Tiros Libres – “God” Hates Us

By: Christian | August 20th, 2007

As a non-Argentine who follows football in Argentina, I have to say that the figure of Diego Maradona is fascinating, even as a River fan whose never done blow Al Pacino-style. On one hand, he’s a fat, coke-binging adulterer, and even worse, a bostero, which is odd in itself considering he played more time with Argentinos Juniors during his career. But how can you hate a man who scored, arguably, the greatest goal ever caught on film, and against the English no less, who I’ve been told invented the game? So you can see the conundrum that tears at my soul – do I love, or do I hate? Well, our old pal seems to be making the choice for me.

The man they call “God” in Argentina seems to have a problem with Uncle Sam, as he and fellow talk show host Hugo Chávez laughed it up over the weekend, waxing poetically about their mutual hatred for the old Stars and Stripes. His exact quote? “I hate it with all my strength.” I suppose it must take a lot of strength to summon up all that hate Diego, since the team you so vehemently support just happens to wear a kit produced by Nike, and sponsored by Goodyear. Oh, and in the past, Pepsi. Yup, all products born in the U.S. of A. Oh, and that same club wants to start an MLS franchise in the U.S., with the help of your buddy, legendary Boca flopper and current Columbus Crew-er, Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Yes, it must be hard for “El Diez” these days, with his heart going in opposite directions; at least someone knows my pain.

Jenna Es Bostera But let’s hope that Diego sends his good friend Jenna Bush an autographed Nike kit for her upcoming wedding. Turns out Bush 3 and 4 are massive, MASSIVE, Boca fans, who attended a match in the old chocolate box as “guests of honor” last year, and even sporting those very same Nike kits (which are made in the US, by the way). Diego, if you’re reading this, the address to send the wedding gift is 1600 Pennsylvania.

Finally, you may have heard about a certain 5-4 game this weekend between the New York Red Bulls and the L.A. Galaxy. All kidding aside, this was THE best game that I can think of ever in MLS history. Beckham, Juan Pablo Angel, Jozy Altidore, 66 thousand plus going nuts – all in all it was a great night for football in the ol’ US. If you can, check the highlights online, but by all means look to watch it in it’s entirety. It’s really that good.