So the World Cup is 3 days in, and what an exciting time for sports. The World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world; an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. Having traveled a good portion of the world, I know how big the sport of futbol is to countries outside the US. I rarely call the sport soccer now. My love for the game of futbol has only developed in the past several years. My time in Italy played a big role to my developed interest in the sport. Having attended a Fiorentina game, experiencing the fans/chants/excitement and riots, there seems to be no bigger passion in sports than futbol for Europeans. In addition to my time in Europe, and learning how big futbol was on the global scale, I started getting into FIFA video games with my roomate in college. I would rate FIFA soccer video games the best sport game out there. Over the span of 3 years, my roomate and I played atleast 500 games, each with a monetary wager on the line. There were definitely a few hundred dollar payouts. With that said, I am not going to pretend I know everything about the sport. I can name a big few players, but couldn't tell you every league and team out there. As far as American soccer, the MLS, I could care less about. However, when futbol comes on a world stage, and players are representing their respective country's, there is no better month in sports (yes, I think it beats out the NCAA Bball Tourney)
I think the fact that the World Cup comes only 1 time in 4 years it what makes it so great. I find it much more exciting than the Olympics, I am sure many would agree with me on that one.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is the 19th world cup and is being held in South Africa. This is the first time that the tournament has been hosted by an African nation. So far, I've been thrilled with the coverage and I like all the culture and history displayed in the broadcasts.
Teams I hope will go far:
- USA
- Italy
- Argentina
Teams that I believe have the greatest chance at winning the Cup:
- Spain
- Germany
- Brazil
The video below is far all my English friends out there.
Have a great world cup, Forza Azzurri tomorrow
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