Yellow Card diatribe

I am exhausted. Every time I turn on the television, or the radio I hear commentators and fans and players decrying the number of Yellow Cards being given in this year's tournament. Well, to me, the yellow cards are critical to controlling the players. Take away the yellow cards and the petulant brats that are the national stars of these 32 nations will take over the game. We'd see a rash of diving, "simulation" FIFA calls it, like you've never seen before. We'd see more dissention than even the most hardened, seasoned official could stomach. We'd have officials surrounded by over-paid, under-skilled, schoolyard bullies at every single call. I applaud the hard line that FIFA has taken this year and encourage it to continue. The very hardest job on the pitch and the one most hated and under-valued and under-paid is the job of the official. Imagine a religion without a god. What would be the purpose? There wouldn't be. There'd be no saviour nor devil. No single being responsible for laying down and controlling the laws of the religion. Now, imagine a football match without an official. What would be the point? Who would ensure that the 17 (yes, only 17) laws of the game are understood and obeyed? Who would hand out the penances when the law was not obeyed or the spirit of the law was broken? Yes, the official's job in this religion we call football is that of the god. If only for 90 minutes (plus stoppage), that single entity controls the game and hands out the penances and indulgences as necessary. If those penances take the form of a yellow card, then that yellow card is deserved and who are we to criticize the man that hands them out? For me, the yellow cards in this year's competition have done more to preserve the integrity of the game than any other single factor. Certainly more than the idiots complaining about them. Perhaps in future years, because of this year, there will be fewer cards because the player's will learned their lessons. Wastrel On!