Saturday, October 07, 2006

Hamlet without the prince

While the following story pretty much writes its own punchlines --

Boston's mayor kissed it. Fans lined up for a glimpse of it. Some paid $5 for a picture with it. But the World Cup soccer trophy that toured Boston this week turned out to be an imposter -- and fans are fuming.

The gold-plated World Cup trophy that arrived in Boston's soccer-mad Italian north end amid a buzz of publicity on Wednesday as part of a tour by brewer Anheuser-Busch was a replica of the actual 18-carat, 14-inch trophy.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said that he had understood the trophy was the real World Cup awarded to the Italian team and would be deeply disappointed if it was anything else.

The object is making its way across the United States, under heavy security, on a tour sponsored by Anheuser-Busch Cos., a key sponsor of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup matches ... the trophy would be awarded to the winners of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and was not the trophy awarded to Italy in July.
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there is one problem. Did it not occur to the Boston "fans" that it was a bit strange that the trophy was touring without any members of the victorious team?

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