The Soccer Flop

Watching the World Cup soccer games, I have noticed that many of the players try to fool the official, falling down after minimal or no contact with the other player, and rolling around on the ground as if they were mortally wounded. In fact, almost every time a player falls down after contact, it appears that he is so injured that he won't be able to continue in the game, and then he jumps right up and keeps on playing. The flop is fairly common in the NBA; several basketball players have a reputation for flopping a lot trying to draw fouls. The acting involved is sometimes almost funny to watch. It is easy to see a flop on instant replay. Sometimes the acting is so good that you think the player should receive not a penalty but an Academy Award. This year the NBA came up with a new rule to stop the flopping, so if an official thinks a player has flopped, the player can receive a technical foul. It seems that there is even more flopping in soccer than in basketball. In a game I watched earlier this week, a player from Brazil grabbed his head and fell down, twisting and turning on the ground while he held his leg in pain. He had not even been touched by the player from the other team, but he thought he might fool the official and draw a yellow card for the opposing player. The official wasn't fooled and neither were the people watching instant replay. It wasn't even very good acting. Maybe soccer and basketball players need to go to acting school to really perfect the flop and sell it to officials and spectators. Or maybe acting shouldn't be a part of sports. What do you think?