Anarchy

Is it ironic to write about anarchy, especially if you are not using spray paint?

I'm a few days late blogging on this topic, one that bookended the Saturday Washington Post. Of course, Greece was once again on the front page with an article on the rise of the anarchist movement in Europe but especially in the motherland.

Though a punk rocker from way back, at least 1981, I was never into anarchy that much. It might have been okay for the U.K. and the Sex Pistols, but I was too much of a socialist punk rocker, with a soft spot for government programs and public projects funded by progressive taxation (so maybe I was a Keynesian punk rocker) to see the appeal of anarchy as an ideology or world view.

The irony here is that many punks in England, especially the Pistols, hated the welfare state and it's leveling and blandness (even the national health service!).  There were other punks, like The Clash, who were more leftist/Marxists/populists/etc.  and in the U.S. most punks of that era were very left, following the anti-corporate, anti-Reagan, and anti-hippie credo of The Dead Kennedys and others (I may be overgeneralizing here, but that was my experience).

So I liked the state too much to be an anarchist, but also you simply can't trust anarchy, and more importantly the mob mentality that usually accompanies it.  I can't imagine anarchy is the best way to accomplish anything progressive, so it's odd to think it's popularity is on the rise in Europe.

One of the great political paradoxes is 'without order there is no freedom."  Or justice for that matter.  The rule of law, just law, is more important and more liberating than anarchy. 

A vivid example of that truism was also in The Post on Saturday, in my main man Colbert King's column on the Freedom Riders.   King brutally reminded us the cost of anarchy. In the south in the 50s and 60s there was anarchy.  The mob ruled, the police looked the other way, and in the anarchy that followed African-Americans and members of the civil rights movement were terrorized.  

His column is just one, small, snap shot of how the white power structure reacted to the civil rights movement, and took advantage of the lack of the rule of law, of anarchy.  

A year ago anarchists in Greece fire bombed a bank, killing 3 employees including a pregnant woman.  That incident prompted Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to state "protest is one thing, murder is another."

The U.S. has learned a lot from the Greeks.  Greek youth, the most active participants in the 'We won't pay' movement, have plenty of reasons to have little-to-no faith in Greek political structure. But they should learn from the U.S. in this case.  

All the great leftist victories in the U.S., from winning the Civil War to labor to civil rights, have relied on citizens insisting on a just application of the law and our democratic values.  Despite the anarchy, the civil rights movement eventually won (legall; within 10 years legal racism had been defeated).  But it was a disciplined, organized movement. 

The 'We won't pay' movement and others like them should focus on organizing around democratic values, not on promoting anarchy.

A Loss, But Went Out on a High Note

Though Ellas lost today, 0-2, to Argentina, at least our Ethniki went out fighting.  

We played Messi and company tough - in fact, played them even for 75 minutes or so - and even had a few scoring opportunities that simply did not pan out.  Though it was a loss, and a loss that eliminated Greece from the World Cup, at least they went down fighting.  

That is a worn out cliche, especially when it comes to sport, but for a team that embarrassed a nation and worldwide diaspora in their opening match versus South Korea going down fighting is an improvement.

Followers of Greek football have to say that the 2010 World Cup was a huge step forward.  One could assume that a country that won one of football's most important championships as recently as 2004 (though 2004 is a long time ago; for perspective Carolina has won 2 national basketball championships since then) would have higher aspirations than going 1-0-2 (3 points) in a World Cup.  But for a nation that was totally embarrassed in their only other appearance, in 1994, scoring 2 goals and getting a win is progress.

Almost more important than the win and the goals is the incremental changing of the guard. Unlike in 2006 or 2008, this team shed some of the old stars from 2004 and introduced some younger talent.  

Hopefully, qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and winning a game is simply a step in the right direction, a direction that will see Ellas routinely qualify for future European championships and World Cups. Remember, this is only Greece's fourth international final (1994 World Cup, 2004 and 2008 European championships are the other three) so let's hope this is the start and not the waning of a golden era of Hellenic football.

USA

Speaking of soccer teams on the rise, we can take a huge step forward with a win over Algeria tomorrow. This group has been unpredictable so we should not take Algeria for granted. But that said, you got to like our chances.

A win would move the US into the knockout round, but more importantly give this team some serious mojo.  If we can avoid giving up an early goal tomorrow watch out.

So another big sports today tomorrow - USA versus Algeria, and Strasburg back on the mound for 2-game winning streaking Nationals.

Wrap Up

HELLENIC FOOTBALL

I'll lead with Greece's big loss to Switzerland yesterday in wrapping up a big football Saturday.

As most folks know, Greeks are never at fault. If we mess up - and we've messed up a lot, from the splintering of Alexander the Great's empire to the loss of Constantinople to the great Asia Minor catastrophe of the 1920s to the Civil War and the junta of the colonels - it's NEVER our fault. Instead Greeks blame the Turks, the west, the British or the Americans (only one time was is not our fault; the 1204 attack on The City by the fourth Crusade).

And as much as I want to stay away from the blame game, it's hard not to blame the referee in yesterday's 0-2 loss in Switzerland. Greece played the entire second half down a man after a very dubious red card against Louis Ventra near the end of the first 45 minutes.

Despite being a man down, it looked like Greece was going to survive with a scoreless tie and gain an all-important point in their quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Ellas missed a great chance to take the lead and control of the game with 20 minutes left when Ioannis Amanatidis, who was by far the most active player for the motherland, failed to to score when his shot just grazed the cross bar. Ten minutes and one justified-penalty-against-Ellas later, the Swiss scored off a penalty kick to take a 1-0 lead.

Of course, the Swiss player who took the penalty kick, a pass that resulted in a header for the goal, was Turkish born Hakan Yakin. So it IS the Turks' fault!

WORLD CUP UPDATE

The U.S. looked shaky, particularly on defense, but still defeated El Salvador 2-1 yesterday to practically clinch a spot in the World Cup. Team USA was baled out by Landon Donovan, who's two passes off set pieces resulted in goals from Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altadore.

As wobbly as the team looked It's a good-to-great sign for the U.S. that the three players - Donovan, Dempsey, and Altadore - who excelled at the Confederation Cup in June, when the Americans upset Spain on their way to the final where they eventually lost to Brazil, continued their good play yesterday against Our Savior.

In fairness to the U.S. squad the score should have been 3-1. The Honduran referee called back a beautiful counter attack goal from Altadore dramatically set up by passes from - who else - Donovan and Dempsey.

[My too-much-time-on-his-hands analysis of Greece's chance to recover from their loss and STILL make the World Cup is here.]

CAROLINA FOOTBALL ROLES

The Carolina football Heels met expectations in handily defeating The Citadel yesterday, 40-6. The Heels' defense held the Bulldogs to less than 200 yards for the game, the offense did not turn the ball over, and the running game dominated play and provided plenty of space for the passing game to grow.

In general, a perfect start for a team with high expectations for the season and a tough game next week in East Hartford against Ed Mierzwinski's UConn Huskies.

DITTO FOR THE CAROLINA WOMEN

It was a pretty big Carolina sports weekend. In addition to the football team's rout, the number one Carolina women demolished number two Notre Dame 6-0 in South Bend on Saturday, a week after defeating number 3 UCLA 7-2. Let's hope the Carolina women's team, the defending national champs and arguably THE most DOMINANT sports dynasty of all time, hasn't peaked too soon.

BAD START FOR THE ACC

Carolina took care of business in defeating Division 1-AA The Citadel, but two other ACC teams lost to foes from that division. Duke lost to defending 1-AA national champs Richmond, obviously a quality team but to lose at home is bad.

More shocking was Virginia's home loss to in-state 1-AA 'rival' William and Mary. That one is a truly embarrassing loss.

Playing against better competition the rest of the ACC did not fair that much better. Wake Forest lost to Baylor, and Virginia Tech was over matched by Alabama last night. A conference with a lackluster football reputation heading into the season did nothing to change those perceptions yesterday.

FINAL CAROLINA NOTE

As part of the school's celebration of 100 years of basketball, Carolina held a star-studded all-star game Friday night at the Dean Dome. Roy Williams, Larry Brown, George Karl, Michael Jordan and Dean Smith and a who's who of active hoopsters were on hand. You can check out the highlight video at http://090409_unc_m-baskbl_AlumniGameHighlights.asx. If that link doesn't work you can go to Tarheelblue.com.

All football post (almost)

Pretty big football weekend for Carolina Hellenic Blue.

Carolina opens the season as a ranked football team for the first time in years on Saturday, September 5th at 6:00 pm. The Heels take on The Citadel, a military school located in secessionville, Charleston, South Carolina. The Tar Heels will open with a team from the lesser football division (formerly Division 1-AA, now called the Football Championship Series division since they utilize a quaint method known as 'a tournament' to determine their national champion) for the third straight year.

I agree with many who say this is an important season for the Butch Davis version of the football Heels. Almost all the players on the roster are his recruits, and everything about the program has Davis' stamp on it.

And the Heels should be good. They return 8 of 11 starters on defense. On that side of the ball the Heels should be fast, especially at linebacker.

The main questions are on offense. Most pre-season talk has focused on an inexperienced corps of receivers. But for me the keys will be quarterback T.J. Yates' health and turnovers (HUGE football acumen here: the key to the team will be the quarterback and not making mistakes - brilliant!).

When healthy, Yates is an above-average athletic playmaker. I hope he can start 11 games this season. Plus, Greg Paulus's brother is his back up this year, and I'm just skeptical about anything Paulus related.

Last year, Carolina didn't turn the ball over than much, but they did so at terrible moments. A few drive-killing turnovers by Shaun Draughn, especially against Virginia Tech and Maryland, altered those games and perhaps even cost the Heels a 10-win season.

So it will be interesting to see how The Citadel game goes. Last season, another hyped Heels squad struggled to beat a Division 1-AA school in McNeese State. Carolina's defense should dominate the Bulldogs, but it will be telling to see how the offense plays tomorrow. A good start, say a 30-3 win, will demonstrate that the defense is as good as advertised AND give the offense confidence heading into the more challenging part of the UNC's schedule.

GO HEELS!

HELLENIC FOOTBALL

Greece plays a huge game tomorrow at Switzerland in a 2010 World Cup qualifying match. Ellas and Switzerland are tied atop their group with 13 points each, so the winner of tomorrow's game will have the inside track to qualify. The 2004 European champions should be easily leading their group, but Greece inexplicably lost to the Swiss at home earlier this year.

A win, and the 3 points, would virtually guarantee Greece's qualification for the 2010 World Cup (it would only be the second World Cup for Greece; they qualified but played embarrassing football in the 1994 World Cup here in the U.S.). But a tie, and 1 point, would not be the end of the world (cup) for Ellas. That's because Switzerland has a tougher schedule after tomorrow's tilt. While Greece goes on to play at Moldova before finishing at home versus Latvia and Luxembourg, 9 relatively easy points to pick up, the Swiss have games at Latvia and Luxembourg but finish at home against a tough Israel team. If any of those games end in a tie the Swiss will only pick up 7 points, giving Greece the group and a ticket to South Africa.

The game against Switzerland will be shown on a delayed basis on Setanta sports Saturday at 4 pm eastern. If you are in DC feel free to come by the house to watch the game with me and Evan. However, we have to leave right at 6 pm, right after the game should end, to go to a 7:05 Nationals game.

Please let me know ahead of time if you want to come over so I can have enough ouzo on hand.

GO ELLAS!

ONE LAST FOOTBALL NOTE

Interesting column today by Tom Boswell regarding the offensive nicknames (a term he uses in the column) and football game tickets. The column expands on a recent article in the Post that discussed the role of ticket broker that also debunked the myth of the long waiting list for season tickets.

The most shocking tidbit though was that the team sues season ticket holders who do not buy all their tickets. So which one is it, is there a waiting list for these sought-after tix, or do you have to take legal action to force a FAN to buy tickets? Either way, the ticket practices confirm all the spoiled and unlikeable rich-kid stereotypes about team owner Daniel Snyder.