Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!
The whole world is gearing up for one of the most fun months in sport. It only comes around once every four years and it really has no parallel. World Cup Football is truly an amazing experience and those of us who have to experience it in America are truly to be pitied.
Take it from someone who knows. It is not just being able to see the games. Sure, you can see pretty much every game now if you really want to. That isn’t enough to get the whole experience. Imagine the kind of frenzy that you normally get for the Super Bowl, but magnified over an entire month with multiple games occurring each day. The whole thing is building up to a final that the entire world will watch. Like March Madness, but instead of a bunch of schools playing a sport that a few people watch, it is the national pride of countries around the world competing in a sport that 90% of people play at some point.
Every day the conversations are about the tournament. All the news agencies find a way to connect their coverage to the events around the game. Schools let out and people take TVs to work. Everyone is watching.
Having had the fortune to live in two host countries when the World Cup was occurring, I have even more insight into that of which I speak. When the Cup was held in America in 1994 it was just another sporting event with the exception that most sports nuts didn’t really understand what was going on. People tried to watch it, but knowing that their own chances of winning were small, they failed to really get on board with the party.
Germany 2006 was a different story altogether. For 31 glorious days the whole country was experiencing an all out celebration. 80 million people were all on the same page and what is more, most of the world was right there with them.
Here’s hoping that we Americans will continue to increase our awareness of this great event and eventually join the global family of humanity. Plenty of countries with no real chance of winning still love the game.
Take it from someone who knows. It is not just being able to see the games. Sure, you can see pretty much every game now if you really want to. That isn’t enough to get the whole experience. Imagine the kind of frenzy that you normally get for the Super Bowl, but magnified over an entire month with multiple games occurring each day. The whole thing is building up to a final that the entire world will watch. Like March Madness, but instead of a bunch of schools playing a sport that a few people watch, it is the national pride of countries around the world competing in a sport that 90% of people play at some point.
Every day the conversations are about the tournament. All the news agencies find a way to connect their coverage to the events around the game. Schools let out and people take TVs to work. Everyone is watching.
Having had the fortune to live in two host countries when the World Cup was occurring, I have even more insight into that of which I speak. When the Cup was held in America in 1994 it was just another sporting event with the exception that most sports nuts didn’t really understand what was going on. People tried to watch it, but knowing that their own chances of winning were small, they failed to really get on board with the party.
Germany 2006 was a different story altogether. For 31 glorious days the whole country was experiencing an all out celebration. 80 million people were all on the same page and what is more, most of the world was right there with them.
Here’s hoping that we Americans will continue to increase our awareness of this great event and eventually join the global family of humanity. Plenty of countries with no real chance of winning still love the game.
Being in Germany during 2006 was amazing! I was so glad that my year there included the World Cup. Being in Berlin during the weekend of the Finale (even without going to see a game) was an unforgettable experience.
ReplyDeleteMiss you guys! I look at the pictures of your kids and read the stories about them and can't believe how fast time has flown by!
Thanks, Janine!
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