I enjoy watching the game even more now that I've been a referee (have gotten all the way up to the 10-12 year olds--those games are fun because the kids are old enough to make the games interesting but not old enough to have an attitude!) Watching the US/Uruguay match last weekend, I was appalled at the incompetence of the referee. I think even I could have made some of those calls he missed! And that's not a comment coming from a partial US fan (we won the match), but from someone who believes that good officiating -- calling fouls and giving cards when they're deserved -- makes the game much more enjoyable. Because then the players have to rely on skill, not mayhem and meanness. But what do I know? I'm only a Yank in paradise!

Aloha,
Mark