(whatever)

No, I never suggested that ZZ headbutted to attract public attention to the vicious issue of racism. It’d be too much to believe, particularly when he was totally focused heart and soul in a pressure game to win the greatest glory in the game of football. What I suggested is that, ZZ lost his temper at the abuses thrown at him by MM, something that in my opinion was not unnatural considering what serious things the abuses suggested and what pressure he was under. If you agree with me up to that, then the question was what “civilized” way it could have been for ZZ to react to such dastardly behavior (I repeat that we agree on the point the ZZ had to react) . You seem to suggest in the post that responding with physical force to verbal abuses is NOT civilized. I ask back, should an equally heinous/detestable verbal abuse thrown back at MM by ZZ, instead of resorting to physical measures, have saved him from being called “uncivilized”?
I just recall an incident of the past to which I was a witness. While traveling in a local train in the suburbs of Calcutta there was an altercation broken out between two persons, perhaps over the occupation of a particular seat. One person evidently looked more sober than the other, well spoken and good looking. The other person looked clearly unrefined, a bit rustic and much less educated than his opponent, so in the verbal argument that ensued, he clearly could not match his challenger. Understanding the second person’s clear disadvantage to speak well to win an argument, our more educated challenger started playing a little bit foul. He started using some English abuses to psych him out and ridicule him publicly. In the end, we saw that the unrefined man just lost his temper and planted a huge box on his face….. Do you think what he did was “uncivilized”?

astha: thanks

Neela: There’s really no contradiction between something being aesthetically beautiful and being uncivilised you know (haven’t you ever heard of the noble savage), or for that matter between something being poetic and hilarious.

And Zidane is ’searingly hot’? Really? Agree with you about the blockbuster movie plot though – all the time I was watching the replays I kept thinking – now that’s how Lagaan should have ended – with Aamir Khan head-butting the smug Englishman, being run out, and his entire village having to suffer for ever as a consequence. Now that would have been an Oscar-winning film.

akash: No, calling MM names wouldn’t have been particularly civilised either. Recognising that MM is uncivilised moron and just ignoring what he was saying would have been. (I mean seriously, how does it matter if someone calls you a terrorist – unless that someone works for the Department of Homeland Security, of course). Or, failing that, reporting the incident to the authorities and filing an official complaint against MM would have been good (I don’t actually know if football has rules against that sort of behaviour). Or, if necessary, going public with the incident and putting MM’s comment in every newspaper on the planet (and surely ZZ had the power to do that) – thereby rallying public opinion against MM. If the idea was to bring the issue of racism in football to the fore, as you seem to suggest, surely that was the more intelligent (and civilised) way to do it.

Very thought provoking post. Now the question remains, assuming Materazzi actually called Zizou “dirty terrorist”, how civilized the behavior was on the part of Materazzi. Or, for example, assume that ZZ retorts to MM with an equally penetrating slur, say something “You are a motherf*****”, instead of using physical force. Now will we call that the whole incident was settled in a civilized way?

Had ZZ not done that headbutt the whole matter would perhaps have never come to the fore and MM would’ve surely got away being “uncivilized” leaving ZZ stung with yet another humiliation that he had been subjected to since his childhood. I’m no way supporting ZZ’s reaction or calling it “civilized”. Now what “civilized” way it could have been for ZZ to react to the most coward and shameful abuses hurled at him by MM (again assuming MM really did that, for the sake of the present discussion on what is “civilized”)? OK, if the answer is that he should not have reacted at all in the first place, because it is not very civilized either to lose temper, then it’s just too nice. God is only civilized.

Of course the fact that Zizou looks searingly hot has nothing to do with any of this. And that fact that he may have responded to a ma-behen gaali also has nothing to do with anything (except endear him even more disgustingly to his female fans). But what a script for a blockbuster movie (and they’ll probably ruin it by getting Colin Farrell or Brad Pitt to play Zizou).

falsie: get back to yer suicidal/porno stories. And if you do want to headbutt your advisor, I’d advise you to study the Zizou tape over and over again to see how he does it. At least do it well.

n!

It was zidane who ruined the match. Period. The reaons for or against dont matter

Yeah Yeah, I like simplicity.

Suyog