In a world of war, poverty, and soccer politics, tensions between different countries and regions run high. Soccer, a game that represents democracy and spreads values of teamwork and sportsmanship, can be used as a vehicle for cities and countries to criticize each other through their players, coaches, and skills. If blogs constantly write about who gets paid how much, and which cities hate which teams, what happens to the pure enjoyment of watching and playing soccer? Luckily, Dirty Tackle is a blog dedicated to maintaining the sport’s light-hearted and enjoyable air. On the field and off the field, from flukes to hilarious fans to amazing plays, Dirty Tackle has you covered.
The way I see it, being a fan of a soccer team is like being a fan of a country, in my case, the United States. I know that America, like any other country, has a controversial past and present. I support some politicians (or players) more than others and I love to sport my country’s colors; yet, I know there are decisions that the president (or coach) many citizens (fans) disagree with, and I try my best to follow the immense amount of politics surrounding America. And when I watch the State of the Union address each year, I do it in part to learn about the goals and accomplishments of my country; but let’s be honest, everyone’s favorite part is when the camera cuts to Joe Biden falling asleep or making a funny face that is widely inappropriate for the Vice President of the U.S. to be doing. Dirty Tackle is a blog that features the Joe Biden incidents of soccer.
For instance, last summer the blog featured quite a few posts on the extremely entertaining Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez. Fun fact: you are almost 2,000 times more likely to be bitten by Luis Suarez in your lifetime than being bitten by a shark while swimming in the ocean. And while many news sites and blogs point to Suarez’s history of violence and altercations with teammates and opposing teams as dangerous and reasons for suspension or expulsion from professional soccer, Dirty Talk takes a different approach to the situation. They capitalize on the fact that there is a grown man that has bitten multiple different players while on live television, and rather than criticize Suarez, compliment him on the rare occasion that he bumps into someone and restrains from biting them.
The blog does not only serve to make fun of professional soccer players gone wild; however, they also provide a candid, non-censored platform to highlight amazing plays and goals by certain players. For instance, one of their recent posts, Dirty Tackle lauded Juventus F.C. midfielder Paul Pogba for his insane footwork and amazing goals scored in recent games. Dirty Tackle reflected fans’ feelings by highly praising Pogba and refusing to subdue their enthusiasm for his incredible skills. The blog post displays video after video of amazing plays and goals, which caters to fans that simply want to enjoy rather than analyze the game.
The blog also serves to call out any sort of ridiculous activity on the field. Recently, defender Wallace received a red card while playing for Brazil in the final minutes of their game against Uruguay. While walking off the field, Wallace casually sat down and pretended to be injured so that he could run time off the clock. On the one hand, this clearly presents a flaw in soccer regulations. A player should not be able to run time off the clock when he is obviously not injured. It is not fair to Uruguay, who could have used those extra minutes with their opponents being a man down to score. On the other hand, this is hilarious. The professional soccer player literally went from walking perfectly normally to stretching his legs and complaining about an injury that had just magically appeared. Rather than criticize Wallace’s abuse of regulations, the blog post criticizes Wallace’s ability to fake an injury, but praises his ability to waste time. The situation was so incredibly ridiculous that it gets to a point where you just have to laugh at the scenario.
I would not recommend this site to a fan that is looking to become intertwined in the controversy and politics that revolve around soccer. Don’t get me wrong, the politics surrounding soccer are incredibly interesting and introduce another layer to the already irresistible game. But sometimes a soccer fan just wants to laugh at the misfortune of some players, or stare at a computer screen with their jaw-dropped while watching a replay of some of the greatest goals of all time. For these times, Dirty Tackle is the blog to go to.
