Finally, the anticipation for June 12 comes to a close this week! Speaking on behalf of many co-workers and friends, Thursday cannot arrive soon enough. However, according to Reuters, only one-third of my fellow Americans care about the subject to which I’m alluding (and many of you are likely scratching your heads wondering what I’m talking about). No, I’m not referring to Game 4 of the NBA Finals; nor is it the anniversary of President Regan’s challenge to Mr. Gorbachev to “… open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” And, it’s not even the anniversary of the first ever MLB interleague game (if you are wondering the San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers 4-3 in 1997).
For the 33% on the same page as I am, or for those of you who generally care about sports in the slightest, you realize I am talking about the commencement of the World Cup in Brazil. (For the rest of you, you’re welcome for the useless June 12 trivia … that will likely never come in handy). The first match will feature the host country Brazil against Croatia. The 32-day tournament will conclude with the finals on July 13 after 64 matches and only seven off days during that span.
Because Brazil’s local time corresponds closely to U.S.A. time zones, a lot of the matches will be aired live and not during off hours, as was the unfortunate, inevitable experience of spoilers and late nights/early mornings watching the World Cup four years ago. Here at Switch, our eyes will be fixed eagerly on a few select TVs, and like most of the other major sporting events, we intend to “keep things interesting” with a World Cup pool (think Super Bowl squares and NCAA Tourney brackets). The best part, for those 66% of Switchers who aren’t soccer junkies, no prior knowledge is required. All you need is $20!
For those of you who don’t follow soccer, much less international soccer, but want to embrace the World Cup craze, here are a few things I found to help you over the next 32 days. We’ll start with the basics, because the last thing you want to do is yell at the TV for an offside call when it clearly was not!
- You will often hear the announcers referring to the participating countries in the World Cup as something other than the country name (U.S.A.) or what the citizens of that country are called (Americans), but instead their nickname in the soccer world (The Yanks). So brush up here, this is second-tier knowledge to have in your back pocket as long as it is used at the right time … don’t force it.
- With 32 countries represented and 23 men per roster, there are bound to be some names that are difficult, and sometimes near impossible, to determine how to pronounce. Here is a list of some of the more awesome names and audio on how you pronounce them. Now, when you bust out the correct pronunciation of Sokratis Papastathopoulos during Greece’s first match vs. Colombia on June 14 and blow the minds of your watch party … you’re welcome!
So … who am I picking to win it all?
Brazil … and here is why:
- They are currently ranked 3rd in the world. See the Complete FIFA World Rankings.
- In the 19 World Cups that have taken place, the host country (Brazil this year) has won six times. We Americans from our playoff structures know the power of home field, court, ice, etc. advantage
- No team from outside the Americas has ever won a World Cup hosted in the Americas. So, that statistic alone eliminates consideration of any strong European contenders.
- Have you seen them play? They are fun to watch and basically invented, nay, necessitated the designation of “The Beautiful Game.”
For you soccer hooligans, what is your World Cup prediction?
Outside of the good ol’ U.S.A., what other international team do you root for (mine is Germany … it’s in my blood)? For those unfamiliar, most soccer fans root for another national team during the World Cup because the U.S.A., until recently, has not had a contending national team.
To learn more about Bryan’s predictions or about Switch’s World Cup pool, please contact Bryan at BryanS@theswitch.us.
)
