World Cup fever

If you're a regular reader, either here or at the TV blog, then you know how often it happens that some of my greatest pleasures have come to me purely by accident.  Such is the case, at least indirectly, with the World Cup.

The World Cup* begins tomorrow, and while it might not be the greatest soccer competition (that would probably be one of the European leagues, the English Premier League or the German Bundesliga), it definitely is the most important soccer tournament anywhere, not to mention the biggest sporting event in the world.  I'd always liked soccer, in a passive sort of way, and I even watched the World Cup on Univision one year just so I could see the matches live.  But it wasn't until five or so years ago that I truly began to appreciate the sport.  And it all happened because of the Canadian Football League.

*Or the FIFA World Cup™, to be legally precise.

Let me explain.  At the time, the only way to get CFL football on television in the United States was to subscribe to a sports package with one of the satellite TV providers.  Since I've been a CFL fan from decades back (go ahead, ask me who won the 1963 Grey Cup), there was no question what I had to do.  What I didn't realize at the time was that, besides getting the various regional sports networks that picked up the CFL, the sports package also included Fox Soccer Channel.  And since even I can't spend seven days a week watching Canadian football (particularly since they only play four games a week, only one or two of which were televised here), it didn't take long before I surfed to FSC's coverage of their prime property, the Premier League.

As I've said, I'm no stranger to soccer.  Back in the day, I used to watch PBS' Soccer Made in Germany, so I even knew what the Bundesliga was all about.  But it had been a good long time since I'd seen any kind of match outside of the World Cup and MLS, so the first time I came across a game, I was immediately transfixed by the experience.  It wasn't just the constant singing by fans, or the marvelous British commentators*, or the sudden, mercurial way that the momentum of a match could change.  It was all of those things, plus a history that went back to the 19th century.  It was different, sure, but that isn't the only thing that attracted me; it was the passion of it all.

*Martin Tyler, Jon Champion, Ian Darke.  Should I go on?

By the last World Cup, in South Africa four years ago, I'd become a devoted fan.  I had a favorite English team (Arsenal, followed by Chelsea and Man City), and a favorite international team (Germany, then Brazil), to go along with my favorite announcers.  I wrote about that experience four years ago, and while I was disappointed with the final result, it didn't diminish my new enthusiasm for the sport.

Tomorrow it all begins again, and while things will be different (no Martin Tyler, no vuvuzellas, a time difference that allows me to catch games after work but eliminates that wonderful early morning match), the drama and emotion will be the same.  There are many doubts about Brazil's ability to host the World Cup (not to mention the Olympics in two years), and there are even more doubts about the United States team's ability to escape the Group of Death (my prediction: no wins, three losses, no goals), but hopefully the competition on the pitch will be enough to overcome all that.

As for who'll come out on top?  Never bet against the home team, especially when it's as good a side as Brazil.  I wouldn't be surprised if another country took the title, especially Spain, Argentina or Germany, but neither would I be surprised if Brazil wins its sixth World Cup.  Only time will tell, but next month at this time, we'll hopefully have quite a tale to tell.

The 10 things we'll miss about the World Cup

With Sunday's Spain-Netherlands World Cup final set,the realization hits home that this year's tournament, which has been the dominant sports event for nearly a month, is almost over.  Seems almost as if it's become a way of life, like the Olympics or the State Fair, and in a way it's hard to imagine the sporting life without it.  Here, in no particular order, are the ten things we'll miss most when the World Cup ends on Sunday:

1. The announcers.  We've talked about this at length already, but after hearing the likes of Martin Tyler and Ian Darke for the last month, it's gonna be hard to go back to the screaming, shouting, amateur-night-at-the-improv atmosphere that we here too often on TV.  You got it right this time, ESPN - can we dare hope you might duplicate it someday, even by mistake?
2. The vuvuzelas.  I never thought I'd be writing this.  Yes, they drove us crazy when the tournament first started.  And yet by the second week, we'd become almost affectionate towards them.  There's something so, I don't know - joyful - about them.  And, at the risk of sounding disgustingly multi-cultural, they are indeed uniquely African, and it's given this tournament a distinctive flavor that won't soon be forgotten.
3. The coverage.  Almost as enjoyable as listening to the announcing crew has been reading the analysis from the sport's experts. Georgina Turner at SI.com has provided wonderful live blogging of the big games, and her droll commentary, mixed in with emails from readers, give her the quality that most writers would kill for - the sense that we, as readers, know her.
4. The drama.  Yes, many of the players out there act like drama queens, complete with fainting spells, agonizing any time an elbow comes within two inches of their face as if they'd had their eyes gouged out.  We're not talking about that kind of drama.  The chaotic scene at the end of extra time in the Uruguay-Ghana match - that was drama.  The last minute goal by the U.S. to put them into the second round - that was drama.  The buildup to last Saturday's Germany-Argentina match - that was drama.  True, soccer can be about as exciting as watching paint dry - but it can be fun as well.
5. The big-game atmosphere.  No, I don't mean that we should think of this as the ultimate event simply because the rest of the world does.  What I mean is that these games really matter.  Face it, no matter what sport we're talking about, there are just too many meaningless games.  But in the World Cup, from the voices of the announcers to the electricity of the crowd, you get the sense that you're seeing and hearing something important.  Particularly during the first two games of the round-robin part of the tournament, every game mattered. 
6. The game's the thing.  I could be completely wrong about this, but what strikes me most in looking at the crowds during the World Cup is that most of them appear to be - fans.  Unlike American sports, which tend to be dominated by Corporate Suits and Big Shots, it's kinda refreshing to see real people in the stands actually rooting for their favorite teams - and even paying attention to what's going on down on the pitch.  What a concept!
7. Bashing the French.  The French were, hands-down, the worst team in this year's World Cup.  The announcers let them know, the press let them know, their countrymen let them know.  And not only were they a bad team, they were tempermental, dysfunctional, lazy, arrogant - well, that only scratches the surface.  I ask you - does bashing the French ever really get old?
8. Early morning games. During the first two weeks, the action started at 6:30 a.m. CT - early enough for me to catch the first half before heading to work. What a change from the usual dreck on morning TV - the soul-crushing darkness of infomercials, the blather of happy-talk morning news, the lefties on CNN and the blithering idiots on Fox & Friends. Not to mention workout shows, movies on Lifetime, light-in-the-loafer decorators on HGTV... maybe it wasn't a reason to live, but it was reason enough to turn on the television.
9. The history.  I don't know how many times I heard reference to the 1966 England-West Germany match, the 1950 Uruguay victory over Brazil in Rio, America's historic victory over England in that same tournament, or the epic comeback by Portugal against North Korea in 1966.  Never mind that none of the players in those games are part of this tournament, or that today's players weren't even born yet - the history of the World Cup lives on in these games, a part of the heritage of each nation's team.
10. The U.S. as Underdog.  Don't get me wrong - I wanted the U.S. to win as much as anyone.  And some day we will win the World Cup.  But until then, there's nothing better than listening to the rest of the world ridicule us, scoff at our efforts, and take us lightly.  Don't they know by now that you always take the U.S. lightly at your own peril?  It may be hard to see us lose today, but it'll make that eventual victory all the sweeter.  ◙