The World Cup could teach us Americans a thing or two

People who know me know that I am not the biggest of sports fans. While I have teams that I like and some that I don't, in the end it doesn't really matter to me and ultimately, I want the team that wants "it" most to win. Find me a team that shows a lot of heart and is really busts there collective hump and is the best TEAM, and that will the team who gets my praise.
That does not mean that I am indifferent as to HOW games should be played and how the players should play them. We can all think of an incident of some professional athletes self-aggrandizing "I'm so great" moment. Individual moments of self appreciation is not what bothers me. I'll give any athlete the latitude to be proud of their own accomplishments as long as that at the end of the day they acknowledge that it's a team thing. In short, show some class. Because if you don't, than your just another self important, overpaid, egomaniac that should have never been given the opportunity to play the game. That kind of egocentric and self-importance is well....tiresome. Our society is replete with people telling us how good they are. How great they are. How much bling they have. How many bitches they have, how much money they have and just basically how fantastic they are. If the people don't tell us that themselves, the tabloid media more than takes up the slack and tells us of their greatness for them.
Now I know that not all of the a fore mentioned social grievences takes place solely within sports. So how can the World Cup teach us something? It is in my opinion that one of the greatest tragedies of the American sports arena is the loss of the end of game hand shake. This is a time honored tradition. The message that is transmitted in that split second walk the line,slap hands,and say nice game ritual is one of vital importance. Because at the end of the day, it is just a game. And win or lose on a different day the outcomes could have been different and everybody knows it. And no matter who you are, your still human and subject to all the factors that comes with it. And that ritual is a way for all players to convey that to eachother in that instant.
As we witness the World Cup this ritual is taken to a tremendous level. Not only do these athletes shake hands with eachother, they exchange shirts and will hug eachother and reminisce on the game. I know that a lot of the players play together on other teams which helps aid in these niceties, but on the field of battle, these players will help eachother up and check on eachothers well being if injury was possible and know that it was they themselves that could have been injured. One team even brought flowers for a member of the opposing team to honor the loss of his father.
In short, the world cup athletes are playing like gentlemen. Being professional and having a bit of class. And that bit of class is sorely missing from American sports in this day and age.
If you are one of the greats than history will remember you as such. Your records will be there for all to admire. You will be remembered for them. Michael Jordon and Wayne Gretzky are remembered as greats in their respected sports for there performance within the teams they played on as well as their individual accomplishments. Not because they walked around saying how great they were. Everybody knows how great they were, we don't have to be told. They showed class. Cal Ripkin ran around the field and shook hands with the fans when he broke the record for consecutive games. Again, class.
Since these athletes are always put on a pedestal in our society (not that I blame the athletes for this) is it too much for the sports their in to require just a modicum of class. Isn't that the lesson that should be watched by the millions of viewers? That no matter how much money you make and no matter what the score was, that it is just a game? And that I know that it could have been you on any given day? Without the fans we couldn't be paid all this money? Well, let's not push it.
But then perhaps we would see this class carry over into the other areas of our society. And would that be such a bad thing?
Nice game
BB