Whether you call it soccer or futbol, you have to admit the game is the most beautiful game on the planet and this is its most beautiful stage. I have to admit I have been waiting on this for a long time. Four years to be exact and it was well worth the wait. From the first kickoff of the first game to the final whistle of the last, I sat and watched mostly all of it. Honestly as bad as it may seem I probably only missed 2 games. Some days this meant waking up at like 5-6am, cancelling plans to do stuff with friends or telling my girlfriend sorry but the games on and we gotta be home or cant go anywhere. I've got a confession to make, I have always been a soccer fan most of my life but never like it has been these last 6-7 years. It all started with FIFA for Playstation 2. Me, Bill, Chris, Jeff and cousin Thomas all picked countrys and started competing every Sunday after dinner at Tommy and Ebys. We had country flags on little pedistools and a old champagne bucket we turned into our trophy cup. I think at this point we were all hooked. Me inparticular i started watching it on TV ordering special cable channels and DVRing the games. I followed very closely my favorite sides club level it was Barcelona country level it was Brazil. From this point on i have to admit soccer has by far takin over as my favorite sport. Its far more exciting than what the occasional watcher thinks. Its technical and tough but most of all very respectful. Ya you might get the cheap shots and the fake injuries or people flopping more than Paul Pierce in the NBA finals but all and all it takes tramindous skill. They dont play every other day like MLB or NBA but they also hustle the whole time they play unlike the 2 previous mentioned sports. Seeing guys like Messi or Ronaldinho dribble past a defender to score or set up a insane pass is far more enjoyable than watching peyton manning throw another TD to Reggie Wayne. Or seeing Kobe or Bron cross over a half assed effort by a defender and dunking it. Hell id even go as far as to say its better than seeing Tiger hit that unbeleivable shot at Augusta or better than 45 (Michael Jordan) hit that game winning shot to win the title. Ya wanna know why becasue stuff like that happens every game in a game of Series A soccer. There are some of the most talented athletes in the world playing this game. Whether its little Messi with his crazy dribbling or shot ablility or the big Swede Ibra pulling off some crazy acrobatic shot a guy thats 5' 6" shouldnt be able to make. It may be Ronaldo with his fancey fakes and driblling drilling a free kick from 40 yards and leaving the world stunned. It may be Xavi sending a pass in, in such a tight spot you wonder how he did it.
World Cup 2010 was awesome, the setting alone was a nice change. This was the first World Cup on the continent of Africa and they were awesome spectators. From the nice outfits and festive celebration to what some people hated but i loved,the vuvuzelas.I mean I thought the NFL had very loyal fans but world soccer makes the Raider nation, the dog pound in Cleveland and the loudest staium in the league (Arrowhead) look like a bunch of intermurals. I mean these fans come from far and wide dressed to the hilt. They have huge banners and start fires in the stands. They throw streamers onto the field and jump up and down to make the whole stadium shake. The world cup was no exception. Whether rooting for Bafana Bafana, Spain, Brazil, U.S.A. or little ole Parguay or Uraguay all these people come for the love of their squad. When Tshabalala scored the opening goal it sounded like all of Africa roared. or what about the USA coming back in not 1 but 2 games down. Those come backs are something Brett Favre couldnt of even mustard up. Those come backs got the rest of the nation inspired to hopefully watch this beautiful game more. The US has a good chance at getting either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup and Arrowhead stadium to be one of the venues. With the enthusiasm shown for this cup I think it will be perfect timing for the Cup to come back to the US. In 1994 we hosted it and it was the biggest World Cup to date. If this game is going to take ahold in this country though we need better players nationally. Im not talking about bringing big name stars from Europe to play in the MLS im tlaking about our national team. Landon, Dempsey and Tim Howard wont be around forever. We are so far from a complete team its almost a joke. Lets face it we got lucky to make it as far as we did.
I understand it was still exciting and I am proud we made it that far, but honestly look at the other countrys their skill level is far superior to ours.Im still impressed with the US side to make as much noise as they made in this World Cup. One day we will get on the level of the rest of the world. All and all very exciting to watch that much soccer I just wish we didnt have to wait as long for the next one. With that said Good job Spain and sorry it took me forever to post this blog. I just couldn't get in the mood.
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