Quote · Fin vs History
Hanging Out The Blatter it | The History of The World Cup (Part 4/4)
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Motty Doesn't Do Chunkies
At 25:09 · chapter starts 23:00
As the story arrives at USA '94, Fin frames the tournament as FIFA's first major attempt to crack the American market — and its resounding failure. The domestic audience viewed football as third world sport, one newspaper article describing it as 'the biggest sport in Cameroon, Uruguay, Madagascar'. On the very day of the opening match between Bolivia and Germany, the LAPD began their televised pursuit of OJ Simpson — live GTA, as Fin puts it — and no sport could compete. The hosts then turn to the tournament's most tragic storyline: Colombian defender Andrés Escobar scores an own goal against the USA, flies home, and is shot six times, with his killers reportedly shouting 'Gol!' after each shot. The hosts debate whether South American commentary sounds silly to Europeans and agree that for a Colombian, it would have felt moving and real. The segment closes with Maradona — his airgun attack on journalists before the tournament, his iconic goal against Greece, and his positive test for ephedrine, captured in the haunting image of him being led away by a nurse, skipping.
Colombian defender Andrés Escobar scores an own goal against the US at USA '94 — then goes home and gets shot six times, with his killers reportedly shouting 'Gol!' after every shot. British tabloid culture around football is toxic; this was its logical endpoint.
Colombian defender Andrés Escobar was shot dead after scoring an own goal at the 1994 World Cup, with his killers reportedly shouting 'Gol!' after each shot.
