Beautifully played

While watching the World Cup last week at a sports bar in town, one of those "Joga Bonita" Nike commercials blared on the oversized flat screen in front of me. As I watched Brazil's Ronaldinho expertly knife his way through a group of helpless defenders I overheard a guy ask his buddies how anyone could consider soccer beautiful. He argued it was too boring and seemed pointless. "They kick a ball around. What's beautiful about that?"\nAs I suppressed the urge to haul off and deck the jackass -- had his collar been popped there would have been no restraining me -- I pondered just how ignorant Americans are when it comes to the real football. On the whole, we simply don't get what it means to the rest of the world and probably never will. I'm here to try and bridge the gap and tell you why I love soccer and how I think it can change the world. \nSoccer is the world's most popular sport because anyone can play it. It is the game of the poor - the huddled masses who can barely feed themselves let alone afford sporting goods. A fishing net stuffed with grass or a purse stuffed with rags can double as a ball while marks on a wall can take the place of a goal. Young children anywhere on earth need only an imagination to create a world-class pitch. These makeshift fields can provide them with a distraction from the rampant poverty around them and a simple game can give them hope. \nYou only need to look at Africa to understand what soccer means to the rest of the world. The Ivory Coast qualified for its first World Cup this year and the celebration in the streets lasted for more than two days after the team clinched a spot. A country that had languished in a brutal civil war since 2002 finally saw a glimpse of what it was like to unite behind something. The two sides declared a truce and have begun the process of settling the conflict. Pretty impressive that a "boring" game could help accomplish so much, huh?\nPolitics, war and famine have somehow avoided infringing on soccer pitches across the world. In 1998 the United States played our political rival Iran in the first round of the tournament. One of the most enduring sports moments I have ever seen was the sight of American and Iranian players embracing and exchanging jerseys after the final whistle. It made me think, if they can find peace and harmony on the field why can't their countries find a way to co-exist off of it? Maybe we can learn something from the sensibility of the world's favorite game.\nSoccer's playing field is also level. Countries that most of us couldn't point to on a map share the field with superpowers, and the outcome isn't always predictable. Senegal knocked off defending champ France in 2002, Ghana topped the United States this year, while Cameroon, Turkey and\nNigeria have all had their own World Cup miracles in the past. But small countries aren't the only ones to find hope in the beautiful game. \nSoccer has the power to break down the barriers that exist not only between nations but even the ones that exist between countrymen.\nAt the end of 2005, race riots raged over the entire country of France. Race, religion and economic class have never been so clear an issue than they were last November on the streets of Paris. Yet only eight months later as their team made a run to the World Cup finals, hundreds of thousands of French citizens packed the Champs-Elysees to root on their countrymen. Suddenly religion, race and creed didn't matter anymore. There they all were on my television screen, waving flags, chanting, cheering, together -- united behind a group of men playing a game. Just watching that scene gave me chills. \nSoccer is more than just a game. It can change our attitudes, perceptions and the way we approach the world. On a soccer field everyone is equal and there is peace.\nSo to the guy who was behind me at the bar: You want to know what's beautiful about soccer?\nEverything.