Zinedine Zidane: Still Not Sorry About That Headbutt

Now that the Olympics are over it's time to concentrate on the next big international sporting event, the World Cup. So let's start by dredging up the last one and the headbutt that launched a thousand internet gags.

Spanish newspaper El Pais recently asked French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane if he would like to apologize to Marco Materazzi for denting his sternum during overtime of the World Cup final. Maybe you heard about that? Now that Zidene has had time to mellow and reflect on what his career and legacy mean in the world of sport, perhaps the passage of time would allow him to extend an olive branch to his former rival.

Not a chance.

Never, never," Zidane added. "It would be to dishonor me. ... I'd rather die."

"Of course I reproach myself, but if I say, 'Sorry,' I would also be admitting that what he did was normal. And for me it was not normal. ...

"If it was Kaka, an ordinary guy, a good guy, of course I would have apologized. But to this one!" Zidane said. "If I ask forgiveness of him, I lack respect for myself and for all those I love with all my heart."

Zidane apologized to his teammates, his country and soccer fans everywhere, but not to the guy who badmouthed his sick mother, which let's face it is pretty admirable. Not to mention the fact that the incident nearly saved the animated .GIF as an artform. Here's a few of my favorites.

Ahh, mid-2006. Such a simpler time.

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You look tired. Why don't you go home and see your family? Or stay up all night making animated GIFs.