World Cup worth watching for fans and novices alike

Brian Thompson bthompson@media.ucla.edu

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On May 31, the biggest sporting spectacle in the world will
begin.

No, it’s not the Super Bowl, the World Series, the
Olympics or even Wrestlemania. But it gets more attention and a
bigger worldwide audience than all of the others.

It is the World Cup, which this time around is being jointly
hosted by South Korea and Japan.

I guess some clarification might be needed before I go any
further. The World Cup is a 32-nation soccer tournament held every
four years. It is by far the world’s most competitive and
prestigious international sporting competition between nations.
Nearly every nation on the globe attempts to qualify for the
32-team finals.

Chances are, very few on this side of the Pacific will bother to
pay much attention. First of all, with the tournament in Asia, it
means that games on live TV will be on smack-dab in the middle of
the night.

Secondly, the U.S. national team just isn’t that good. We
Americans usually have short attention spans for things at which we
don’t dominate. But at this World Cup, it would be a major
accomplishment if the Americans won a game in the group stage, and
a bit of a shock if they made it to the second round.

And perhaps the biggest thing the World Cup has going against it
here in the states is that it happens to be soccer. If there was a
comparable event for football or basketball we might get excited.
The same will probably never be said for soccer.

But the World Cup is a special event, even for us American
sports fans.

It has characteristics we like, such as nations competing
against each other for superiority. Often certain soccer rivalries
are the result of political events.

For many of us, it’s the one time we actually will sit
down and watch soccer. In watching soccer at such a high level, we
see how the game is supposed to be played. We are rarely exposed to
such skill and fluidity here in the U.S.

The favorites for this year’s tournament have to be the
defending champions, France. Yes, believe it or not, the French are
good at something. Never mind, of course, that half of their
players come from their former colonial territories and not France
itself.

Also in the running are the perennial favorites Brazil, Italy,
and Argentina. Brazil has been in a three-year slump. They
don’t look like the power they once were, but never discount
the most successful soccer nation in the world. Brazil is still
dealing with the controversy of leaving Romario, the 35-year old
1994 World Cup legend, off the roster.

Italy never seems too flashy, but always makes it deep into
every tournament. Their strong defensive style isn’t always
pretty, but it’s suited to the World Cup, where teams are
constructed and have only a month to become a unit.

But along with France, the favorites have to be the Argentines.
Argentina has always had a Euro-Latin flair to its game. And it has
the star power to make some noise, provided it can get out of its
preliminary group.

Argentina is in the dreaded “Group of Death,” the
name given to the preliminary group each tournament where all four
teams are Cup-worthy, but only two will survive to the next round.
Argentina is grouped with Sweden, Nigeria, and England (which
competes in soccer as England and not as a whole Great Britain
““ don’t ask).

England versus Argentina will be the game to watch in the early
stages of the tournament, as the English are on the verge of
joining soccer’s elite. Not only have these two sides been
involved in some of the epic contests in soccer’s past, but
they even staged a brief war in the 1980s.

Well, that’s a brief look at a few of the major players.
But there are sure to be surprises. Who knows, maybe even the U.S.
could shock a few teams and make it deep into the tournament.
American soccer fans are just waiting for the day the national team
catapults itself into the big time. Many hope it will have a ripple
effect on soccer in this country.

If you’re a soccer fan you likely will want to check out a
game or two. With the tournament in Asia and games here on in the
middle of the night, the World Cup is actually on in prime time for
college student viewing. And if you’re not a soccer fan,
maybe you’ll become one after watching the best players in
the world. And if that doesn’t happen, you can at least find
something on TV late at night to help put you to sleep.

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