Bitter Englishman: Hates Flopping

Flopping is an epidemic ruining football. Dele Alli, specifically, likes to flop around on the ground like a fish out of water and Mauricio Pochettino is completely fine with this. The referees seem to be fine with it as well. This is getting out of hand. Harry Kane does it too, even though it has seemingly become taboo to criticize the Golden Boy. Not to single out Spurs players. They’re certainly not the only culprits. Arjen Robben spends so much time on the ground he’s going to grow leaves and start breathing through photosynthesis. Players have always flopped in soccer, sure, but that doesn’t mean they always should. Watching some of the world’s  elite athletes pretend to be so uncoordinated a gentle breeze could blow them over makes the collective blood pressure of me and millions of other footy fans rise to dangerous levels.  I have much more respect for players who don’t flop, who keep going after contact even though they could throw themselves on the ground and earn a penalty. A little integrity on the field would go a long way toward helping the image of a sport that is almost hilariously corrupt at just about every level. For now I’d just be content with not having to watch Dele Alli writhe around like he’s being jabbed with a cattle prod every time someone brushes against him. That would be a good start. Maybe other players would see his good example and start following suit. Young players certainly would. It has become clear that the flopping epidemic is going to give me a stroke and eventually kill me. Serves me right for loving soccer, I suppose.