Why the Paris terrorists attacked a soccer stadium
The gruesome plan probably entailed sequencing the explosions inside the stadium in such a way that would have killed not only people seated nearby, but also thousands more in an ensuing panicked stampede.
There is another reason why Islamist fanatics intent on a war between civilizations would target a major soccer match: the sport’s singular role in bridging western culture and Muslim youth.
The impressive diversity of Europe’s soccer leagues and national teams has long been a potent force for disarming xenophobia and racism across Europe.
North African immigrants have never felt more welcome in France that when the entire nation rallied around Zinedine Zidane, the captain of the 1998 World Cup winning French squad.
[...] business interests from Muslim countries (most prominently the airlines from the Gulf states) so closely brand themselves through the sport that people in the Middle East feel certain fabled European clubs belong to them.
The targeting of soccer by jihadists fighting modernity should only intensify as the game’s influence continues to expand in the Muslim world.
When you look at the calendar of major tournaments — with the next two World Cups slated for Russia and Qatar, and next summer’s Euro Championship hosted by France, kicking off in the targeted Stade de France —security forces everywhere, not to mention lovers of the game, should consider last Friday night a declaration of war by the terrorists against the world’s most beloved sport.