Well done Italy for winning the World Cup. It is, however, impossible to underestimate the effect of Zidane’s moment of madness, which ripped the heart out of the French team. To put it in perspective, this would be like Bret Favre reaching the Superbowl next year, putting the Packers in a position to win and then spitting in an opponent’s face in overtime and getting ejected. Utterly uncharacteristic, completely out of kilter with the demands of the occasion and a disgraceful end to a magnificent career. On the other hand, fans of manliness might be assuaged by the suggestion that Zidane was defending the honor of his mother.