Do All Soccer Players Major in Drama in College?

When I was growing up, Memaw would sometimes have random thoughts.  Things would pop into her head, she would say them outloud, then just laugh and laugh. It always made me smile.  I didn’t think she was nuts because I was used to her banter.  Sometimes she would follow through with her thoughts. 

“I want to go to an Ozzy Osbourne concert!”  No, I did not take her….

“I hear the fire trucks.  Let’s go chase them and see where the fire is!”  Yes, we did this often.

“Let’s have a Cabbage Patch birthday party!”  Cabbage Patch dolls were very popular when I was in high school and college (like the American Girl Dolls).  Yes, we bought birthday tablecloths, paper products, balloons, and a cake and had a party in the back yard for our Cabbage Patch Dolls.  I was in college.  Before you judge, know that my Aunt (Memaw’s sister) and my cousin came over with their dolls to the party.  I. Kid. You. Not.

So, sometimes I have random thoughts, although I don’t think they are as “bizarre” as Memaw’s were.  My thoughts usually come from watching or reading the news or other media outlets.

Waymo Cars

Waymo cars are driverless cars.  Only a few states have them and they are used as Ubers.  When I teach my drivers’ safety class to senior citizens, they voice their great displeasure about driverless cars.  It just freaks them out too much.  I assure them that 1) we do not have them in Illinois, and 2) even if we did, you do not have to use them if you don’t want to.  That reassures them somewhat.  I understand their hesitation.  It is difficult, as we get older, to adapt to change.  However, I know many younger people who also think driverless cars are a bad idea.  Some were on the news the other night because the Waymo cars made a few mistakes.  Specifically, one of the cars drove right through a flooded road; another one drove over a firecracker going off; and it was brought up that a while ago, one Waymo car drove through an active police situation.  Some people even talked about how they are scared of having a higher chance of getting into a car accident with a driverless car.  

I know it is hard to adapt to change and having a driverless car is a big change.  However, there are a few thoughts that I have.  First, the Waymo car drove through a flooded street.  Well, why is that unusual?  Do you know how many cars I have personally seen drive through flooded streets?  Drivers have no idea how deep the water is but still take the chance and drive through.  At least the Waymo car did it by accident–none of their sensors communicated a flooded roadway.  The engineers will fix that bug on the Waymo cars. But actual drivers will keep doing the dumb thing and keep driving through the water…

Driving over the firecracker…again, the Waymo car did not detect that with its sensors and the engineers will work on fixing that issue too.  Can anyone talk about the idiot lighting the firecracker in the middle of the road, right in front of an oncoming car?  Who’s going to fix that issue???

Driving through an active police scene….first, the road was not blocked off; the police had their lights on but were on the side of the road.  I don’t know what they were investigating but the road was clear, Waymo kept driving, there was no issue, no one or nothing got hit, and everyone went their merry way.  What’s the issue?

Finally, it has been shown statistically that driverless cars are way more cautious than normal drivers, always drive the speed limit, and have excellent reaction time.  Because of all of this, Waymo cars have fewer accidents than human drivers.  

USA Soccer Penalty

First, disclaimer—I am not a soccer fan.  I love sports but I’ve never been a fan of soccer.  I have so many issues with soccer, it would take 10 pages to list all my grievances.  So, for simplistic reasons, I will stick with one issue.

I don’t believe that FIFA should have reversed the penalty for the USA player against Bosnia.  If you have been living under a rock, in the World Cup one of the USA players stepped on a Bosnia’s player's ankle.  Now, everyone, including the town fool, can tell you it was an accident.  However, the rule states that you need to be in control of your body, accident or not, and the cleats of the shoes are very harmful.  Therefore, if you step on another player or have your cleats exposed in a way that another player can come into contact with them, you get a “red card”.  With this penalty, you are ejected from the game and suspended for the next game.  Of course, this was huge because USA won and were going to play Belgium in the next round.  The player who got the red card?  The leading scorer on the USA team.  So everyone is up in arms, saying that’s not fair, even President Trump is saying it wasn’t a penalty.

Ok, all wrong.  Yes, it was a penalty.  Even I know that and I don’t watch soccer!  Then, low and behold, FIFA reverses their call and says he can serve his suspension in any game within the next year!  He can play against Belgium.  

My opinion?  Shame on FIFA.  I do not think they should have reversed the call.  That undermines the rules and the officials who made the call.  It was a penalty, purely by definition, and when you break a rule, here are the consequences.  Was it an accident?  Absolutely but it was still a penalty.

Do I agree with the consequences?  Nope.  I think getting ejected from the game AND suspension of the next game is a bit harsh.  Ejection is enough, especially if it can happen by accident.  However, you need to change the consequences, not overrule the officials or change your mind because of pressure.

In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter.  Even though the suspended player was able to play, USA still lost to Belgium and is out of the World Cup.

Hmmm....

P.S.  I’m sorry the USA did lose.  I think they did very well in the World Cup but I’m sure many people were disappointed.  We have another 4 years to improve and I’m sure they will.  FIFA—change your consequences for some of your rules!!

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