Zidan

We all were watching the World Cup final in a crowded pub.

The head-butt was not seen live. The focus was on the ball. At some point, the play was halted by the referee and the camera focused on Materazzira writhing on the field.

"Ugh. Another example of Italian/Portuguese-style flopping" was the moan from the audience. Then, they showed the foul.

A cheer rose up from the crowd.

A cheer.

For a blatant foul.

For a loss of control from the game's best player.

Perhaps because it was an American audience, accustomed to the violence of Football and the fouls of hockey.

Perhaps it was because everyone immediately felt that Materazzira had somehow deserved it.

How often have you suppressed the urge to smash some bully, to fill the loud-mouth, to give the flopper something to flop about?

For a serious audio commentary about the head-butt, here is an NPR commentary.

This site shows that the audience's perspective is important, and that there are some very talented individuals out there with some decent film editing equipment. Enjoy.