England — The Same Old Story About Macbeth!

2006/7/2 2:39:34

England's death has always been very Shakespearean, like that Macbeth — doomed from the very start to a fated ending. In "The Host — Out in the World, All Debts Must Be Repaid!" the most tedious words were said without any magic: "The magical crow has announced 'England and Brazil will meet in the semifinals.' Without the most shameless politics, the crow will still be magical." But the final outcome was obviously not just about that crow. When an already-eliminated Argentine refereed England's life-or-death match, the fated ending gained a double layer of black.

Setting aside how atrociously Portugal performed for 60-plus minutes at 11 versus 10, watching white march fatedly toward a black ending — everything was so Shakespearean. The English died their Shakespearean death, continuing their already traditional trajectory. And the eight-year cycle of red cards in this white-black fate has become an important yet no-longer-important plot point — merely repeating this old story: what is most worth anticipating is often the poison. Beckham of 1998, Rooney of 2006 — fruits born of the same Manchester United tree, sharing the same black genes, repeating a story of identical plot points. Even the identically fatal endings by penalty shootout are exactly the same. It seems the God of Fate is quite lazy too.

The Argentines were killed by the host, then used their last bullet to drag down their greatest mortal enemy as a burial companion. The world finally became rational. As for the buried-alive England, they continue their Shakespeare complex. Probably only such a nation could produce the greatest dramatic genius. Dying fatedly amid hope, suddenly falling at the most beautiful moment — all the cliched dramatic stories will continue. Life is like a play, character determines fate — these tedious pronouncements have paled in the endless cycle of this old story.