When 44 aren’t enough.

I am getting old.
Too old to understand the latest language, especially when it comes to sport.
A few (or was it actually many) years ago, I was a keen viewer of gymnastics.

Not that I could do backflips or somersaults myself, but I would enjoy watching the Olympic event and became intrigued when they introduced the word ‘wobble’ into the commentary as a specific flaw in someone’s performance. Suddenly, these elfin beings would default to a variety of ‘wobbles’, and thus be penalized in their final scores.

Fast forward to the current World Cup coverage (our friend has a telly and is an avid footie fan), and I am trying to understand why there are not enough ‘legs on the field’.

There are 22 men (plus the officials) chasing/kicking/handling/missing a ball, so by my count that is a minimum of 44 legs. So why isn’t this enough?
I watched the WC in 1974 when I was on a course for the bank and was actually the only girl who showed any interest in the game. Holland lost to Germany in the final (2-1) but I was a very happy bunny as Johan Cruijff had a great set of buns and nice legs. I do not remember anything about there not being enough legs on the field.

My Dad loved to watch the football, and I don’t remember legs being an issue then either. Quite often we would sit together watching Match of the Day or the FA Cup Final armed with a cup of tea and the chocolate biscuits, each taking a turn at cursing the visual ability of the Ref or Linesman, or the stupidity of a player when he missed an empty and undefended goal opening.

Our friend has explained that ‘not enough legs’ is a statement regarding stamina and staying power. Perhaps then the England Team should consist of 11 Bulldogs rather than Egomaniacs.
One of the reasons I lost interest in football all those years ago was because there was plenty of ‘I’ but no teamwork. The lads in their kit were so busy showing off their skills with the ball they forgot to share custody and too many goal opportunities were lost. There was also a lot of play acting and crying which didn’t seem befitting to the game as I remembered it.

I am not disputing that there is a lot of talent on the field, regardless of the country or team these guys are playing for.
However, single talent does not a team make, and until all these talented individuals realize that there is no ‘I’ in TEAM and start playing together rather than hog the ball, well, be it 22, 44 or even 100 legs on the field will not make one iota of difference to getting the ball in the back of the net and a score on the board.

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