It's always struck me how provincial and insular we Americans are. We call winners of the NBA, NFL, and MLB championships "world" champions, although the only contestants are American, some of the sports aren't even followed worldwide, and there's no guarantee our best could beat teams from other countries consistently in say, baseball. What hubris! We argue about LeBron James and the significance of a move in a league that's contained in just our states. But this--this is truly big news! Although too bad no African country could hoist the trophy, though from what I'm hearing, it may be a few years before that might happen...
************************* http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/football/07/11/world.cup.final.spain.thenetherlands/index.html (CNN) -- Spain won the World Cup for the first time as an extra-time goal from Andres Iniesta gave them a last-gasp 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final at Soccer City on Sunday night. A game littered with no less than 13 yellow cards and one red was settled by a moment of magic by the Barcelona midfielder after being played in by substitute Cesc Fabregas. His 116th-minute strike was the goal all Spaniards were waiting for and spared both sides the agony of deciding the new world champions by penalties. The goal came after the Dutch had been reduced to 10 men, after John Heitinga was shown the red card in the second half of extra time by referee Howard Webb for a foul on Iniesta. "It's incredible," Iniesta told gathered media in a post-match press conference. "What a joy especially when you see how we won it. There aren't the words to describe what I am feeling. After my goal, I thought about my family and all the people who I love. But the victory is the fruit of a lot of work," an emotional Iniesta told reporters. Spain coach Vincente del Bosque was happy with his side's victory: "Today is a reward for beautiful football. Everyone in the dressing room is ecstatic," he said.
