Fantasy Football?
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Mike Kauffmann
 September 03 2023
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    International football doesn’t seem to lack controversy. The latest is the unconsented kiss given to a player on the Spanish Women’s World Cup championship team. The accusations and recriminations are sucking all the air right out of the room.


    That being the case, if you were unaware of the other controversy going on, nobody could blame you. In fact, I can’t give you very specific details because I can’t find the story. My apologies if I don’t get things exactly right.


    I heard the conversation on a podcast and kind of ignored it at the time. It was between a couple of British commentators discussing the new Women’s World Cup champions. Things sounded normal until one of them complained the women were all blond haired and blue eyed. The other guy was a little confused and asked for clarification. He was informed that it would be better if the team was more inclusive. This would provide inspiration to others to get involved in women’s sports. There was a little protest against this statement but not much and the show moved on.


    What nagged me about this was the fantasy this guy was creating. A team with different players would be a different team. If those other players were only on the team for feel good reasons and weren’t of the same caliber as those they replaced, the Spanish team wouldn’t be the champion team. That being the case, there would be no championship to inspire those who this fellow seems to think need inspiring. This women’s team deserves the accolades it earned without being forced to live up to some commentator’s politically inspired fantasy.


    Now you may be thinking to yourself there’s no reason this fantasy team couldn’t be as good as the real thing. There is truth to that but it’s highly unlikely. Let’s take eye and hair color out of the equation and look solely at talent. In fact, let’s look at some of the most talented athletes in history.




    1992 was the first year that professional basketball players were allowed to participate in the men’s basketball competition in the Summer Olympics. The U.S. team had most of the world’s best professional players on it and they dominated their games ridiculously. There were a few rumblings of this being unfair, but I think the other teams loved being able to play on the same court as these gods of basketball. It truly was a Dream Team.


    But it only happened once. At the next Olympics in 1996, those players were divided among many nation’s teams, and they were joined by many other world-renowned basketball players. The quality of the games was better because you got to see the best of the best going against each other. And these players loved representing their various home countries. That’s what the Olympics are all about.




    That’s what these Spanish women did as well, represented Spain in the World Cup. They were chosen for the team because they were capable of getting the job done. They were not like the 1992 Dream Team; they were like the 1996 teams that had to earn those medals playing teams built of players at the top of their game. Hard work and perseverance ruled the day. This is what gave us a World Cup championship team that was truly inspiring, not political fantasies.



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