If you follow African soccer at all, you know that Cameroon (CMR) and Nigeria have been rivals since they both fielded national teams.  Needless, to say this rivalry has followed me state side and I consistently trash talk my Nigerian friends - mostly because they always lose to us.  This morning, I woke to find the e-mail below from a Nigerian friend and I thought it was worth sharing with the rest of you because it’s so true.

Before I begin, I’d like to say that I’ve been watching Nigerian football since Sam Okwaragi’s time, back when Jay-Jay Okocha was still playing for Rangers FC in Enugu, Nigeria.
That being said, I’d like to take this time to re-iterate what I’ve said in the past. Nigerian soccer performance has been awful since France ‘98. The last impressing performance by Nigeria was beating Spain with that lovely shot from Sunday Oliseh during the 1998 World Cup. Ever since, they’ve been nothing more than just another average African team. Not to mention the fact, they didn’t even make the World Cup in 2006.
Why I’m I writing about this? Because I’m tired of all the hype and people (Nigerians and non-Nigerians) telling me Nigeria is really good in soccer. No, they used to be 10 years ago. Now, they suck.
How have they been able to win some games? Easy, regular teams are still haunted by the performances in USA ‘94, Atlanta ‘96, and France ‘98. As a result, they are defending more, and attacking less. Great teams like Argentina, Brazil, Spain and more destroys Nigeria in matches. They attack Nigeria’s unconditioned defense full of mistakes, especially after the 70th minute. Well, maybe the fatigue that shows at that time is due to African soccer players reducing their ages by 5-10 years in order to make it pro. So while they are listed as 30, they are possibly 40 year old men…lol
I woke up this morning and watched the Nigeria/USA game and was not impressed. With USA playing with only 10 men, Nigeria barely squeezed out a 2-1 win. First, we know Africans can’t shoot…at least not from outside the 18-yard line. They were shanking shots wide away from target. On a break away, they lack individual skills to make a counter attack deadly. In most cases, the attacks were slowed down and waited for the other team’s defense to get back. In other cases, people were trying to do moves and losing the ball. On the offensive third, it looked like they were playing monkey post (Ban all Monkey Post games in Africa now!…lol). Players held the ball long enough to draw 2-3 players in the attack and were still passing it around, trickly within the same little area.
Late in the game, U.S learned that they needed to score a goal and began pushing. The defense was totally exposed and U.S could’ve capitalized especially with the one that hit the cross-bar.  The next round will be very tough for them. Even the goalie was caught off his line a couple of times, I can imagine what the likes of Messi and other stars can do to that defense.
Just tired of hearing that Nigeria is good. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of false praises whether it benefits me or not so I had to tell the truth if no one else will.
Do you care? Yes, you do because you made it to the end of this article

Of course, I can’t say  the same for CMR because, well we win Olympics medals in soccer and were second in the more recent African Cup.  I will admit that our performance in the last couple of world cups have been less than stellar.

If you’ve been following the previous iterations of the my blog, you are well aware that I’m am not a big fan of Bill Simmons a.k.a the SportGuy. While I think his writing can be somewhat witty and at times entertaining, It is for the most part too favorable to New England sports even when they are struggling; well except for Boston College since he attended to Holy Cross. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if he jumped on the wagon if BC wins a national title. In addition to that, His crush on Tom Brady, the entire Red Sox line up and soon to be crush on Kevin Garnett make his columns read like a sophomore high school girl ranting about her imaginary date to the senior prom with the HS quarterback. Moreover half of each of his columns consist of him talking about the bets that he is probably making (or encouraging you to make) but can not legally tell you that. Another ripe I have with him is his inability to talk about the number one sport in the world; soccer. Still beyond me how people take him seriously. And to top it all off, his wife is a better writer than him and makes better picks than him on NFL games. Plus I hope she names their soon to be born baby Peyton Manning Simmons, the ultimate spite move.

So if you’re like me and you find yourself wanting more from your sports writer beside a repeat of the Vegas lines and odds, I suggest that you check out NPR Frank Deford. While Deford might have a favorite team in every major American sports, he does not spend his entire column lamenting when they lose or bragging when they win. Instead he provides an intelligent, somewhat satirical and complex view of the world of sports. He covers every topic, from international soccer to college football including NasCar and Tennis, with in-dept analysis, humor, objectivity–something that Simmon’s writing lacks. You can find all of 270 archives here (free of charge) and you can even listen to them. Trust me, They are worth it. I would lie if I said that I have a favorite, because I enjoy them all but if you want a flirt before you start another relationship with yet another sports writer, I suggest you start with Duke’s Basketball Team: Uniquely Hated; Sports, the Rodney Dangerfield of Academia? and Can Sweet Lou’s Cubs Save Sour Sports Year? I promise you will enjoy Frank Deford and on every Wednesday you will dish your second class sports writer for him. This maybe the one of the few times when I would conduct having an affair…hey it’s not you’re cheating on your barber.

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