Fortune Cookies + Soccer

Most of my favorite dishes involve some form of spicy noodles or rice. Chinese, Thai, and Indian cuisine top the list. When we order takeout, it usually involves food from one of those regions. While we love the entrees, those that come with fortune cookies are a step above.

After a recent order in night at home, when I opened my fortune cookie, something I have never seen happened…….

There was no fortune.

Empty. Zip. Nada. Just a cookie.

Curious as to what the potential meaning of this event could be, I asked the Google. The two main theories were (1) that it’s a sign of good luck, or (2) no fortune indicates a clean slate and that your future is “in your hands.”

I think FIFA needs an empty fortune cookie.

The World Cup has been great theater. The stars, the legacy teams, shootouts. All of it has captured a lot of casual fans the past few weeks (including me honestly). However, the sports’ governing body made one massive mistake that can’t be corrected. Ever.

Not ensuring that Team USA played on July 4^th was a faux pas they can never fix.

For those that know the sport and follow it, you could say, “The pool play and the knockout round schedule are built ahead of time, so you can’t guarantee a team plays on a certain day.” I would counter that with a teenager-like eye roll.

FIFA is arguably the most powerful sports organization on the planet. They can do whatever they want. They can reverse an on field red card (which they did today as we write this). They can choose to have the biggest event in the World across three countries for the first time. They literally write the rules. So why couldn’t they engineer a schedule where the USA would play on the 4^th in say, Philadelphia?

Yeah great, they had the American National Anthem performed at each of the games on July 4^th. The same games that no American team was involved in. Nice try. Not the same thing as having one of the host countries for this year’s Cup playing on their 250^th birthday. Not just any birthday, but the 250^th.

Those of you that know us well know that we are a glass-half-full group of people. It is rare that we go on a rant about something negative, however this one just couldn’t be ignored. On the flip side, we offer some positives as we close this week’s Monday Huddle Up…..

If you overlook something or make a mistake, think of the empty fortune cookie.

Take a beat, hit the reset button, fix it, and move on as best you can.

The future is in your hands.

Have a great (and positive) week ahead!