Koman Coulibaly's Call Violates American Principles: Demands Attention

What is a single, fool-proof way to get American audiences interested in something fast? It is to violate what they perceive as core American principles.

In the United States and Slovenia's match up on Friday, Koman Coulibaly went ahead and did that.

I don't know what his intentions were, but as someone who has officiated soccer (and no, in America it isn't football, we don't have to follow the rest of the world's trends) before, I will happily point out what everyone else has been thinking.

Koman Coulibaly is an idiot and he deserves all of the condemnation that he will undoubtedly receive. Send him some hate mail. Send FIFA some hate mail.

If he can't stand the heat, he shouldn't have jumped into the kitchen.

After all the necessary and correct steps to penalize him and somewhat pacify the justified anger from the United States has been taken. This issue will go away.

Heck, if the United States simply wins on Wednesday and advances (really they should be first in the group to make people happy) the issue will probably die.

But before that, the following things need to happen:

1) Coulibaly should be banned from World Cup officiating permanently (not just for the rest of this cup).

2) Coulibaly should be banned from ever officiating a international match involving either the United States or Slovenia.

3) FIFA should apologize to the United States for not being able to change the outcome of the match.

4) Coulibaly should be forced to apologize to the United States as well as Maurice Edu.

5) Coulibaly should be forced to explain his call.

After those steps are taken, many Americans will hopefully find some peace with being robbed on the international stage in a sport that is still (let's face it) not our bread and butter.

If anything would get Americans going over soccer, it would be the treachery of a foreigner put in a position of power.

Americans have long had a deep and intense hatred of sports officials. I think it goes back to our identity as a nation of rebels and core belief that everyone is equal.

If you, or your team, get a bad call in a sporting event it can damage your sanity.

It also can suck you deeper into the sport than you ever knew you could be sucked in before.

For example, every year in college football there is a complete travesty known as the BCS. It doesn't actually determine a national champion, it simply determines the team that was able to beat the BCS's system for that year.

And as it would happen, only one of the over 120 schools in major college football gets that honor.

But ever since the BCS has existed, in all of its controversy, Americans have only become more and more interested in college football. The fundamental lack of justice is very interesting to all people.

As Americans, we love being the underdogs and we love fighting oppressive foreign bodies (like FIFA). We've all been taught, from a very young age, that revolution is what we come from.

Some Americans have been interested in the World Cup so far, but in all honesty, most aren't. But with a lead story of America getting robbed taking over the sports world today, it might be possible for that to change. It might be possible for America to become a soccer nation.

Possible, but not too likely.

After all, soccer is still behind four major American sports in importance to audiences, and having one huge tournament every four years doesn't do a lot to change that.

But this outrage may get more Americans to glue their faces to the screen for the remainder of the United States' involvement. And that in itself is a huge change from four years ago.

Americans don't care too much about beating a country like Slovenia in anything. The same could be said about Algeria.

But beating officials who are out to get us?

We're all in for that task. Koman Coulibaly just gave a bunch more people a reason to watch.