What I know about football, soccer to us Americans, can be summed up thusly: A score of 3-1, like the final score of the Uruguay-Costa Rica game earlier today, is a high-scoring game.

Today, despite my lack of knowledge, I’m watching men of various nationalities running from one side of a field to another, facing off chest to chest when a kick goes awry and hits a shin, “injured” players crawling—yes, crawling—10 feet to get out of the scrum and rooting for Italy to beat England. Even if we didn’t have so much family in Italy (yes, I’ll give a nod to Spain for my cousins, too), I’d be rooting for Italy to beat England after that display of a scoring dance by an English player. I swear he’s been watching too much American football.

I miss good sportsmanship. Play to win. Yes. Play with passion. Yes. Play to destroy. No.

And please don’t injure the players in the celebratory scrum.

Note: My husband (who knows only slightly more about this sport than I do) informs me that “scrum” is a rugby term. Now I know. Thank you, love. What should I have said?