Trendy Atlantans flock to the ‘beautiful game'

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Ever play spot the Europhile?

You'll have plenty of opportunities this weekend as the only athletic event noted on the hipster calendar returns. It may not be that big of a deal in Blairsville or Brunswick, but trendy, inside-the-perimeter types who typically disdain sports are all abuzz about the World Cup, which kicks off Friday.

"[W]hite people like the World Cup because it allows them to pretend they are European for a few weeks, and more importantly, it allows them to get drunk at odd hours," wrote Christian Lander on Stuff White People Like, a blog that satirizes Caucasian chic.

Moreover, "if the wrong kind of white people hate it, it must be good," Lander told the AJC.

People such as fictional propane salesman Hank Hill from rural Texas, who once said, "Soccer was invented by European ladies to keep them busy while their husbands did the cooking."

While in-town bar owners might welcome the bandwagon jumpers and their Velcro wallets, soccer fans who passionately follow the sport year-round would prefer they stick to pontificating about corporate excess.

"I'm actively trying to find a place to watch [the World Cup] where those people won't be," said Matt Gove, 39, of Grant Park. His soccer bona fides check out: Gove was a big fan of the Atlanta Chiefs, the city's first professional soccer franchise, which played outdoors and (briefly) inside the Omni before folding in 1981.

"I like to watch [soccer] with people who are genuine fans, who truly appreciate the sport," Gove told the AJC. "But most of the bars in town are going to be overrun with the pseudo fans."

German transplant Heinrich Lob, a research scientist at Emory, said his accent typically repels the SINO's (soccer fans in name only).

"You never see anyone wearing an MLS jersey," Lob said, referring to America's professional soccer league. "Sometimes you see a [David] Beckham [Los Angeles] Galaxy jersey, but that's it."

Of course, the tragically hip would never be seen wearing one of those. Beckham's gotten too popular and besides, that's so 2008. At least he's European.

"Most white people cobble their soccer knowledge together from UK celebrity gossip and a few games of FIFA on the Wii," Lander wrote. "But if you do find yourself talking to a white person who actually knows a lot about soccer you are probably talking to a European, or worse, a white guy who tries too hard."