The New Fosbury Flop

After a weekend full of soccer, the haters have started to rear their ugly head. We are already hearing cries of it is too low scoring, the vuvezelas are annoying and of course, the players dive.

The flop or dive was created in the 1982 World Cup by the Italians. The Italians won the tournament and Paolo Rossi was the tournament MVP. Although, he scored 6 goals he also set the record with 15 dives that drew cards.*

Ever since 1982 the flop has been part of soccer, for better or worse. In the last 7 years it has gotten worse in soccer. The players don't even need contact anymore to twist in the air, roll around on the ground and scream in agony. FIFA has tried to correct this by having the officials give out cards to those players who dive. This solution has started to work, but as we have seen in the first 10 games of the World Cup, the flop is still a part of soccer.

Although critics are harsh on soccer with regards to the flop it is not the only offending sport. Both hockey and basketball have their offenders. The hockey playoffs saw many dives and the referees tried to crack down by giving out penalties. The basketball playoffs have been ripe with diving. Even the finals haven't been immune. Derek Fisher has spent more time on the floor than guarding Rajon Rondo. It has become so bad that the announcers are even calling the players out on it and the refs have stopped calling the fouls because they can't tell what is contact and what is a flop.

So, although soccer has the slow motion replays that show a trip wasn't necessarily a trip, other sports are immune to the 'flop'.




*editors note: this is a made up story