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Sports & Politics Intersect: An old FIFA foe shows up as a fan in Russia
The former FIFA President Joseph Blatter giving an interview in his hotel room at the St. Regis, Moscow.. Blatter is at the World Cup in Russia after, according to his own account, receiving an invitation from the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.  Federico Gambarini/picture alliance via Getty Images

Sports & Politics Intersect: An old FIFA foe shows up as a fan in Russia

"It's all politics. I think they've got to put it aside when it comes to the games." Korosh Asli, Iranian fan 

The first week of the 2018 World Cup has been an exciting one with many fascinating storylines off and on the pitch. Here's a quick rundown of what transpired.

We kick things off with Russia, the tournament's host country. While the local national team is having a fantastic World Cup — they've already secured their place for the knockout stage thanks to two decisive victories — Putin has been busy courting further controversy by inviting Sepp Blatter to two matches and to the Kremlin. For the unfamiliar, Blatter was the head of FIFA for 17 years until he was banned over accusations of corruption. Despite being barred, Blatter claimed that he was merely suspended, and that he was permitted to go to the World Cup as a fan. That Putin invited Blatter shouldn't come as a surprise, since many believe that Russia's winning bid was helped by bribery. In other non-Blatter-related news, the Russian leader is also being criticized for using the 5-0 drubbing of Saudi Arabia to bury an increase in the pension age. 

Elsewhere, Iranian fans have had a mixed week. Not only did they lose to Spain thanks partially to VAR, but supporters can't even get their team's jersey because of U.S. sanctions. On the upside, the World Cup has been great for Iranian women, who are being allowed to watch the tournament in the same stadium as men for the first time since 1979.

Then there's Mexico. After stunning the world by beating Germany 1-0, America's World Cup team finds itself in hot water thanks to a homophobic chant popular among El Tri supporters. FIFA has fined Mexico for the chant, and key players like Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez are begging supporters to cut it out. For their part, Germany is dealing with division within their team and back at home

And finally, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention asylum seekers, both on our border and abroad. During Wednesday's broadcast of the Uruguay-Saudi Arabia match, a Telemundo commentator announced that Donald Trump had signed an executive order reversing his administration's policy of family separation. Fitting that this happened during the same week that individuals from countries like Morocco and China are using the World Cup as an opportunity to seek asylum in Finland, which borders Russia.

Need to know now: 

This week in sports and politics history: World War II gives birth to the "Steagles" 


Running back Wilbur Moore of the Washington Redskins makes an over the shoulder reception in a 27-14 loss to the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Steagles on November 28, 1943 at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.  Photo by Nate Fine/NFL via Getty Images

"So, it don't think it's an exaggeration to say that by merging the Eagles and Steelers, they were keeping the league alive. The NFL really, really saved itself during WWII." - Matthew Algeo, author of Last Team Standing

There was a time in which the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers were two of the worst franchises in professional football. From 1939-1942, the two franchises combined for an abysmal 13-65-7 record (SEVEN TIES!), and things looked just as bleak heading into the 1943 season with nearly all of the players on both teams heading overseas to fight in World War II. 

After losing players to the war effort, Pittsburgh only had six players left on their active roster; Philly had 12. And since the Cleveland Rams had already canceled their season, the league suggested that Pittsburgh and Philly merge their teams for the season — effectively saving both franchises and the NFL in the process. 

The team was filled out by men who were classified 4F, meaning unfit for military service. Many had disabilities, including leading wide receiver Tony Bova, who was blind in one eye and partially blind in another. 

Despite the contention between the two teams (the head coaches hated each other), the Steagles went on to finish the season with a winning record, 5-4-1, including a 4-1-1 record at home

Both teams were born on July 8, 1933 and both teams could have died before the 1943 season had they not set aside huge cultural and philosophical differences to become one for a single season. And if they didn’t combine to become an eighth team, the NFL could have floundered with emerging leagues looking to grow the sport. 

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