Culture Vulture: Forget work, watch soccer

PARIS, May 10 (UPI) -- Forget work, relax and watch the World Cup. That is the advice given to British workers by their government.

To Americans, such recommendation -- for any reason, let alone a sporting event -- would seem anathema, unthinkable, and going against the very grain of the American work ethic. No U.S. government official in his right mind would ever dare offer such thoughts.

But Europe lives by a different set of rules. People here like to take their time to enjoy the little pleasures of life. Unlike most Americans, who get a week off work per year, if they are lucky, the average European worker benefits from two to three months of vacation. Yes, that's right, months. Under the Socialist government led by former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, France enacted the 35-hour work week, giving people even more leisure time.

So when it comes to the king of sports, soccer, it is quite understandable that employers -- be they independent businesses or the government -- are sympathetic to the needs of the fans.

After all, there is nothing quite as big as the World Cup. Occurring only once every four years, the Games are the single largest sporting event in the world. They are watched by tens of millions of people around the globe, more than any other televised event.

At times, soccer even gets dragged into politics. France's national team -- winners of the 1998 Cup and current world champions -- threatened to boycott the Games if Jean-Marie Le Pen, the extreme-right wing National Front presidential candidate had won the elections last Sunday.

To the uninitiated, the World Cup is larger than the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup combined and multiplied fivefold. Unlike the aforementioned sporting events, where only American (and some Canadian) teams participate, soccer's World Cup involves every country in the world, with the exception of maybe Afghanistan.

Once the Games begin, life comes to a standstill in many parts of the world. In most of Latin America, where soccer is almost a religion, traffic disappears from the streets, as businesses, schools and government work grinds to a halt for the Games. It is not unusual for stores to close early on days when that particular country's national team plays.

Europeans take it so seriously the British government has asked the nation's bosses to give workers time off during the nearly month-long competition to allow them to follow the Games, especially those involving England's national team.

In fact, companies and government ministries are left with little choice, as workers would simply take the time off, anyway, regardless of the consequences. Workers would call in sick or claim owed holidays or simply just not show up for work. Such is the importance of the Games.

"We all want to watch England do well in the World Cup, but clearly the timing of the England matches will be an issue for employers," Patricia Hewitt, British Trade and Industry Secretary told the London Observer newspaper. "The last thing they need is the entire workforce taking a 'sickie' on the big day of the match."

While some workers would be expected to make up for lost time later, that is not always the case. Employers, however, hope that if the national team wins, a sense of national pride will prevail, prompting an increase in productivity.

With the games this time being played in Japan and Korea, the time difference presents a considerable problem for Europeans, where all games will be aired live. Britain's match against arch-rival Argentina, for example, scheduled to take place at noon on June 7, a Friday, will represent a major headache for employers.

More than 7 million British soccer fans plan to watch the game "by hook or by crook," according to research carried out by Taylor Nelson Sofries that was published by the Observer.

Some British government ministers even said they would refrain from scheduling meetings during times when The Games are on. They could of course still schedule them, but chances of anyone showing up for the appointments are slim.

But all is not negative. "Research has shown that football (soccer) victories trigger off a surge of testosterone, boosting fans' sexual performance," concludes the Observer.

Such is the power of the World Cup.

(The Culture Vulture is a weekly column written by UPI's Life and Mind editor, and reflects current trends or events. Comments may be sent to [email protected].)