The year is 1966, and England stands victorious as winners of the FIFA World Cup, football champions of
the world. Fast-forward to now, and we see a patchwork history where the national football (or soccer, if you insist)
team has tried time and again to relive their glorious past, and failed.
However, with the advent of professional gaming, all is not lost. A lad from
Ipswich—Chris Bullard—has helped England regain some of its football pride, by winning the FIFA
Interactive World Cup. By triumphing over the opposition (a 15-year-old from Hungary) at FIFA ‘06, Chris has
helped England obtain the virtual version of the football crown the nation has lusted after for nearly forty years.
In an age where even the most minor sporting victory is splashed across the newspapers and television
channels, and the fashionable sport du jour is the one in which we are least bad at playing (last year: rugby;
this year: cricket), it’s unlikely Chris will get much of the same attention despite being a “virtual
athlete” of the highest order. Whether this is unfair, or whether wiggling a joypad really doesn’t compare
to being out on the field, jumpers for goalposts, we can’t say—the nation, and its press, will decide.
Engadget
TUAW