Nothing changes so quickly as fortune in sports because the sports press and its readership is unforgiving. In France in politics tired, inept, wholly corrupt, felonious, or clueless losers are elected and re-elected with regularity, or appointed and re-appointed with ease -- and if somehow unelectable, unappointable, they are shuffled into the mazework of civil service to be lavatory coatholders and ministry spokespersons.

In sports there are winners and losers. And losers, ah, losers are objects of scorn, banished from our affections until they can return winners.

ZIDANE A «DÉTRUIT SON AURÉOLE DE SAINT»
[ZIDANE HAS "DESTROYED HIS SAINTLY AURA"]
July 10, 2006 (Libération)

ZIDANE : SON DOUZIÈME ET DERNIER CARTON ROUGE
[ZIDANE: HIS 12TH AND LAST RED CARD]
July 10, 2006 (Le Monde)

And here is M. Zidane spoiling his grand exit:

INEXCUSABLE
Completely Composed, Flagrant, Without Remorse

We are willing to believe that M. Zidane was sorely provoked by Sr. Materazzi, but where does that leave us? There is little in the lead-up to suggest insufferable outrage. And just how insufferable can insults and pranking on the pitch be? M. Zidane is a seasoned pro, a team captain, in the final of the World Cup representing his country. A seasoned pro in the final match of his career. It is as sad, as reprehensible, as it is mysterious.

But neither the fortunes of M. Zidane, good or bad, nor the fortunes of Les Bleus, good and bad, can brake for a single day the ongoing train wreck that is France.

PFFT (What is this?): A bad end 3 | Rayonnement français ¼

Zidane'publicist told the press today that Zizou will explain this week what Materazzi said on the pitch. He just confirmed that it was "very serious". Rumours are it was something like "fuckin terrorist muslim"...
We'll know more about that within a few days.

I'm sad for the French players, esp. Zidane, Thuram and Makelele. And I'm proud of my team altogether.
Italy played well throughout the tournament and though they didn't deserve to win on Sunday, they make a good winner for this World Cup.

M. Goldsoundz,

We too think this a sorry end to a great run and a great career. If what Sr. Materazzi said was worthy of a headbutt, better to take it to him after the game in the parking lot. Better yet, why not unmask Sr. Materazzi as a bad sport and racist provocateur in a press conference after winning the Cup? In a match-up of verities between M. Zidane and Sr. Materazzi, Zizou wins. Now, whatever his explanation, the headbutt throws sympathy to Sr. Materazzi.

The headbutt seems so uncharacteristic of the calm and focus M. Zidane demonstrated throughout the tournament.

BTW, glad to see you back in the threads.

Regards,
DGB

Without remorse

Now you're a mind reader, Damian? Wait until Zidane has to say first before shooting off your mouth.

Now just imagine this situation had the situation been reversed. One can picture Damian, salivating uncontrolably and barely able to type at the thought of racist French football fans gone mad.

M. Zmx is a practiced bigot who never tires of dropping by to demonstrate all those French qualities celebrated here at Pave. Our observation of M. Zidane's lack of remorse is on view to the world from the WC footage provided. And while we are not a mind reader, neither are we blind. Whatever M. Zidane has yet to say by way of explanation or contrition, last Sunday he showed no remorse for his headbutt.

M. Zmx, of course, is a mind reader -- and a clairvoyant -- who not only forecasts our thoughts but vividly sees us experiencing his projected mental rabies.

Unlike M. Zmx, we do not invent our facts. And unlike M. Zmx we do not protest our own pronouncements (vid. comments #65 and our response). And again unlike M. Zmx, we post with some care (anywhere in this thread, particularly comments #13 and #16 and our responses).

Ah, if your opinions do not pass muster with M. Zmx, oh, you are very wicked indeed. And M. Zmx will waste no time -- but yours -- pissing himself in public to inform the world.

DGB

Damian Bennett, this bastion of morality, suggests that Zidane should have shown remorse on the field immediately after Metarrazzi insulted his sister and mother (who is very ill). Unlike your Highness, Damian, Zidane is human. He was remorseful for his team in the locker room, and apologized to all the children. Zidane deserved a red card for his action, but Mettarazzi, who is a liar as well, got what he deserved.

As for calling me a "practiced bigot" (a puerile and desperate attempt to hide your own shortcomings), I am noting that you have not said anything regarding Metarazzi's comments but don't bother, I know where you stand. Calling anyone a "practiced bigot" while running a bigoted website masterminded by a tee shirt seller who incites to "Hate The French" to buy his products is not only comical, but borders on schizophenia.

As for posting "with some care", your methods are more than obvious by now. It's the old bait technique of getting some kind of occasional sympathy while your real aim is to trash France at any opportunity to feed your silly moralistic finger-pointing, the Zidane incident was just too good to resist.

I don't like you because of your nationality Damian, I really don't. You're just a small, small silly man.

Ah, M. Zmx, how he fumes.

Our posts have been sympathetic to M. Zidane, and Mr. Zidane himself admits as much as we have remarked, to wit, that it was a bad end to a great WC run and a great career.

"Je suis conscient que cela se passait à 10 minutes de la fin de ma carrière dans une finale de la Coupe du monde et qu'il ne fallait pas le faire. Mais je ne suis qu'un homme et rien d'autre."

M. Zmx suggests we are sympathetic to Sr. Materazzi, well, because that suits his spleen. We are not, but our posts speak for themselves.

And, unlike M. Zmx, as we are not empowered to administer absolution to taste, we are left only with the facts.

M. Zidane has not expressed remorse for his act:

"En revanche, je ne peux pas regretter ce geste car sinon cela voudrait dire que Materazzi a eu raison de dire ce qu'il a dit."

And:

"J'ai été provoqué. J'ai fait quelque chose qui n'était pas bien et j'ai été puni. Je ne veux attaquer personne mais je veux me défendre. On punit toujours la réaction et jamais la provocation."

And ESPN reports:

"I tell myself that if things happened this way, it's because somewhere up there it was decided that way," he said in a later interview on TF1 television. "And I don't regret anything that happened, I accept it."

Accepting one's punishment for an unregretted act is not remorse. Ascribing one's actions to some predetermined scheme lacks the most necessary element of remorse, acknowledging personal responsibility. Perhaps M. Zmx simply doesn't know the meaning of the word: Remords - Reproche violent que le coupable reçoit de sa conscience.

And whereas M. Zmx thinks our calling him a "practiced bigot" is an attempt to hide our own "shortcomings", it does no more than refer to M. Zmx's practice of bigotry, an example of which he conveniently provides sparing us a quick, albeit easy, search among the treasure trove of his posts.

I don't like you because [emphasis in the original] of your nationality Damian, I really don't. You're just a small, small silly man.
Posted by zoomerx at July 12, 2006 04:11 PM

M. Zmx believes his bigoted pronouncement is somehow privileged, because, well, because M. Zmx has uttered it.

It seems M. Zmx will never be our super special friend by dint of our nationality. As always we offer M. Zmx a quick and painless solution to the considerable discomfort he experiences abiding our company -- Go away. We will not weep.

(You'd think he could figure this out on his own.)

DGB

M. Zmx suggests we are sympathetic to Sr. Materazzi

In a more nuanced way, your silence on the matter is sympathetic. Let someone else do the dirty work for you- the bastion of Morality that you are. You're so easy to figure out, Damian, it's not even worth any further explanation.

One has to wonder how you would react if your mother and sister were repeatedly insulted by some individual, and we know from Italian sources that the word "whore" was used. Just curious: how exactly would you react, Damian, and assuming you had the balls to do so, would you immediately regret your actions?

Go away. We will not weep.

You know how to block me, as you have done before. I will not weep either.

So Zidane talked. And what I had feared since Sunday night turned right. Materazzi uttered insults you can hear on any given day on the soccer pitch, and Zidane reacted badly beacause of his personal situation (mother being ill) and imho because of the game turning bad for France - his best attempt at scoring a second goal stopped by Italian goalkeeper Buffon a few minutes before, freekicks becoming the only issue to the game.

Zidane's speech today was ambiguous at last. Not showing any remorse for what he did is deceitful. There were other ways to react to Materazzi's provocation. The headbutt is understandable, but it can't be forgiven.

But the hole thing provides a story that will go down in World Cup legends, and it's a true tragic way to end a career.

M. Zmx, having failed to carry his imagined claim that M. Zidane is remorseful for Sunday's coup de boule, now accuses us of -- subtlety!

And though M. Zmx has made it clear we will never be his super special friend because we are not a nationality to his liking, yet he asks after our "balls". It has been our experience that burly boys who make "balls" checks are 1) bullys and as such cowards or 2) drunk or 3) are having performance or related issues. We sincerely hope M. Zmx is drunk.

But M. Zmx has posted before in his machista persona...

I bet my Daddy could beat up your Daddy.
Posted by: zoomerx on March 5, 2005 03:55 PM

... so perhaps he is a bully-coward-nonperformer.

Finally M. Zmx invites us to block him from Pave. The only people blocked from posting at Pave are spammers, wantons, and bullies. More usually we will delete a post and leave a management notice for those who persistently break house rules: Post on topic, post in English, no sexual or racial viciousness. So if M. Zmx has been blocked in the past it is because he qualified as a spammer, a wanton, or a bully. We personally are not aware of him ever having been blocked. Perhaps he has only been blocked from Pave in his imagination for the convenience of his post.

Of course, M. Zmx is missing the point of "Go away" so as to pretend to a wounded indignation. Let us make it simple. We do not go to M. Zmx, he comes to us. We do not seek him, he seeks us. He gives us to understand his visitations are painful, that everything he finds at Pave causes him varying degrees of disgust and torment. Yet still he comes. M. Zmx does not need us to end his visitations. Can he not control himself? "Go away" was our conscientious advice to the delicate and pained soul that pens himself, Zoomerx.

If M. Zmx insists on posting here, then let him provide his own aspirins and stop whining.

DGB

M. Goldsoundz,

We agree with you except for your supposition that Zizou acted out of desperation. While we are at it, we do not believe Zizou's exit cost Les Bleus the Cup. Les Bleus owned the Azzurri from the second half on and Italy had the weaker record in PK shoot-outs, though, of course, M. Barthez was a gift. Italy deserved to win not because they were the better team -- they were not -- they deserved to win because they made all their PKs and France did not.

Zizou did what he did, he has owned up to it, he has no regrets, hence no remorse, and has not sought forgiveness or leniency. He will take more punishment than a red card over this, but it is hard to imagine that he hadn't calculated the long stakes before he clocked Sr. Materazzi. It is good to remember that Zizou is guilty of bad sportsmanship not homicide.

It seems to us that if Zizou can live with this, then the rest of us can too.

When he was behaving, he was really something to watch.

DGB

I bet my Daddy could beat up your Daddy

uh... not exactly something I'd say seriously and without sarcasm, but quoting me out of context never seemed to bother our increasingly humourless redresseur de tords .

We personally are not aware of him ever having been blocked. Perhaps he has only been blocked from Pave in his imagination for the convenience of his post.

Nothing out of my imagination, I've been blocked several times before. No big deal, but quite frustrating after much invested effort at the keyboard. Shouldn't I be entitled to "VIP" pass after all these years? ;-)

By the way I've always wondered who exactly is this "We" you keep mentioning but it occurs to me that it's probably Damian refering to himself in the third person which would sound highly appropriate, humility and self-contemplation not being his forte.

I note your seemingly sincere apreciation of Zidane and fair assertion of the championship match. As for taking more punishment than a red card over the incident, I don't think so. Zidane was no angel, but he was universally recognized as a media-shy class player, on and off the field, the same cannot be said about "The Matrix", as he is known. Guess who will remain as one of the greatest football player twenty years from now. Not "The Matrix".

For consolation, we still have World Cup rugby coming up next year and there's little doubt who will trounce the other team - again - should both teams meet again - trash-talk and head-butting welcomed.

Bravo Zidane, we'll miss you, and bravo Squadra Azzuri.