the form of soccer, I think, in a sense, most powerfully gives us something to talk about,

right? It allows us to kind of narrate games and understand games as experiences that really

reflect a very wide range of human emotions, you know, everything from the frustration with

certain, you know, theatricality of the game to the beauty of the game. And I'm not saying those

things are not present in other sports, but soccer definitely

has a very peculiar form, you know, and to watch it, I think, you know, and to watch it and really

enjoy it and love it, it's useful to kind of think about that form and appreciate kind of all its

dimensions.

Welcome to the Edge of sports podcast. I'm Dave Ziron.

This week we speak to Lauren Dubois, author of the book The Language of the Game, How to Understand Soccer.

I wonder what we're going to be speaking to him about. Maybe the World Cup.

I've also got some choice words about a long overdue Hall of Fame entry, a just-stand-up award for an absolute legend. And lastly, we have a tribute to John McNamara, the sports

writer who was killed in the mass shooting at the Capitol Gazette. I'll be speaking to his

friend, the great sports writer David Steele.

But first, to start off the show, let's talk to Laurent Dubois.

Laurent Dubois, first and foremost, please tell us where you are and what you're doing.

Well, I'm, ironically enough, I'm in Italy watching the France-Argentina game.

I'm teaching this week in Bologna at the university here, but excited about this matchup here

between France and Argentina.

And I'm heading to France in a couple days where I'll

spend the rest of the World Cup there. So, hoping for a win tonight. Well, I think that most people

expect that, certainly. So if any goals are scored during the course of this interview,

...