Hand of Frog
Posted by BMT on November 20th, 2009
Yep, that’s what they’re calling Thierry Henry’s handball that led to France’s victory over the Irish this week in what turned out to be the end of Ireland’s bid to play for the World Cup in South Africa. For those of you unfamiliar, the “Hand of God” was the most famous handball in soccer history. It took place in the 1986 World Cup when cocaine soccer great, Diego Maradona, scored a goal against the English with his paw. And now this goal happened with the French guy and sometimes people call the French “frogs.” So you can see why this title is humorous.
The controversy over this has been (to say the least) intense. Obviously the goal shouldn’t have counted and when you watch the replay you see that the French were clearly offsides on the play as well. Henry has apologized and the Irish have called for a rematch but FIFA, predictably, is having none of that. The juggernaut has won the game and Joe Buck and Tim McCarver hate Ireland so obviously The European Sports Network got the team it wanted into the Cup. For as quaint and hospitable as the Irish are, their charm is nothing compared to the awesome allure of all the rich creams and sauces of the French.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
They made this incident into one of my favorite memes: A mashup of Der Untergang.
It’s one of the better ones, and it even contains a cameo Andy Reid reference!
http://www.youtube.com/v/92UvNvkyfaw
November 20th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
They sure do have some great sauces.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Just another reason to root against France in 2010.
Similarly, I got away with a handball last night in my rec league that saved a goal. Very controversial although it was unintentional since it was a rocket shot and I couldn’t react in time. BMT, do you have a nickname for that? Hand of Pierogie?
November 20th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Hand of Pierogie is pretty good. I was also thinking Hand of Polish Shower. That works too.