Thursday, December 2, 2010

2022: A Failed U.S. Bid


Well today U.S. Soccer received a sad yet much needed dose of reality in wake of failing to secure the 2022 World Cup bid. While Sunil Gulati and many US Soccer bigwigs may be wallowing at the defeat handed to them by the small Arab nation, there are a few distinct reasons why this defeat was inevitable.

1. Sepp Blatter's Nobel Peace Prize Bid


There is nothing on the face of the Earth that Darth Sepp Blatter wants more than to be left with a legacy befitting of a Nobel Peace Prize. Not only has his work left the impression that he is campaigning for the touted award, but in the bidding process it seemed as if he actively pursued it. 

Yes, I know Sepp Blatter is a non-voting member of the committee, but to argue that football's most powerful man had no say in the select is pure fiction. While opening up new markets may be all well and good- will successful yet somewhat faulted tournaments in 2002 and 2010, it seemed that at least one of the picks would be a proven candidate. Having brought football to Asia (South Korea and Japan), Africa (South Africa), and now Eastern Europe and the Middle East, could it be any more obvious that he wishes to be included amongst Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter, and Kofi Annan in the pantheon of Nobel Winners.