SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, June 22, 1994
11
World Cup kicks off in United States
Passions emerge as students cheer for favorite teams
Yumi Chikamori / KANSAN $ ^{1} $
Alvaro Restrepo, Colombia graduate; Octavio Hijinosa, Hutchinson senior; Jose Coronado, Colombia Graduate and Guillermo Ordonez, Colombia senior, watch the World Cup game between Colombia and Rumania. Latin American students got together to cheer for Colombia at 11:35 Ohio St. last Saturday. They rented a 46-inch television for a month to watch the World Cup games. Colombia lost to Rumania 3-1.
By Geraldo Samoń Special to the Kansan
KU students are getting a kick out of the World Cup.
At 1135 Ohio St., at least eight Latin American and Spanish students prodded money to rent a 46-inch television set. Each paid $15 to see the World Cup 94, an event that features the best soccer teams and defines the world champion every four years.
For the first time since its beginning in 1930, the World Cup is being held in the United States, a country where the sport is not widely accepted.
Bip some international students were not content with just watching the game on television. They went to see the real thing.
Bedro Echevarria, a Quito, Ecuador, junior, traveled to Chicago, where the Bolivian and German teams kicked off the championship. Ecuador did not qualify for the World Cup, but this did not quell his spirit.
Marcelo Alcocer, La Paz, Bolivia senior, said he would be watching his country's team for the first time this year.
"We're supporting Bolivia," Echevarria said. "Overall, we're supporting all South American teams."
"Since it is the first time Bolivia qualifies for the Cup, I don't expect much, but I know we have the capacity to do something good," he said
the World Cup tradition has it.
during the month of the games several Latin American nations will stop unofficially for an hour-and-a-half each day their teams play. In the streets and at home, life revolves around three things: Soccer, soccer, soccer.
Alvaro Restrepo, a Cali, Colombia,
graduate student, described the scene in his country during some
championship days:
"You don't see anybody in the streets," he said. "Every TV is on the games, and nobody works. There may be 50 people getting together in a house to watch the games, and after
that they all go home honking the horns. Nothing, nothing goes on besides soccer."
But importance, like beauty, seems to be in the eyes of the beholder. Popular in Europe, widespread in Africa and as sacred as religion in Latin America, soccer has not yet caught on in the United States.
A recent Gallop poll had 50 percent of the respondents saying that they were not at all interested in soccer.
Clay Barker, adviser to the KU men's soccer team, said he blamed America's indifference on the number of other sports.
"There are so many other sports with longer tradition competing for time and people," he said.
Mark Salisbury, men's soccer coach, agreed with Barker.
"A pretty rich sport culture already exists in America. Baseball, football and basketball," he said.
Salisbury gave another explanation for the lack of interest.
"There has been a certain prejudice against soccer, considering it a foreign, un-American sport which is incorrect," he said.
America may be becoming more interested, however. ESPN, which is broadcasting many of the games, has seen a large increase in ratings since the World Cup began. Through Monday, the network had broadcast nine games, including three on tape delay. The games were watched in an average of 1.2 million homes, which is three-to-four times ESPN's normal rating during those times.
Ken Krauss, Olathe junior, has tickets for a July 3 game in Dallas. Krauss considers it a "shame" not to take advantage of the fact that the World Cup is being played here.
"It's going to be a long time until it comes to the United States again," he said. "Plus, it will be the best soccer this country has seen in a long time."
And if soccer turns out to create a good impression in America, it will raise the hopes of Coach Salisbury.
"There are millions of people here who love soccer and will go to the games once we achieve a professional level," he said.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
Basic soccer rules: more than a kick in the grass
The Associated Press
The Soccer Basics
Here is a summary of the basics of the game.
Much of America's lack of interest in soccer may have to do with lack of understanding of the soccer rules.
The game: It is divided into two halves. Each is 45 minutes. After a 15-minute break between halves, the teams change ends. If, for instance, a player gets hurt and has to be removed from the field, the referey may extend the game. Enter
sions usually take less than three minutes. There are no time-outs.
The goal: A point is scored when the ball fully crosses the goal line.
The teams: Each team is composed of 11 players. The team typically includes one goalkeeper, often called "goalie;" one sweeter, who can play at any part of the field; four defenders, who help the goalie prevent a goal; three midfielders, who help pass
the ball forward as well as defend the goal; and two forwards, whose job is to score the points.
Eleven other players sit on the sidelines as replacements.
The substitutions: Each team is allowed three substitutions per match; one of the replacements is reserved to the goalkeeper.
The cards: When a player breaks the rules, the
breaks the rules, the referee shows him a yellow card. If a red card is shown, a player has been violent or tackled a player from behind, and he will not play again this game or dur-
If a player has already been shown a yellow card and commits another infraction, then he will receive a red card.
Free kicks: Free kicks are awarded when specific fouls take place. In a direct kick, such as striking or kicking a player, the player will have a chance to kick the ball directly into the goal. In an indirect kick, such as for a delay of game, two players must touch the ball before their team can score a goal.
Where it happens
Field Positions
Goalkeepers
Must be athletic, quick and usually are tall and good jumpers. They also must be able to both kick and punt the ball 70-80 yards downfield.
Each team puts 1.1 players on the field. Midfielders run an average of seven miles a game. Strikers and fullbacks run five miles, defenders four miles and goals keepers two-and-a-half miles.
Defenders
Sweepers
Helps if they are tall, so they can head the ball away when it's in front of the net. Also helps if they are big and able to knock down the opposing team's forwards. The central defenders usually guard the opposing team's forwards. Many teams allow their outside defenders to push ahead as wings.
Most teams use one defender as a sweeper who is given the freedom to roam to any part of the field.
Midfielders
Must have good peripheral vision, be able to spot forwards who are free and pass the ball to them. Also must be able to move back and help the defenders.
Your job is to put the ball in the net. They must be rugged, since defenders knock them down often. They also must be able to outjump defenders and goalkeepers to score on crossing passes. They usually have tremendous speed, allowing them to outrun defenders.
Forwards
One-yard arcs are drawn in the four corners of the field. Corner kicks may be taken from any point inside the arc.
For World Cup games,
the field is 75 yards
wide and 115 yards
long, except at Giants
Stadium and the.
Pontiac Silverdome,
where the fields will
be several yards
narrow.
Each half opens at the center spot, and that is where the ball is put after each goal.
Penalty Penalty arc area
Penalty spot
Penalty arcs exist to keep players 10 yards from the ball during a penalty kick.
Goal line Goal area
A foul inside the penalty area results in a penalty kick taken from the penalty spot.
Dave Campbell / KANSAN
Game Schedule
Source: Associated Press
Group A
Teams from 24 countries are divided into six groups of four teams each. The top two teams in each group advance along with four third place teams with the best records.
Group C
Argentina (ARG)
Greece (GRE)
Nigeria (NIG)
Bulgaria (BUL)
Italy (ITA)
Ireland (IRA)
Norway (NOR)
Mexico (MEX)
Group E
842-2442
Group F
Belgium (BEL)
Morocco (MOR)
Netherlands (NED)
Sauri Arabie (KSA)
Source: Associated Press
Dave Campbell / KANSAN
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