FIFA has done its best to wreck/destroy the world's game. The Olympic committees made similar problems.
The WC should not be held in countries like Russia for many reasons. The same with the Olympics,summer or winter.
Simply on the basis of human rights Russia makes no sense. I was fine with the US not qualifying for this reason. Qatar makes no sense for logistical and climate reasons.
Economically many countries end up beggaring their poor citizens with mostly boondoggle projects that offer no benefit after the games are gone. How will poor Russians benefit from the WC? Those who benefit are Putin and his associates.
The summer Olympic games could be held at a permanent site which offers economic benefit. Why not Greece?
The WC could rotate between 3 or 4 countries so that the host designation and associated preparation could take place closer to the actual event. If their are problems with the host country a substitute could be assigned. Corruption would be minimized.
I will watch the WC half-heartedly. That being said .. Go Brazil or Argentina !!
3
I wouldn't say that "football" is the 'proper name' for the sport. However. it certainly is the most common and definitely applicable. One does mostly use the feet to move the ball...
But...demeaning the term "soccer", which Americans borrowed from the Brits and comes from a slang for Association Football, serves no purpose other than to alienate. Us versus them.
I actually do use the term football - because I'm an American living in Europe - and I'm always somewhat taken aback every time a European calls the game soccer.
As "American English" becomes the world's standard language, the term soccer will become more and more common.
3
"Share your thoughts." OK
League soccer is beautiful, international soccer stinks.
Mr. Okwonga mentions race and class issues. As we are in the #MeToo era, I hope he will also cover sex issues, like the increase in sex trafficking of women and girls that surrounds all major events of male sport teams and the connection between male athletic culture and the sexual objectification, harassment and assault of women.
5
As long as FIFA awards the World Cup to dictators, I will not watch.
2
This is truly the greatest show on earth! Not the Super Bowl, nor the World Series. Not the NBA's final...Once Americans begin to tune in--millions already have-baseball and American football will take second stage because baseball is slow, thus boring, ho-hum, and American football is violent and highly dangerous, a threat to the health of kids and all participating athletes. This, with the passing of time will seal its fate. Football, on the other hand will continue to entertain and amaze us all. Just imagine that a regular season game of La Liga between Barcelona and Real Madrid--the Clasico-was viewed this year by more than a billion people all over the world.
4
Besides Musa's books, Eduardo Galleano's "Soccer in sun and shadow," and Bill Buford's "Among the Thugs," are the two books on Football that must be read and shared.
1
While Musa Okwonga states " As this newsletter’s name suggests — playing on one of the game’s most contested rules — we’re going to be looking at every issue during the 2018 World Cup." As he is no doubt aware, the game's rule is Offside, not Offsides (FIFA Law 11).
5
Wonderful. Although I am disappointed that the U.S. didn't qualify, I'm really looking forward to seeing my favorite players play their hearts out for their homelands.
And there's always the hope that the minnows will take a bite out of the sharks. Columbia, Mexico, Iceland and perhaps Switzerland or Japan might just make some unexpected noise.
I'll look forward to your coverage, Mr. Okwonga. See you then.
2
Yahoo! Your take on all this looks promising, Musa – I look forward to your and the NYT´s articles (well, and to the tournament itself, of course!). And if my own national darlings fail – God forbid! – there will be so many other candidates who will have earned my support!
2
I understand this is supposed to be a "meta-view" on the WorldCup. But not one word about the defending champion ?
Thank you Mr. Okwonga for this piece. I’m subscribed to the Offside newsletter and looking forward for your next articles.
I follow the Premiere League, Bundisliga, Champions League, Europa League and all other football games that my cable provide broadcasts but The World Cup is something else altogether.
And those who don’t like the word football, here’s the thing: this game uses a foot to hit a ball. Yours uses a hand to catch an egg. So. Call it handegg. And what’s it with the helmets, paddings, towels, and commercial breaks that give overweight athletes 87 minutes of break time and only a total play time of 3 minutes?
Haha!
6
For decades I’ve watched the Men’s Soccer/Football World Cup. Each edition leaves a bad taste in the mouth as it generally reflects the values of many soccer leagues. Cheating, diving, unsportsmanlike behaviour, money politics, are the memorable hallmarks of the World Cup of soccer. Women’s soccer is something less jaded and morally corrupt.
I have slowly veered away from American Football to Soccer. I still watch College Football, but Pro Football has become boring and politicized.
Soccer can be played by the masses, short, tall, thin, stocky from all countries, while American Football is now a game of huge men and those big men who can run and catch. Soccer is 90 minutes of play, with no commercials, while American Football is about 4 hours, statistics (the more the better), incessant and inane talking. Soccer is about skill, while American Football is about incessant rule changes, hits, strength and catching - a lot of violence. Soccer is about the world competing, and American Football is about business institutions, owners and coaches.
10
Fitting host?
Russia meddled in America’s most important election just as it did in Ukraine. It invaded that country and many died. Russia is a pretend democracy at war with the very concept of the rule of law.
Hugh
2
On June 14th , the world will stop for a month. Thank you for having a daily newsletter about football during the World Cup. I can't wait.
2
"It's about race and class." It's also about gender. Please cover gender issues in your newsletter, such as the human trafficking, harassment and assault of women that occurs around major sports events.
3
Even more than the Olympics, countries from all over the world, large and small, get a chance to shine on a gigantic stage during the World Cup. We watch the heroes and villains, smartness and stupidity, glory and sadness, courage and cowardness. All against a background of huge waste and corruption, without a doubt. But it is a microcosm of real life, with less drudgery. The drama reflected in the close-ups of the faces of the players and the spectators: no actors can beat that!
1
Actually, it is all about the football
Let’s get the party started!
4
I can wait. FIFA is so corrupt, top to bottom, even after the whitewash of its recent faux "housecleaning", that it makes the International Olympic Committee look clean by comparison.
Russia got this year's World Cup through bribes and "donations" from its oligarchs. Its athletes are still juiced. But Russia has money to apply, and the men running FIFA are happy to sell. They all are counting on the world's sports fans's caring more about the spectacle than anything as boring as massive corruption.
Mr. Okwanga's position, that the fun is all that counts, only furthers the corruption. The only thing that counts, actually, is keeping the money coming in. I won't be watching.
2
Soccer is not football. Football is football.
No cup can be called be called a World Cup unless there is an American team that is currently competing for it and won it in the past. Since the tournament is played every four years no World Cup win is the ultimate sports triumph.
About 750 million human beings lack access to clean fresh drinking water. About 2 bilion human beings do not have access to a safe sanitary toilet. There are currently 65 million displaced persons and refugees. About 6 million humans die from infectious disease every year. That is about everything that really matters to human lives.
1
The planets greatest sporting festival and NY times publishes an article on it and that too opinion piece!
I wish there was more lot coverage about world cup football here. A bit disappointing but hank you for the article!
4
I think that the author is right when he says that football (the so-called soccer in the US) is everything because it involves not only the game itself but also cultural and sociopolitical aspects. Every country who hosted the World Cup is different, has different traditions, and that’s also the beauty of this competition.
Football is obviously also a powerful mean of propaganda, used again and again by many military regimes to glorify the greatness of a nation, and in the World Cup history we have at least two examples. The first is about Brazil in 1970, when it won it the tournament in Mexico, beating Italy 4-1 in the final. In that year in the country there was a military dictatorship, led by Emílio Médici, who had for example fired the head coach because he had told the newspaper that the president had better to think about the country and not about football.
The other important case in 8 years later, in Argentina, where the commander Jorge Videla had took power with a coup. In those years many young people were killed (the so-called desaparecidos) and hosting the World Cup was an occasion to divert the attention from this terrifying situation. In that tournament, where Argentina obviously won, there was the semifinal against Peru, a match which made history for the fact of being directly steered by the president.
And now Russia. We’ll se what Putin is capable of doing this time, in front of hundreds of millions of people. Stay tuned
2
Oh, is it time again for the single most corrupt and overhyped event in sports? I was worried for a bit because it looked like the Olympics might take the title this year(Thanks Russia!), but FIFA rallyed and managed to pull it off again!! (Thanks Russia!)
2
The game has changed so much now. I do have difficulty following the new rules. The broadcasters don't update viewers on rule changes which would help. Not happy that the World Cup is taking place in Russia. Vote bribing took place. Many fans are racists and misbehave. Not convinced the games will go off well but will be watching.
1
Great! I look forward to an examination of the offsides rule which in my opinion is quite odd. One can imagine better alternatives such as offensive zones, but I don't know the history behind the rule and what has been tried.
I'd also be interested in a discussion of the practice of heading the ball. It is also an odd aspect of the game and not a very intelligent thing to want to do. How had this come about and does it make sense given potential health risks of repeated subconcusive blows to the head?
Heading the ball is part of the game. The old balls were leather and quite heavy. The new balls are quite light in comparison. Banging heads together is the greater risk.
4
why do i love soccer?
no commercials.
athleticism ,players run(RUN) miles during a game.
couches have limited involvement during play unlike basketball and NFL where the play stops repeatedly to allow for sub substitutions and direction.
the rules are pretty basic .
there is minimal equipment needed i've seen video of children all over the world playing the game barefoot with a ball made of bundled rags.
NO COMERCIALS.
a game ending tie is allowed a tie can be as poignant as a win or loss depending on the circumstances.
and yes there are lots of problems in the game : the diving ,the corruption at the corporate level,the transfer and sale of players. but the game itself is just wonderful
World Cup 32 teams 64 games i plan on watching most of them!
did i mention NO COMMERCIALS
6
The venues are crawling with ads, literally. A few years ago the flashing ads were bothering me and sent request to FIFA to stop. They alternate sponsors names and it is a distraction.
Or, to quote the legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly:
"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."
17
“In 2010, South Africa hosted in part to show that an African country, despite doubts and stereotypes, could superbly stage a global showpiece.” Not quite. In fact, SA built several stadiums, at huge cost to the public purse, with local ANC officials on the take for their cut. Some of these glittering stadiums - at a cost of 100-million euros-plus apiece - were built in remote areas where local people have no running water. The ANC kleptocracy was (and is) ubiquitous. Many of the stadiums remain unused, rotting. Massive bribery of referees at the SA World Cup was uncovered, abetted by locals. Such was the superb staging of the global showpiece in South Africa. It was a superb showpiece of corruption and theft. Sources: NYT, Guardian, mainstream press. I’m a huge football fan and can learn about the football from many good sources. If this column is to be ALL about the World Cup, as the author wants it to be, please give us the facts, some in-depth reporting, not rainbow idealizations.
14
I think you missed the point. There is nothing wrong with his facts. He says quite clearly that they staged the World Cup to *show* that they could superbly manage a global showpiece. It's all about appearances and global perception. The reality is almost always darker than that.
My heart is broken! At 60yrs of age this will be my first cup without my beloved Italia. My summer is ruined! The World Cup without Italia is like, well, unimaginable!
11
Technically, "football" is a general term. What we're talking about here is of course association football. There's also rugby football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, and that dumb sport American football, with its little sister Canadian football. Association football is the greatest of them all, and it's okay to call it soccer, as we do in Australia, Canada, and the USA.
To the soccer detractors, I'll say just this: You have to learn the language at an early age if you want to understand the poetry. You just don't understand.
5
It's hard to take the sport seriously when it's corrupt from top to bottom.
There is a great video on youtube where John Oliver dissects the corruption of FIFA prior to the 2016 world cup and concludes that despite everything, the World Cup is still the singular most important sporting event in the history of world and why we cannot wait to be immersed and enveloped by it every 4 years.
8
There was no World Cup in 2016.
One fatal flaw for me with soccer is corruption and the lack of integrity. No, I’m not referring to FIFA officials taking money (though that’s a major problem). I’m referring to the fake injuries and dives to get penalties assessed against the opposing team. In other words, blatant cheating.
I recall one match with the Brazilian women’s team and one of their players was writhing in agony on the pitch as if she had a compound fracture of the shin. They brought on a stretcher and carted her off the field. The second she crossed the white line she hopped off the stretcher and ran to her bench. In the meantime, the other team received a card of some sort.
TV wrestling has more integrity and is a better show.
2
I think this comes down to a fundamental misunderstanding of the game which is prevalent in America. Nobody in Italy or Spain would call diving in the box 'cheating'. In Italy they have a word for it, which translates to English as "gamesmanship." Luis Suarez famously threw a hand up to punch the ball away from goal as it was about to cross the line, knowing he would get a red card and be sent off, but also in the knowledge that he was saving his team. Only in America is it thought of as 'cheating'. Elsewhere it's all part of the drama of the game, and Suarez is a hero in Uruguay for doing it.
8
"The game" meaning "as played in Spain, Italy, and Latin America." But not necessarily as conceived by the rules-loving English, who to this day decry all the diving and drama of Latin players. Since football is the world's game, it will take on the character of all the world's people, but no one style defines the game itself. Of note, NBA basketball, like football a flow sport, often played by poorer, marginalized people, has a lot more diving, faking, and hard fouls similar to football.
1
We have our La Roja jerseys on for Spain vs Tunisia tonight. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about Diego Costa and Iago Aspas finding the net but the rest of Spain is world class. I’m sure an African team is going to miss booting USMNT out of the tournament this year! Soccer err Football Christmas is tied with March Madness and the Spring Classics for my favorite sporting events.
1
The World Cup (and all major sporting events) are also magnets for sex trafficking, in order to supply the women and girls demanded by a critical mass of male sports fans. Nigerian anti-slavery organizations have already spoken out about the increase in women and girls being trafficked into Russia for the World Cup due to relaxed visa requirements. Discussing the class oppression must also include a discussion of how poor women, in particular, are oppressed because of their sex in a traveling festival that celebrated male dominance. Mr. Okwonga might also use his media platform to educate male sports fans on the humanity of women and girls.
4
Soccer. The only sport where almost all of the scoring occurs in the bar after the match.
There were 171 goals at the last world cup, averaging around 3 per game.
4
Most of those were scored by Germany against Brazil. Bur seriously, agree with Daniel's point.
Soccer, the world’s most boring game.
Seen it here and in Europe- it is just as boring over there, only with bigger crowds. The second biggest waste of grass this side of golf.
Wake me up when College Football starts.
The World Cup is not about much of anything important.
1
You don't have a coach stop the play to tell the players what to do. You have to figure it out yourself - similar in many ways to basketball and hockey as well - figuring out space in real time. American football and baseball does this as well but it is more dynamic in the former.
Not about much of anything important other than being the most viewed sporting event in the world.
1
June 9, 2018
The harmony of athletics and dynamic strengths for the entire sport in truly inspirational, entertaining and indeed universal democratic towards transparent rules and enlightening our human family values as the true goal where strengths are celebrated by humanity - yet knowing more to learn, to obtain and enjoy living gracefully. All my best wishes to the World Cup 2018 and cheers to Russia as hosting this epic global necessity in solidarity.
jja Manhattan, N.Y.
3
As I'm sure Mr. Okwonga knows, there is no offsides in football (soccer). Only offside, singular. Offsides is the term for an infraction in American football.
5
I'm not sure Mr. Power knows, that "Offsides!!" is what fans yell when they see a player who is (or who they THINK is) "offside".
1
Abuses of human rights in Russia are particularly egregious? Why is that? In Mexico, 43 students disappeared in the middle of the day and the Government did nothing. Is it not particular egregious? In the Latin America the gang violence sends thousands to look for asylum in other countries, and the Government does nothing. Is it not grave human rights violation? In Egypt, thousand are condemned to death for their particular activities. And that is just normal human right abuses, not particularly egregious? Compare Russian human right abuses to Saudi's ones is like equal Ireland ban of abortion and oppression of women in Saudi Arabia. It just cheapens definition of the human rights.
2
The World Cup is indeed great and bigger than any controversies, but since you brought up the 1978 Argentina edition, Argentina's killing dictatorship fixed at least one result in that cup, a game where they needed to win from Peru by a difference over 5 goals to advance in the competition, and then they defeated Peru in a 6-0 match, overly suspicious. The goalkeeper from Peru, a born-in-Argentina Peruvian citizen, since then admitted the scheme, as also did at least one authority from Peru. It's a title covered in shame. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2098771/It-WAS-fix-Senator-revea...
3
You just need to accept corruption as part of the international game. There are very crafty characters swarming behind the scrim. They are the most interesting players.
Even though I was raised on American football I love the World Cup more than any other sporting event. There is nothing like being in a country like Argentina at a bar when their team wins a match. I am confident that Trump and his minions can find a way to be as corrupt as Russia and Qatar so we get the cup in 2026.
3
Low scoring. Ties. I don't know one American who gives a hoot about this.
4
The Redbulls and NYCFC, the two MLS teams claimed by NYC draw a pretty good crowd.
1
I do! Baseball has been putting me to sleep since I was old enough to watch a game. You must not know many Americans....
3
The game is called soccer in America and other parts of the world. That is the game’s proper name here and elsewhere. The gsme has other names in other languages as well, like calcio in Italy. I had to stop reading your fine article at the point you said you will call soccer by the correct name ‘football’. Soccer is culture, you are correct in that. So why not acknowledge soccer culture in the USA and start by calling the game by it’s proper name here? It is like being in China and advising the Chinese to call beer ‘beer’ because the Chinese word ‘pijiu’ is somehow not correct. It is correct. And soccer is soccer in the USA.
7
I would gladly give up watching the entire soccer world cup in exchange for one minute of a meaningless regular season NFL football game. Real football for real men.
3
Nothing is real anymore.
Pelé, Garrincha, Carlos Alberto Torres, Romario, Cafú, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar, William, Marcelo, Gabriel Jesus and many other Brazilian soccer players. Do you know what they have in common? They were poor and black in Brazil which most of the time means that being really good at playing soccer is the only chance they have to change their lives! I will watch the World Cup and I will miss Italy!
1
When differences between nations, and schisms within countries, seem beyond repair, we need cultural unifiers like the World Cup that much more. Commonalities take center stage: love of the game, appreciation for players' skills, enthusiasm for a team.
And for a brief time, everyone operates by the same rules.
3
Listen, let's be honest here and set aside the hyperbole about just how ethereal and wonderful the game is. Football, is, by far, the most mind-numbingly boring major sport. It may be enjoyable to play, but watching all those men running around for hours leaves me utterly unfulfilled. It's like hockey without the speed. Basketball without the athleticism. Baseball without the strategy. I know this is not the popular opinion, but I can't find any reason to watch.
5
here is my theory/hypothesis: people are conditioned by their environment to like or not certain things, particularly sports. the conditioning generally comes from whoever is making money , particularly sports teams, sports wear and TV. Do you know of any major sport broadcast in the US that does not have some sort of commercial and interruptions for commercials every few minutes? well, that does not fly with soccer , it's 45 min × 2 non stop (aside the 15 min break). TV makes no money on that here in the US and consequently we have been imbued with this silly notion that soccer is for women, is boring, is a waste of time , etc
8
Hi Clyde I think your wrong about football being the most mind numbing boring major sport. They don't run around for hours - the game is two 45 minute halves with a 15 minute break and mibbe 2-5 minutes added on for injuries and substitutions. Baseball goes on for hours and hours and they can't play in the rain. Strategy in baseball is looking at statistics and hoping previous events repeat- or more simply throw the ball fast and hope the batter can't hit it. Basketball players run from one end of the court ( less than a third of the size of a regulation football pitch) to the other throw the ball at the net, repeat. How long do you watch this before it becomes boring ? Hockey - where I come from girls play this on grass and they don't dress like robo-cops to do so. I do admit to having had a soft spot for the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks when I lived in those cities. I haven't finished watching today's game USA V France - I'm just about to watch the second half. Speed , athleticism, and strategy will all be to the fore - especially as the USA is 1-0 up against the run of play. Mibbe pick a team and follow their exploits through the first three games - you never know - you might change your mind. Make sure you have a bathroom break before hand because most broadcasters will not interrupt play to show adverts. P.S.Thank goodness you never mentioned the NFL !
1
Yes the World Cup is about everything. Football, the game you play with your feet all over the world without armor, save shin guards, is the universal team game. A ball and a goal, which could be the space between two cans, can be played every where, by anyone. You don't need to be as tall as a tree, or as strong as Superman. You don not have to run like a gazelle or have the stamina of a marathoner. Most professional players look like ordinary folk, not hybrid humans.
With few goals in the game, victory can be easily snatched from defeat with a lucky goal in the final minutes. The game is hardly ever over until it's over. During each 45 minute half there is no time for commercials or time outs. The clock is in the hands of the referee and with stoppage time, it's never over until he says its over.
It's a team sport and though responsibilities are divided, anyone on the pitch can be a hero. I love the way the players walk on the field holding a child's hand. It reminds everyone that it is fundamentally a children's game, fun to watch, fund to play and even fun to cry over.
24
Yes, the World Cup is about everything. This includes Death.
Beyond the revolting levels of self-enrichment and corruption by FIFA, over 1200 people have died building the stadium in Qatar for 2022. Currently as we speak thousands of friendly stray neighborhood dogs are being shot or poisoned in a slow agonizing death in anticipation of the arrival of sports fans in a few days.
I realize I am in a tiny minority and spitting into the wind, but no GAME is worth the price of another human being’s life or any other creature no matter how this essay romanticizes it, or how great your own memories are.
The Olympics and the World Cup bring displacement and death where ever they go and are relics of the twentieth century, besides, one can see terrific players on the pitch at the park around the corner – and nobody has to die or lose their home.
9
Messi plays down the street? Lucky you!
Sadly it seems that many people expect a World Cup or olympics hosting stint to fix the woes of many a troubled nation.
Most of the venues sit decaying after all the camera trucks pack up and drive off.
14
This World Cup is primarily about the glorification of Vladimir Putin and the spread of autocracy. The location of the games in Russia is a perfect fit for the sports boundless corruption. Some may find this a great tragedy, the "beautiful game" and its lost innocence. But the fact is that the sport is poorly designed from the ground up. At one of the recent World Cups the team that scored first either won or tied the game in all but a single contest. Sport is essentially drama, what drama would one find in a play, novel or film if the person who prevailed in the first chapter prevailed throughout the narrative? The intense boredom of 0-0 games that are only resolved by the arbitrary resolution of the shootout has been linked to degrees of fan on fan violence we simply do not see in any other sport. The lack of strategy and nuance has much to do with the popularity of the sport. Much like superhero films, soccer is popular because it is not only simple but simplistic. Finally the game is so wedded to nationalism that it's menace grows with the chauvinism that has become the addiction of so many.
9
Can you explain the differences between a 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1 line-up and how each formation exploits the weaknesses of the opponents or maximizes the strengths of a team? Oh, I forgot, there is no strategy in soccer!
1
It's hard to appreciate when you don't understand.
But oh, when you understand the game...
2
Despite the corruption rampant in FIFA organization, I have trouble distancing myself from the events it organizes like the World Cup. I hope that heightened attention towards these events might encourage a reduction in corruption in these organizations and more focus towards the beautiful game.
6
A few Years ago the US Gov't took it upon itself to prosecute several FIFA officials who were completely unconnected to the US in any manner or way -- the thinnest of jurisdictional grounds were shoehorned to permit prosecution in the US.
How come?
From the time that Russia was awarded the World Cup tournament the US has been making various attempts to have it taken away or sabotaged and these questionable prosecutions were among the opening salvos.
My prediction is that in the next weeks the US/CIA will have its Ukrainian lackeys begin a major military offensive against the Donbass rebels to divert attention from the World Cup and to cause Russia difficult international problems.
10
Very interesting, look forward to seeing if your thoughts are spot on.
chet380 - Your post is a rather curious attempt to portray the west as the aggressor, cheater, & pariah (when all fair-minded and astute observers of recent Russian history would readily affix those descriptors to Putin's autocracy!)
John Oliver's expose of FIFA corruption, which ended with ...'and yet I'll be watching the world cup' said it all for me.
Although this year, I'll give it a pass: Italy isn't playing.
6
Italy parks the bus on defense though
1
As an African-American man born and raised in the New York City metropolitan area, I never paid much attention to soccer. Frankly, I wondered why the European-Americans and Latino-Americans I grew up with took the World Cup so seriously. I recall my sophomore year in high school when an Italian friend of mine who tragically passed away in his 20s, the victim of a construction site mishap, rejoiced at Italy’s victory by doing a spot-on Paolo Rossi impersonation. Still, I didn’t become converted to the world religion of soccer until the 1994 World Cup in America. Watching Italy’s Roberto Baggio and Brazil’s Romario shred defenses did the trick for me. I’ll never forget that hot Sunday when their teams met to decide the champion. The expected high scoring affair turned out to be a defensive gem with Brazil prevailing on penalty kicks. I can still see Baggio’s kick sailing over the cross bar into the Pasadena sky. Since then, watching the World Cup has been a ritual for me. It really does make you think about what world peace can really be. It enlarges small, developing nations and in a good way shrinks large, powerful ones. So, let’s enjoy our quadrennial flirtation with Heaven-on-Earth.
56
Very well said. I’ve been fortunate to attend 5 World Cups including this one and there’s not a better place to be if you enjoy peaceful and joyful times with your fellow humans from around the planet. Oh, and the games are fun to watch too.
13
don't I remember that final kick to the skies that gave us another title? I was 17 , glued to the TV in a little city in the middle of the Brazilian Amazon. part of the magic of futebol is knowing that half of the globe is witnessing and experiencing the same thing in real time
6
Aah, your comment reminded me of my own first memory of watching the World Cup games with my uncle at my dear Grandma's place in that summer of 1994. Still can't forget that missed Baggio's penalty kick. I hope Messi wins the World Cup for his country this time!:)
Great upbeat article on the World's greatest game! However, many of us who have followed this sport for years, realize it's 2018! Not on the integrity level, it use to be! And that's sad.
8
Can't wait. Will there be a new first-time winner in 2018? Spain was fantastic in 2010. France was equally fantastic in 1998. I don't think it will be Iceland or Panama, but I'm rooting for Portugal.
6
Personally, I am rooting for Belgium. They have a strong team and this would be their first win (And i am from Belgium). Besides the exclusion of Nainggolan from their squad I think the coach will do a good job.
2
One of the things I enjoy is watching the lesser known and young players on the international teams. You can feel their excitement at playing for their country (and their hope of being scouted.) With the cable networks, we only have access to watching a few different league games. It's great seeing players from leagues that aren't televised in the US.
10
A ray of sunshine! The world needs it now more than ever.
I can’t wait ...
32
Marvelous,the World Cup...proper football.Happy Days!
And the winner will rightly be able to call themselves World Champions since football is THE world game and open to all to enter. ( Unlike some of our American cousins sports that have the bare face cheek to call themselves world champions when it's only a domestic league...)
But no Italy :-(
28
Or Holland and USA!
You wouldn't know it from the NYT, but there's a friendly between France and the USA this afternoon (US time). So yes football is about Everything. Only not in the US.
22
And many other countries too.
1