Irish eyes are crying

Well 24 hours on from the "Hand of Frog" - I did not come up with that but will gladly "borrow" it! I have enjoyed reading and listening to the reaction of fans and pundits (it was even talked about on ESPN's PTI and Rome is Burning shows...I even heard it mentioned on my local sports radio show). Some of it is rational and well thought out, most of it, understandably is emotional, funny, true, heartfelt, sometimes crass and overall what makes sports so interesting. I particularly enjoyed the following video:



I guess the voodoo burning of Titi's picture is some Irish witch doctor trick. What I really love is that he is a Chelsea fan! But I do agree with him - country over club...always! This typifies the emotion felt by Irish fans and deservedly so. The way the Irish lost this match is no way to be left out of the World Cup. However sports, much like life are not always fair. The best team does not always win. Advantages are sometimes allowed for those that disregard the rules.

It stinks, trust me. I still shed a tear every time I watch, read about or think about the 1982 World Cup semi finals between RFA and France, where an absolute blatant foul by Schumacher on Battiston in the penalty area, put the Frenchman in the hospital and saw the German keeper suffer no punishment (it should have been a red card and penalty kick!!). That was an absolute howler of a missed call by an official...in a World Cup semi final. That by no means excuses what happened yesterday, but demonstrates that sh*t happens.

Not that this will make things easier for my Irish friends, but a couple of things to keep in mind:

• Had the goal been disallowed, which it should have, there remained a good 15 minutes of the match. At that stage of the match Ireland was clearly playing for PKs so who knows if France would have not scored a goal...I do not think the Irish had any intentions to look to get the second goal at this stage of the match.
  
• Even if France had not scored the goal, the game would have gone to penalties, and while many, including myself had little faith in France winning on PKs since when have Ireland been deemed the "Germany" of PKs? It would have been a crap shoot at best.
• Ireland can blame Henry and the referee....as well as themselves. If they capitalize on the other clear chances they had on goal, O'Shea is left all alone on the far post a the restart - he has the time to chest down the ball and tee up his volley only to put it into the upper stands, Keane sees Lloris make a desperate save on him midway through the first half, Evra makes a scrambling clearance on a Keane cross at the 50th minute, Keane finds himself alone versus Lloris with 15 minutes to go in regulation but cannot control the speed of the ball, and Duff sent through alone on goal with only Lloris to chip, the French keeper had gambled and covered the low shot, but instead the Fulham man sees his shot cleared by Lloris, again in desperation (Sagna's back tracking efforts also contributed to the miss). Score on one of these clear cut chances and we never go to extra time and never see the "hand of frog."
  

Bottom line, Ireland were the better team in Paris, no doubt. The goal should not have stood, should Henry have admitted this to the referee...um...would Robbie Keane have done so had the tables been turned? Doubtful. Will Henry's image be "tarnished" will he become too toxic for endorsements...no. Hey there are athletes who did far worse who still get endorsement deals - Kobe Bryant anyone? Henry will be fine, his image will be fine and fans of Barcelona, Arsenal and France will support him. When he comes play for the New York Red Bull all the fans and the MLS will talk about how great it is that he is here...after they mention the hand ball...

France will go to the World Cup next summer, they will be seeded (most likely in the first pot) they clearly have the talent to go far...or pull a World Cup 2002 and crash out in the first round. Either way it will have nothing to do with Henry being a "cheat" but everything to do with Domenech and what he does over the next 202 days. I am sure if France do well we will hear that it should be Ireland enjoying that run...if France do poorly it will be "karma." Germany seems to have done okay for itself after Schumacher blatantly cheated in 1982 and got away with it....

Ireland should feel robbed, yes. Should they complain, absolutely. Will there be a replay, highly unlikely. Do they need to get over it...yes.

The original "Hand of God" -