Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The World Cup

Yells are resonating from the other room followed by, "How could he miss that?" My automatic assumption is that the United States missed a goal... and from the looks on their faces when I walked by, I think my assumption is correct. Luckily though, through all of the missed goals and bad calls, the USA prevailed! To be honest, I have never been much of a soccer fan and the World Cup is not something I would typically stick around to watch (please don't hate me). But the World Cup has got me thinking... what would it be like for a soccer player to have to play in the World Cup without shoes on?
Just think, on average...
A professional soccer player kicks the ball at an average of 80 mph and the fastest known kick was 11 mph.
To have more control, they sometimes must use the laces of their shoes.
The sprinting and hard-cutting actions of soccer players puts a large amount of stress on their feet.
Soccer balls are made out of rubber and leather
Player's heels are pounded regularly into the ground and this creates fatigue and trauma to the joints of the feet, legs and back.
Soccer players run 5-8 miles per game.
Foot and ankle injuries are common in soccer, even when players are wearing supportive shoes.

So, can you imagine playing a 90 minute soccer game without shoes on? Neither can I.
And let's remember all of the people living in Africa (and all of the other countries) without shoes!

1 comment:

Elizabeth said...

That is so true. There are children in South Africa right now who play football barefoot because they don't have the right shoes. Great point!