Fighting 'cheese' heroin with soccer?

It's sometimes hard not to be cynical about the problem today's youth face in fighting drugs -- it's a tough minefield they have to wade through. But now there's a new weapon in the war on 'cheese' heroin: Soccer! Really, I can't make this up.

A youth soccer league created this summer to stem the popularity of a dangerous heroin mix known as "cheese" has grown to include 112 teams, the league's director said.

The Tex-Mex Soccer Children's League, which involves more than 1,800 children and parents, most of them Hispanic, represents how a sports program can be used as an effective tool to fight against the drug, director Andres Vidales said.

"The primary focus is the eradication of this drug," Vidales said Sunday during a rally that brought players and their parents to the parking lot of Thomas Jefferson High School.

Okay, maybe I am missing something here. Sure, soccer will keeps kids hot and sweaty and in shape, and all that running around after balls will keep them out of neighborhood traps where 'cheese' is sold, but do these guys really think soccer will "eradicate" heroin? Well, let's think about it rationally. The world's biggest opium supplier is Afghanistan, and their most popular recreational sport is... (wait for it) Soccer! There you have it, conclusive proof that soccer eradicates heroin!