Crossposted at ARGville
A Brazilian legendary player whose skills inside the penalty area were second to none, Romario is one of the all-time great strikers in the game of football (soccer). When the 1994 FIFA World Cup was played in the United States, Romario was the tournament’s MVP (Golden Ball winner).
OK, what does this have to do with politics, and more specifically with George Bush? I’m getting there, itchy pants. Follow me.
Romario is now 41 years old, still playing soccer and in search of being one of the few players in history to score 1,000 goals in his career. As I write this he stands at 998. So he says. The problem is, research of his illustrious but troubled career reveals that he’s at least 100 goals shy of that mark. He is counting youth games and unofficial exhibition games, which is not kosher.
Just like the president’s many false assertions that have made it into the media and are now repeated as if they are fact, Romario offers another example of that feat. Although some articles about Romario’s chase for 1,000 goals will mention how dubious the number is, the world sporting press continues to cover his quest and the preparations for the celebration of his 1,000th goal. And so, while many of us know that the 1,000th goal will be a lie, it will be a matter of fact to most.
Romario, just like Bush, is showning us how easy it is to pull the wool over the masses' eyes just by simply repeating a lie over and over.
Although Romario has had a string of trouble outside the soccer pitch (a playboy lifestyle, fights, paternity suits, ex-wives galore, badmouthing former greats, etc.) and is to many a petulant little jerk, there are two big differences between him and Bush: one, no one has ever died because of Romario's lies; two, Romario was good at what he did.