World Cup Pre-Show

Now I admit that soccer, or "football", has traditionally been given the short hand by myself because I can not stand watching a scoreless tie and call it an exciting match. This, as I now realize, may have been hypocritical of me, as I called a few hockey games this past NHL season exhilarating (both of these games were 0-0 ties, determined by a shootout).

While I will not say that I enjoy the game, or will become a fan of the game, I will say that I respect the game, its fans, traditions, and place it has in the world culture. I do not ever see soccer replacing any of the top sports in the United States at any time, but seeing as the World Cup is kicking off on Friday with the host country Germany playing Costa Rica, I do believe now is a chance to take a deeper look at the game.

As I already stated, I do have a respect for the game. Any game that is worthy of shutting down an entire country for a day to watch a particular match is worthy of praise. Let's admit it; even if you hate soccer, you understand and should respect that soccer is the world's game. Not baseball (America's traditional pastime) or "American" football (America's seemingly current top sport). Soccer is an international phenomena and is capable of bringing together countries from all around the globe to participate in tournament that shows as much national prides it does blood, sweat, and tears. The World Cup will be watched in many countries, including the United States. The international ratings will crush the numbers that the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, NCAA Tournament, and Stanley Cup Finals receive...combined. This tournament will be watched by massive amounts of people who live in a country whose team didn't even qualify for the World Cup (Scotland and Ireland for example). There are many rooting interests.

Aside from rooting for your home country, many soccer fans, especially those whose country is not represented, will find a team to root for. Perhaps it will be for a deserving underachiever (like Spain, with zero World Cup trophies), or a surprise Cinderella country (like South Korea in 2002), or perhaps it will be for a country you hate. Germany is always popular in this category (think World War). Believe it or not the United States can tend to fall in this category as well. The last thing the world wants to see is the United States win the World Cup, even though they are gaining respect as an international team.

I admit that I know very little about international teams, and even less about the club teams. What I do know is that countries like Brazil, Italy, Argentina, France and England are good. Brazil seems to me like the LA Lakers; not always the champion, but traditionally among the best every decade. Brazil also owns a record five World Cup championships and have some of the finest talents playing for them and is the only country to have been eligible to participate in every World Cup tournament. Italy is not far behind Brazil so think of them as the Green Bay Packers; a team with rich tradition and culture, talented history, not the most championships but traditionally a force. Well, maybe the Packers of late don't help that statement. If you are not familiar with Argentina, think of soccer's version of the Philadelphia 76ers; a once proud power in the sport with a championship drought with struggles to return to championship contender. Coaching changes, shaky tournament/playoff appearances. As for France, I tend to think of them as the New Jersey Devils; a great team with the talent to win, even though I despise them. Really, does anyone like the French? And then there is England, the Atlanta Braves of soccer. Always talented, always a contender, and always a force to be reckoned with. Only problem with England is they have a total of one World Cup championship.

If you would ask me which country to pick, I wouldn't have the slightest clue. Sure, I could throw a dart at the board and pick a team at random, but I am the last person to tell you who I think will win. Much like the NCAA tournament or NHL playoffs, anyone can win really. I will say that I won't watch the tournament all day for a variety of reasons, but I will be rooting for the good ole' US of A. I would love to say that a country that doesn't really care about soccer is the world's best...at least for four years.