History Is Material

Holding Our Attention

For those of you who have been following the furor surrounding the expulsion of French star Zinedine Zidane from the World Cup Final, this compilation of career highlights does a pretty good job of indicating just how good he could be. The first few minutes devoted purely to his ability to keep possession of the ball surpass the usual goal-directed clips. As a native of the United States, I think it's intriguing that his misdeed may have done more to keep soccer on people's minds than in-game heroics might have. I mean, the World Cup ended on Sunday and its still getting prominent coverage.

Perhaps it's for the wrong reasons, but I at least get the sense that more and more Americans are starting to understand what a huge deal futbol is everywhere else in the world. I mean, I already had that impression during the games I watched in public places. But the Zidane story's legs have powerfully reinforced it. I should also add that the Luc Besson-penned film, District B-13, which I saw last night at the Loft, was the perfect post-World Cup viewing, since it offers a dystopian vision of the sort of housing projects Zidane grew up in, together with a grim portrait of the Establishment's attitude towards them. It was hard not to think of him as I became absorbed in the picture's comic-book narrative.