Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
- 1 Corinthians 9:24
The World Cup is over. I wonder if sports fans of the USA will wake up and wonder what happened to the 250th Anniversary Celebrations. I will get to them in another post.
Spain won the World Cup. Congratulations. At the quarterfinals, these two teams were my favorites. Not my picks in a gambling situation. I watch sport for the enjoyment, and gambling ruins that for me.
Spain was the better team throughout, no dominant stars that the others fed the ball to. They won based on their style of play. But it is a bit sad for Argentina. Their goalie set a new record for the number of saves in a World Cup final, only to let one through in the loss in the second extra time.
I have watched parts of World Cup 2022, the EURO Championship 2024, and World Cup 2026. There is a difference in confidence and arrogance. It is a very thin line, but England and France seem to step over that line in each tournament. Actually, I thought France played quite well and fairly. England liked to play rope-a-dope or was it the cat playing with the mouse. They both lost in the semi-finals, with England winning the Third-place competition.
Next time, play to win the games without the talk, but then again, the media do the hyping.
I love what Alexi Lalas said before the semi-final games started. He said for someone to beat England. The games were being played on American soil, and we were celebrating our freedom from England, our 250th anniversary of that Declaration of Independence. And England winning the World Cup on American soil seemed wrong, after their futility, losing for the past 60 years.
I had been thinking that all along. It has nothing to do with soccer, or futbol, but I agreed with Alexi Lalas. It seemed wrong at that particular time.
But Ryan Fox of New Zealand won the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Congratulations.
The leaderboard was filled with players who had not won a major tournament. The buzz was who among them would not melt under pressure. Scottie Scheffler, the defending Open champion, played extremely well but finished in a tie for fourth. Amazing how many putts barely missed. Cameron Young came for seven strokes behind and Fox needed to birdie the eighteenth hole to win over Young. It was entertaining if you like watching golf – an acquired taste, I suppose.
On Saturday, a story almost as big as the golf tournament was the fit had by Bryson De Chambeau over a two-stroke penalty that he disagreed with, holding up play while he ranted. That was on a previous day, but everyone was talking about it. I wrote recently that there is honor among golfers, but maybe not all golfers. I would be upset if I did not think that I did anything wrong. It might be my last chance to compete, but not following the rules ruins the game. In the end, De Chambeau triple-bogeyed a hole on the home stretch and made the argument over the penalty ruling a moot point.
Keep playing but follow the rules. And give the glory to the One who created us all.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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