A Manly Headbutt of Truth
The She Monkey and I have a disagreement over the whole Zidane headbutting episode; I can understand why he did it, but her? Not so much, and it’s something I’ve written off to a “women are from Venus, men are from Mars” difference in internal psychology (and possibly even biology).
I was going to write out my position here on Adverb and call it my last statement on the whole mess, going into great detail on the whats, whys and wherefores, cutting my beloved wife’s argument into tiny little shreds and tossing them out the window, old school New York ticker tape parade-style.
But in a perfect-pitch piece that perfectly sums up my side of the He Monkey vs. She Monkey argument, Oliver beat me to it.
The good news is now I don’t have to write the post; the bad news is I have to find something productive to do instead.
Email Article Wednesday, July 12th, 2006 at 09:44am Mack Simpson
Filed under: No Really, A Life, Blogroll | add this post to del.icio.us
Technorati Tags: Zinedine, Zidane, Headbutt, France, Italy, FIFA, World Cup
12 Comments Add your own
1. makehelogobigger | July 12th, 2006 at 9:57 am
That was a great post. There and here.
And my wife was watching too. But, like me, she felt Italy got away with so much crap during the match, the head-butt was a little well-deserved payback.
Although my son has a Dennis Rodman future ahead of him after seeing the replay: “Oh c‘mon, he didn’t even touch him.”
2. olivier blanchard | July 12th, 2006 at 10:09 am
LOL
3. K | July 12th, 2006 at 11:10 am
Whoever can understand, doesn’t get the game of soccer.
He shouldn’t have done it becasue the soccer game is not only the ball in the field. It is the rest of it too. He proved inferior in personality. LOL
4. Mack Simpson | July 12th, 2006 at 11:13 am
And this response came to me in an email from the She Monkey:
“I completely understand that point of view (and I understand it’s a very testosterone driven point of view), but I still believe that Materazzi was playing the game. Everyone knows that soccer, and many other games, have a mental game as well. This was a big game and Materazzi was doing everything he could to take out the best player on the French team in a game with major stakes. He won. I’m not saying it’s ok to behave that way in any situation, but I am saying that it’s important to remember if you’re ever on the receiving end of behavior like this in a case where you know it’s in the other person’s best interest for you to lose control, think twice and then think again because just like this event, you lose more if you lose control.
The voice of estrogen
”
5. Mack Simpson | July 12th, 2006 at 11:36 am
Here’s another point of view from the estrogen side of the camp: one from Malika Zidane, Zinedine’s mom.
Let me just say I love Zizou’s mom.
6. makehelogobigger | July 12th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
That too is kinda Dennis Rodman-ish in nature as well.
;-p
7. makehelogobigger | July 12th, 2006 at 12:34 pm
And now, Zidane may lose ‘it’ yet again.
8. olivier blanchard | July 12th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
The voice of estrogen makes perfect sense as well, and I agree with her wholeheartedly. (Both sides of the argument are right. It just comes down to making a decision, and living with the consequences.)
Zidane’s choice was this: Stand for the family honor, or win a soccer game? For better or for worse, at least we know where his priorities lie.
Zidane’s mom rocks. Mine would have kicked me in the butt for not having won the game. (You can always headbutt Materazzi later.)
9. Mack Simpson | July 12th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
10. Hans Gerwitz | July 13th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
I guess this guy is from Venus, because I agree with the sentiment that soccer (like cycling) is as much about keeping your cool as it is pure athletic performance. Zidane should not have let anger get the best of him and put his team at risk in exchange for a short revenge-induced adrenaline high.
Rather, he should have kept his cool and sought an opportunity to make it look like an accident, like everyone else. I mean, he didn’t even glance around to make sure no linesmen were watching.
11. makehelogobigger | July 13th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
Oh, butt there’s more…
(over at adrants)
12. Mack Simpson | July 13th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
I understand completely what Zidane should have done. I don’t think there’s any question that, in perfect conditions, he should have let it pass.
It’s also obvious that whatever was said to him created a perfect storm of less-than-perfect conditions.
The question for me is, can you understand how someone can say something to you so vile that it causes you to snap– regardless of where you might find yourself (fancy dinner, movie theater, World Cup, whatever)?
For me, the answer is a resounding “yes.”
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