team
moves up and gets a chance to
play in the Champions League —
where the winners of each league
in Europe compete against each
other.
Then there’s the FA Cup, by far
the best tournament in all of
sports, in which all English soc
cer teams compete. Think of
March Madness with a 90-team
field. Think of the NBA playoffs
10 times over. There is no over
time in the later rounds of the FA
Cup, only “replays” when two
teams tie. If you know anything
about soccer, you know that hap
pens a lot. Sometimes, even the
final is played again and again
until the two teams produce a
victor.
There are rewards for winning
the FA Cup as well. The team left
standing after the weeks of compe
tition plays in the European Cup
Winners’ Cup, which is akin to the
Champions League.
The pinnacle of English soccer
is “the treble,” when a team wins
the Premiership, the FA Cup and
the Cup Winners’ Cup in the same
year. That’s like the Lakers having
the best record in the league, win
ning the NBA Championship and
then the Olympics, all in the space
of a couple months.
So, not sold on British soccer
yet?
Just take a look at the English
fans. If you want drunk and rowdy,
go to a Raiders game. If you want
hooliganism and fans that would
die for their team, go to a Manches
ter United game. Most fans don’t
sit — they stand in weather condi
tions more brutal than Minnesota
in January.
Haie you ever seen somebody
die at a baseball game? Didn’t
think so. Not that dying at sporting
events is necessarily a good thing,
just that British fans have more
passion than anybody in the
I world.
In the end, English soccer cap
tures the essence of sport: A loyal,
passionate fan base, tradition and
a postseason that truly leaves a
champion.
Ahh, if only American sports
could be that... well, British.
Peter Hockaday is a sports reporter for the
Emerald. He can be reached at phocka
day@yahoo.com.
Stanford, UCLA survive to set up Saturday showdown
LUS ANGELES — Casey Jacob
sen scored 22 points, three big ones
in the final 1:30, as top-ranked
Stanford blew most of a 16-point
lead before beating Southern Cali
fornia 70-68 Thursday night.
The game went down to the final
second, with USC’s Brandon
Granville futilely throwing up an
air ball as the clock ran out for the
Trojans, who haven't beaten a No. 1
team in 31 years.
The Trojans (18-9, 8-7) trailed 41
34 at halftime and were behind by
as much as 53-37 early in the sec
ond half before rallying to close to
65-62 with 1:52 remaining.
Ryan Mendez, who had 16
points for the Cardinal, provided
the difference when he made both
free throws on a one-and-one for a
70-66 lead with 13.8 seconds re
maining.
Sam Clancy scored on a dunk for
USC with 7.2 seconds left, then Ja
cobsen missed the first of a one
and-one with 6.3 seconds left. The
Trojans brought the ball up but
could not get off a decent shot.
Jacobsen scored on a drive to give
the Cardinal a 67-62 lead with 1:33
remaining, then made one of two
free throws for a 68-64 lead with 31
seconds left.
Clancy led USC with 16 points
and Brian Scalabrine had 11.
Stanford moves on to Pauley
Pavilion, where the Cardinal will
play UCLA (No. 18 ESPN/USA To
day, No. 12 AP) on Saturday and try
to avenge its only loss of the season.
The Bruins knocked the Cardinal
out of the No. 1 spot for a while
with a 79-73 victory at Stanford on
Feb. 3.
Meanwhile, the Trojans have lost
five of their last eight as they strag
gle to try to earn an NCAA playoff
berth.
Jason Collins had eight points in
the last seven minutes of the first
half as the Cardinal opened its sev
en-point lead.
Jacobsen had 11 points in the
first 20 minutes, while Clancy and
Scalabrine kept USC close with
eight points each in the half.
USC played Stanford tough in
their earlier meeting this season,
Feb. 1 at Maples Center. The Tro
jans led 57-54 with 7:05 left and
were behind by only a point in the
final two minutes before the Cardi
nal pulled away to win 77-71.
Southern California had spent
most of the season ranked in the
Top 25, rising as high as 12th early
in December. But the Trojans
dropped out of the rankings the sec
ond week of February and have
gone into a slump that included
their worst home loss ever, a 105-61
defeat by Arizona.
The Trojans last beat a No. 1 team
when they shocked UCLA 87-86 at
Pauley Pavilion on March 6,1970.
Second-place UCLA edges Cal
LOS ANGELES — Matt Barnes
scored 13 points, including the go
ahead basket with 1:03 remaining,
as UCLA (No. 18 ESPN/USA To
day, No. 12 AP) defeated California
79-75 on Thursday night for its
eighth straight win.
The Bruins (20-6) held onto sec
ond place in the Pac-10 at 12-2 and
set up a showdown for first place
with No. 1 Stanford on Saturday.
UCLA's victory avenged a 29
point loss at Cal a month ago and
snapped Cal's four-game road win
ning streak. The Golden Bears (19
8,10-5) had won 18 of their previ
ous 22.
Barnes' Basket snapped a tie at
74, then Cal was forced to foul Ja
son Kapono, who made both for a
78-74 lead with 24.8 seconds left.
Shantay Legans made one of two
free throws to draw Cal within
three. Cal controlled the rebound,
but Dennis Gates missed a three
pointer and Barnes was fouled in
grabbing the rebound. Barnes made
one of two as UCLA used an 18-8
run to close out the game.
Sean Lampley led the Golden
Bears (19-8, 10-5) with 19 points
and 13 rebounds. Legans added 16
points.
The Bruins trailed by seven in
r
i
the second half. They scored eight
straight, including four by Earl Wat
son, to take their first lead, 69-67,
since early in the half.
It became a one-point game until
Barnes’ basket off an assist by Wat
son put UCLA ahead for good. Wat
son led the Bruins with 20 points.
Kapono and Billy Knight added 14
each. Knight had four of UCLA's
eight three-pointers. Dan Gadzuric
had 11 points and 11 rebounds, al
though UCLA was outrebounded
34-27.
' Cal opened the second half with
a 13-4 run to take a 50-44 lead as
UCLA missed its shots and
Gadzuric committed two turnovers.
UCLA coach Steve Lavin, on pro
bation by the Pac-10 for the rest of
the season because of a tirade
against an official Saturday at Ore
gon State, was noticeably subdued.
He clapped his hand over his
mouth when the Bruins were
called for traveling early in the
game.
The Associated Press
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