Esprit de corpse.

Manchester United's eccentric soccer star Eric Cantona found a unique way last year to mark his comeback after a suspension for kung-fu-kicking a fan. He commissioned a copy of Piero della Francesca's famous painting "The Resurrection of Christ." The copy shows a bare-chested Cantona rising from a tomb. Four of his teammates sit at his feet dressed as Roman soldiers, while United's manager Alex Ferguson reigns as Caesar in the background. British evangelical leaders condemned the painting by Michael Browne as blasphemous and an "insidiously evil ... slide into darkness."

Said Ferguson: "The painting simply reflects how important soccer is in the lives of our fans."

Meanwhile German soccer fans have had some weighty questions to ponder as well. A chain of funeral homes has recently made it possible for them to plan their own funerals as an expression of their allegiance to the most powerful force in their lives.

Fans of Bayern Munchen need no longer confine their proclamations of loyalty to T-shirts, bed-sheets, and underwear. Following the request of one soccer fanatic, the funeral homes last fall began to offer a new line of caskets with the handpainted insignia of the German club. (www.BerlinOnline.de/berliner_zeitung)