Zidane

OK, so BSP asked me to get off politics and talk about that bonehead soccer player. I'm not sure what to say except that I read he has done similar things in the past (and got caught) and that only hotheads really lose it on the pitch. Last season, my teammate and I worked this one guy on the other team that clearly was losing his head, and it was not difficult to trick the referee into sending him off. First, I kept grabbing his shirt where the ref couldn't see until the player finally elbowed me in the chest. The ref didn't see it, but I bellied up to him and could see he was in a real state, entirely pissed off. As the ref ran over to cool us down, my teammate casually walked past the opposing player and totally goosed him (the ref could not see). The guy lost it and spun around and kicked my teammate hard in the shins. The ref had no option but to send him off for fighting.

The moral of the story: A lot of crap happens on the field, and you have to be stable enough to let it roll off you. If you're not, then you might lose your cool and headbutt someone. Zidane is lucky he didn't injure either the Italian player or himself. He is in danger of losing his Outstanding Player trophy for the tournament. He has a legacy now defined by the last play of his career rather than by the oodles of games that came before.

Sad. Very sad.