That's On Point: The Web Site

The Divine Comedy by Dante.

Probably the most well-know and well-regarded example of Italian literature. In fact, it might be the only piece of Italian literature, the instruction manual for 'Super Mario Bros.' notwithstanding.

Somewhere, in one of the circles of hell there is a special place for these absolute lunatics that are doing their best to ruin the Italian game of calcio. Friday, a Serie A game erupted into madness on the island of Sicily between Catania and Palermo, with a police officer being murdered in the process.

This is just the latest black eye for the Italian game, which a short time ago was considered the pinnacle of success worldwide.

But now thanks to insane fans -- who like to turn matches into their own political forum -- and greedy, short-sighted owners -- who treat the teams as their own personal toys -- the game is certainly in crisis, on and off the field.

The actual Serie A competition is a joke, as last year's winner Juventus was stripped of the title due to board-room match-fixing and corruption. Inter Milan 'won' the title in the wake and has since dominated the 2006/07 competition, after picking through the bones of 'the Old Lady' (think Patrick Vieira, Zlatan Imbrohimovic). Inter has won something like 14 straight, but can they even be considered legit? Especailly with their biggest rivals all docked points at the start of the season.

Hell, AC Milan did the ultimate desperate move buying the grilled stuffed burrito that is Ronaldo from Real Madrid. (Hope they spent those Shevchenko rubles wisley.)

Yes, Italy won its fourth World Cup last June, but it looks like the country had to sell its collective soul to do it. Don't know if there's anything in 'The Divine Comedy' about soul-selling. That was 'Faust', right, aside from Mad Magazine parodies I'm not that well-read?

Did Marco Matterazzi calling Zinadine Zidane's mother a 'dirty terrorist' illicit the wrath of the footballing Gods, in a modern-day Lucius Vorenus capacity?

And sometimes when I flip through the channels and see a Serie A match on FSC or GolTV I do a doubletake and wonder if its an MLS match, considering the lack of fannies in the seats. From brief research, the Italian television deal is the anti-NFL, with the big clubs demanding their own packages to the detriment of the lesser teams.

On a personal level, my uncle -- who came over from the Boot in the late 1960s -- says he can't even watch Serie A anymore. He cites the actual lack of Italians on the top teams, to the poor run of play, to the greed of the owners. (Inter only has four Italians on its senior team and could essentially be renamed the Argo-Brasilian all-star team, for what its worth.)

It's hard to blame him, when with a good satellite package you can watch the English Premier League, La Liga and even the Bundesliga (not great, but usually entertaining).

As for the terrace violence, I'm obviously not qualified to comment on it. From what I've read disillusioned people, usually from the extreme left (think communist simpaticos in Messina) or extreme right (think Paulo 'Titus Pullo' DiCaino).
Considering I live in the States and sporting events here are about as apolitical as they come, aside from maybe a Toby Keith flag-waving NASCAR jam or the incessant 'Our Country' ad that has infiltrated American sports television, it's hard to intelligently condemn what goes on it Italy without living there. Obviously the mainstream American media, if they bother to notice, we duly note this incident and think every game in European soccer is a nuthouse. Some of those Ultra groups really must have taken offense by Bill Buford's protrayal of Italians' toughness in the nearly two decades old "Among the Thugs."

The real loser here is the players. They had nothing to do with the Juventus scandal. Nor to they deserve to get tear gas shot down on them during a professional match. Think any big-time players are thinking about transferring to Italy anytime soon?

Now one of the biggest attractions of soccer on the world stage is the so-called 'atmosphere'. And far be it from me to tell Italians how to act. But political demonstrations and outright killing has nothing to do with soccer. It's going to be up to normal, everyday Italians to shun these lunatics if the game is ever going to recover. You can still have your atmosphere without lighting Vespa scooters on fire and hurling them off the upper deck. Changed will need to come from within.

Then again, what do you expect from a country that elected a man (Silvio Burlesconi) prime minister who stole Western Kentucky's mascot and turned him (Gabibbo) into the national media celebrity?

Coming up in TOP -- When peer pressure goes horribly wrong; USA/Mexico preview and review; Yay or Nay Method Man; my exclusive one-on-one interview with Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

Labels: Soccer