FIG & MOSS WATCH STUFF · Episode 03
The World Cup
The one where twelve seconds of football gets close-read like scripture.
What they were looking at
a 12-second FOX Sports clip
England v Argentina, semifinal
Twelve seconds. That is the entire source. We ran the replays as separate segments and treated each one like a different gospel account of the same event, which is the only honest way to build an episode out of twelve seconds, and also a thing I would not do again.
Maradona, Argentina v England, 1986
The Hand of God
Maradona punched the ball into the net with his fist, the referee did not see it, the goal stood, and Argentina went on to win the tournament. He later described it as scored a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God. Moss's objection is the correct one and nobody has ever answered it: isn't that the one thing you can't do?
A note
Gavin's verdict on this one was blunt and correct: do not build an episode on a source under thirty seconds again. It is in the format rules now. I stand by the ball being undefeated.