Kumasi, Ghana is one of our most recent Sister Cities. The relationship became official in 1995. Pronounced Koo-MA-si, it is Ghana’s second largest city. It is part of region known for its ancient African royalty, according to the Charlotte International Cabinet, which oversees the sister city relationships.
Krefeld, Germany has been a Sister City since 1985, according to international cabinet. It’s an industrial town on the west bank of the Rhine River near Holland. Krefeld is known as "silk and velvet" capital of Europe.
Charlotte's sister cities relationships are part of the international cabinet’s efforts to continue to encourage citizen diplomacy through educational, cultural and civic exchanges.
It may not sound as good as cheering USA! USA!, but it's fun to know that Charlotte is still very much vested in this great international tournament.
Sometimes the difference in winning is what you can get away with....
They say soccer is a gentleman's sport played by thugs. I was thinking about that adage this weekend while ESPN was recaping the much celebrated "hand-of-god" goal by Argentina's Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup. It reminded me of another adage, this one from NASCAR, “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.”
I can’t think of any other two sports where cheating is so openly considered part of the game -- and sometimes celebrated.
The blatant phantom soccer injuries are one thing, but I’m wondering whether we’ll see any type of repeat of the famous hand-ball goal that helped Argentina win the 1986 tournament.
The goal has been long celebrated in Argentina. Arguably the world's greatest player ever, Maradona, now Argentina's coach, himself called the goal divine intervention.
NASCAR crew chief Chad Knaus didn't claim divine intervention when he was caught fiddling with the aerodynamics of the No. 48 car. Just about everyone else in racing however seemed to shrug their shoulders as if to say, "That's racin."
Bending the rules has been part of NASCAR since its beginnings. Crew chiefs have tweaked tricked up stock cars and used nitrous oxide gas for extra horsepower. The sports roots date back to a time when bootleggers were trying to outrun the law.
One of those former bootleggers, racing legend Junior Johnson, told a reporter in Florida a few years ago that “Anybody who runs legal is gonna run behind…. It's not cheating…It's being competitive."
Of course, soccer and NASCAR are far from the only sports that have been permeated by cheating.
Think about all those Tour de France riders needing blood transfusions, pill popping track athletes, and steroid injecting baseball players. The NFL busted New England Patriots coach Bill Belicheck for videotaping the New York Jets defensive signals.
Still, I'd say, the practice is not as openly accepted as on the soccer pitch and racetrack.
In this year's World Cup, one of the likeliest candidates to pull off a hand of god goal would be Argentina's current star player, Lionel Messi. Often touted as the best player of his generation, Messi shares many traits with his coach. They both played internationally for Barcelona, wore No. 10 for the Argentina national team, and can dance with a soccer ball like few others on the pitch. And Messi even already has his own hand ball goal scored in a critical game while playing for Barcelona.
Messi has long struggled to get out from under his coach's shadow. And, in this tournament where the expectation is to win at any cost, he has yet to score a goal with his feet.
That was a comment on a lively column about Wednesday's Mexico vs. Iceland exhibition soccer game. It was one of nearly 200 comments that started as a conversation about the upcoming World Cup and soccer’s lacking popularity in the United States.
The discussion turned quickly into an angry debate on illegal immigration with vicious personal attacks and name calling from opposing sides.
Sports columnist Scott Fowler wrote a great story about the “strange and wonderful” night in Charlottewhen a corner of Uptown seemed more like Mexico City than the Queen City. The southern tip of downtown was awash in green. Tailgaters, some wearing sombreros or Mayan headdresses, chomped on corn tortillas filled with carnitas and danced to live drummers amidst a crowd of 63,000.
But the back-and-forth comments following Fowler’s column made the game out to sound like a violent rally on immigration reform instead of a friendly event that many Charlotte residents joined to get a taste of international sport and culture.
Immigration is no doubt a problem in this country that needs to be fixed. There are deep emotions on each side. Did the city seek and benefit economically from the game? Yes. Were many of the fans in the stands in the country illegally? Without a doubt.
The government has been wrestling with immigration a long time. And in today’s political climate, no letup appears likely.
Click here to see more photos outside the stadium and here for the action inside.
The game was not a rally for one way or the other. There were no signs (that I saw) on either side of the debate. Most people who went to the game or joined in the festivities outside were there likely because they enjoyed soccer or wanted a taste of one of the biggest international events in downtown Charlotte.
Thank goodness for sport, which has always been one of our great escapes from the problems of the day.
Just two people were arrested, including a crazy dude who jumped out onto the field at the start of the second half.
(Here is a video of his shenanigans. I agree with the bloggers who say the Panthers should sign up the security guard who tackled the guy.)
Photos: Sombreros, face paint, and the persistent echo of "Mex-i-co!" chants echoed throughout the stadium parking lot. LAURA-CHASE MCGEHEE - lcmcgehee@charlotteobserver.com Mexico's fans yell support for their team Wednesday evening at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. JEFF SINER - jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Franco Ordoñez writes about immigration (and Haiti) for the Charlotte Observer. This Land covers the latest news and ideas about one of the country’s most perplexing issues of our day. Email him at fordonez@charlotteobserver.com.
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