2015-06-04 – I love soccer. But I love it as a dad of a soccer player. I didn’t grow up with soccer. I didn’t really even know how soccer was played until my boys got into it. So I don’t know about all the machinations within the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). I don’t know the politics of choosing sites for the World Cup. And I have no idea about the recent arrests of FIFA officials or about the resignation of the FIFA president with the cartoon name. Sepp Blatter? But I do have something to say about allegations that the United States is trying to steal the World Cup from Russia or Qatar.

Baloney. Here’s why.

Several years ago, my city of Chicago was vying for the 2016 Olympics. The President of the United States, Barack Obama went personally to plead the case for Chicago. We lost to Rio, the site of both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

This is Chicago, remember.

If we didn’t try to steal back the 2016 Olympics from Rio, do you think we would try to steal a mere World Cup?

This is the United States, remember.

I would love to have the World Cup in the United States. My kid plays soccer. But I am in a distinct minority. Getting the Olympics for Chicago would have been far more important. And we didn’t do it.

A fortiori. Whatever that means.