{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"A Raccoon for Everyone","description":"The World Cup has taken over America this summer \u2014 and it's brought more than just soccer. It's brought raccoons drinking gin. ------ The World Cup sure has been wonderful to watch. I\u2019ve loved all of it, though I\u2019d be hard pressed to clearly explain offsides. The broadcasters show replays of goals that have been taken back and the commentators say \u201cOh yes, that\u2019s clearly offsides\u201d and I have no idea what they\u2019re referring to. It\u2019s the equivalent of the infield fly rule in baseball or the tackle eligible receiver in football. It\u2019s taken me years to understand these rules, and I have to relearn them each time the season starts. I\u2019ve really enjoyed the fans that have travelled to the US to support their teams and what they they\u2019re enjoying about the US. Many have commented about large portion sizes in the restaurants and the huge variety of food available in the grocery stores. People new to the US and can quickly see why Americans are so large. We become immune to it, but I suspect anyone from abroad can walk down one of our cereal aisles and be bewildered by the many options we have to eat sugar for breakfast. Today online I saw that one of the Norwegian players got off the plane in Norway carrying a stuffed raccoon drinking a bottle of gin. It\u2019s something you\u2019d see sold at a strange store on a remote interstate exit and you wonder who would buy that other than a drunk crowd of fraternity boys. Well, apparently, international soccer stars buy them while they\u2019re shopping in Dallas. For some kid in Norway, watching their heroes come home from the US, they\u2019ve got to wonder what goes in the USA that their players come home with stuffed raccoons drinking gin. What happens over there? they must wonder. Who are those people? We\u2019ll, we Americans don\u2019t buy such things very much. But we do make them for people to bring home and tell their friends \u201cyou won\u2019t believe what I bought in the US.\u201d Now, for those that think that soccer is boring, they\u2019re right most of the time. It can be terribly boring. Any game that ends after ninety minutes of play with a score of one to nothing or two to one is going to be a boring game. But when the scoring happens it\u2019s as thrilling as any moment in sports. Precise passes punctuated with balls kicked incredibly hard past a goal defended by an above average sized and very athletic guy. And the celebrations in the stadium and video feeds from back home of streets full of people exploding in celebration are also as good as any celebrations in sports, maybe even the best. It\u2019s hard not to smile. I\u2019ll miss the World Cup when it\u2019s over. I\u2019ve developed a greater appreciation for the game, a big appreciation for the soccer fans who have traveled from across the globe to support their teams, and a deep pride and satisfaction knowing that people from all corners of the world can come to the USA and leave amazed by our grocery stores, portion sizes, and bring home a stuffed, boozing raccoon to remember it all. Good bless America. I\u2019m Cam Marston and I\u2019m just tryin\u2019 to keep it real. ","author_name":"Keepin' It Real with Cam Marston","author_url":"https:\/\/cammarston.com\/keepin-it-real-with-cam-marston\/","html":"