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World Cup ball

Read of the Day: The Jabulani as Capitalist Failure

Capitalism: Its strengths are its flexibility, dynamism, reliance on innovation and punishment of failures. But both the recent economic collapse and the Jabulani represent a new, unsettling reality: “There is no space in the system for change…Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t.” Everyone knew the ball was bad well before the World Cup began, and everyone seemed powerless to fix it. “It’s such a display of weakness it makes you feel an instinctive sort of unease.” (Vieira’s Weary One)

(Image credit: dmixo6/Flickr through a Creative Commons license.)

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The Jabulani: The Segway + World Peace + Ashley Cole in Heat

Before the inevitable complaints begin, the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010™ ball “Jabulani” (“be happy”or “rejoice” in Zulu) is perfection — endorsements from Beckham to Petr Cech; NASA-quality grooves to improve aerodynamics and accuracy; and decked out in 11 different colors, symbolizing all South Africa’s official languages and communities. “Nervous goalkeepers can at least be optimistic that the weight of all that hope it’s carrying might prevent it from swerving too much in the air.” (Barry Glendenning/The Guardian)