You Wanna Talk About the People’s Game?

Soccer, of course, is the world’s most popular sport.  Even in America, it seems, most of us play soccer at some point while growing up.  The 2006 World Cup championship match was watched by more than 700 million people worldwide.  I’m not sure there are 700 million households with televisions worldwide.

Soccer, like most sports it seems, is also a major form of escapism.  For those like me, it’s a chance to forget about the office, or the classroom, or problems at home, or whatever, and just lose yourself in something that has no actual bearing on your life.  For those who aren’t fortunate enough to have a laptop to use while blogging, however, it’s a much more literal form of escapism.  It can be a chance to escape poverty and earn a living by breaking into the professional ranks.

For those even less fortunate than that, it’s a bit of a combination.  It allows escape from the brutality of homeless life, and it may even help in survival.  This Friday is the L.A. and D.C. premieres of Kicking It, a documentary about the Homeless World Cup.  The event started in 2001, and has run every year since.  The film follows six of the five hundred participants of the 2006 edition in Capetown, South Africa.

In the District, it’s showing at E Street Cinema, which also happens to be the one movie house in the city (that I know of) where you can buy a beer and take it into the show.  So even if you’re not a soccer fan, you really have no reason not to go see it.

And for those of you with disposable income, L.A. and D.C. have another soccer connection this weekend, as David Beckham and the Galaxy visit the Concrete Spaceship for a date with United Sunday at noon.  It was a packed house for last year’s 1-0 D.C. victory, which doubled as Becks’ league debut.  Upwards of 30,000 tickets have been sold for the game Sunday, but more should still be available.  If you go, be sure to do some tailgating before hand, and also to see the movie.  It’s just good form.

For those of you without disposable income, or who live outside of the metro area, the game will also be on ABC.  But if you can, try and make it out to RFK – these are the two highest scoring teams on the continent, and the atmosphere will be the best you’re likely to see at a professional sporting event in these United States.  Hell, even if you don’t like soccer, come out and experience something new.  End sermon.