WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : Spotlight : PRESIDENT IS LOCAL, THIS IS <i> WORLD CUP</i>
In Colombia, where coverage of its national team in the World Cup has practically displaced news of this Sunday’s presidential election, newspapers are devoting daily special sections to the tournament, as well as front-page play.
El Tiempo, a leading Bogota daily, carried commentary Friday complaining about U.S. ignorance of the sport.
“The local population is not only not interested in the theme, it’s more than that: They don’t have the faintest idea about what soccer is. They think it is something ridiculous,” columnist Jorge Barraza wrote from Chicago. “To give you a graphic example: Maradona could walk the streets here without the usual accostment, without anyone bothering him. Everyone here says the same thing: ‘Soccer? Oh, yes, yes, soccer! Maradona? No, I don’t. . . .’ Not having even heard of the name of Maradona is the best proof of the definitive ignorance on the matter.”
On El Tiempo’s editorial pages, columnist D’Artagnan wrote Friday: “Today the world championship of soccer begins, and never have a country’s expectations turned so enthusiastically and massively on the fate of its National Selection (team). Colombia, it is true, has traditionally been a fan of soccer, but never has a sensation of complete dependence been felt as it is now, in which practically nothing else matters, only what our team does in the World Cup. Not politics--two days from decisive presidential elections--nor the tragedies (such as the avalanche last week that killed hundreds) that plague us, nor the economic indicators, nor the massacres. Nothing.”
