For some reason, this was the year I really watched the World Cup. I hadn't followed it this closely since 1994, back when my brother was still too young to be my dad's sport sidekick, so the job/honor fell on me. After that, I reached my teenage years, my brother joined a football (British term) team, and they bonded over a football obsession that I couldn't pretend to match.
This year I cared about the Cup all on my own. Maybe it was that we're in NY, a much more cosmopolitan location where bars, pub and stores are actually showing the cup, and people talk about it. Maybe it was Nate's company pool, which we started to do really well on and thus inspired us to keep going. Maybe its that for the first time that I can remember, the teams that I was actively rooting for from the beginning made it all the way to to finals. Yes, I have been a Netherlands fan since I watched them win the 1988 European Championship while we lived there. And I have been a Spain fan since my dad/bro wore me down into supporting FC Barcelona, and they do play beautifully. Both teams were long overdue, and I couldn't have been happier to see them in the finals.
So I want to share with myself some misc observations.
1. The vuvuzelas were obnoxious. I don't care if FIFA tried to make them endearing and declared them the soundtrack of the Cup. They were distracting, and sounded like a swarm of bees had constantly taken over the television.
2. Christiano Ronaldo is not as hot as he thinks he is. He's cute in that CW way, completely non-threatening, and with too much noxema and hair products. He looks too high maintenance.
3. I'm convinced Forlan will make a great movie star after he retires from footballing. Isn't he getting close to that age anyway? And what a way to go, being named MVP of the Cup. After this, he can take his bouncy blonde locks to the multiplex, where he should play a conflicted anti-hero with a heart of gold and overall badassness. I might go watch, depending on the quality of the script.
4. Weirdest 5-10 minutes of the cup: the double missed penalty shots in the Spain-Paraguay game.
5. The British team SO scored against the Germans. Blatant goal. Its supposed to be karmic retribution for the '66 Final where England won with a similar dubious goal, but c'mon, how long does Karma last? None of the players were even alive then
6. Ghana was robbed. Uruguay blocked their goal illegally, and made it to the semi-final under strange circumstances. Having said that, I also found the Uruguayan team to be one of my favorites. They were scrappy, never stopped playing, and had some pretty good goals.
7. The Germans scared me throughout the whole tournament. They seemed so solid and unbeatable. Until they were beaten by Spain. They didn't seem so scary then.
8. Felt bad for Leonel Messi. He's a good guy, he deserved better than this cup. Certainly didn't deserve to be sent home 4-nill
9. Paul the Octopus rocks
10. I wonder what happened to the North Korean squad once they made it back. Were they punished for their horrible defeat, or was the entire cup erased so much from history that they went back to their normal lives unaffected?
11. Loved the whole Kaka foul that he got red carded for. Didnt' mean "love", it was such an unfair call, but it was pretty hilarious.
12. Robben would make a great dramatic actor. He has perfected the pain and suffering look. Maybe he could do a death scene in live theater, I bet he would NAIL it. On that note, I want someone to make a youtube compilation of all the Robben dives, specially the uber dramatic ones from the Brazil game.
12a. I know Melo deserved the red card for that, but Robben was being so dramatic that even I felt like stepping on his leg.
13. Villa was cute until he opened his mouth. What a disappointing voice...
14. I went to the final game wearing an Orange tank top and a Spain scarf, unsure of who I was rooting for. About halfway through I firmly settled on Spain. The Dutch were just playing too aggressive, it wasn't their best show.
15. The German coach is awesome, he belongs in a 1970's movie, with his hair, turtle necks and scarf.
16. 90% of the Spain players look the same. Similar haircuts, thick eyebrows, slightly olive skin.
17. The Argentinian player was offside in their goal against Mexico. One of the MANY dubious referee controversies.
18. I didn't actually see what happened in the US-Slovenia game, but it really sounds like the US was robbed. Not that it would have made a difference in how they placed for the next round.
19. Wayne Rooney scares me. He is in the same league as the Steelers old coach, he freaks me out too.
I have more, but that's all I have for now
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