{"id":7396,"date":"2018-06-18T08:59:05","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T15:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=7396"},"modified":"2018-06-18T07:46:27","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T14:46:27","slug":"footbaaaaaaaaaaaaall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=7396","title":{"rendered":"The World What???"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Bob Sparrow<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This past weekend started the biggest sporting event in the world, and you very well might not have even had an inkling that it was even taking place. No, you didn\u2019t miss the World Series<\/strong>, the Super Bowl<\/strong> or March Madness<\/strong>, you missed the start of the World Cup<\/strong>. It usually doesn\u2019t get much play here in the U.S. and it particularly won\u2019t this year as the U.S. didn\u2019t even qualify for the tournament<\/strong>, which seems almost impossible given that countries like Morocco, Iran, Croatia, Serbia<\/strong> and Senegal<\/strong> did make the top 32 teams in the world.\u00a0 A good analogy might be as a kid, this would be worse that being the last guy picked on some pick-up ball game in the neighborhood, it’s like being sent home to practice the piano while the rest of the neighborhood played the game.<\/p>\n

So, why are we so bad? Possibly we have a hard time getting grown men to run around on a big field for several hours hitting the ball with their feet and heads all resulting in a score of 1-0. But the rest of the world loves football, what we call soccer, so one wonders, \u2018what are we missing?\u2019. \u00a0World Cup<\/strong> history is filled with stories of fights and even deaths over a team winning or losing a World Cup match. World Cup fans make the Oakland Raider<\/strong> faithful look like they are attending a\u00a0Shirley Temple<\/strong>\u00a0birthday party.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Victoria Beckham. Not really interested in what David looks like!<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019m a bit conflicted on this year\u2019s World Cup. Again, I\u2019m not a big fan of soccer, sorry I still can\u2019t call it football, but I haven\u2019t really taken the time to understand the nuances of the game. For me it\u2019s a bit like hockey, where at least I know most of the rules of the game, but none of the intricacies or strategies, and even though there is not typically a lot of scoring, I\u2019ve grown to like hockey. So maybe there is hope this year for me to enjoy the world\u2019s most-watched sporting event along with the estimated 3 billion<\/strong> fans that are expected to watch the tournament this year.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like me and a) weren\u2019t aware that the World Cup was even going on, and b) do not really understand or care to understand the nuances of the game, and c) aren’t exactly sure what \u2018Bend ’em like Beckham\u2019<\/strong> means, but you\u2019d recognize Victoria Beckham<\/strong> in a Groucho Marx<\/strong> disguise, then perhaps you\u2019ll enjoy some things I learned over the weekend from my local newspaper and the Internet regarding this year\u2019s World Cup that may pique your interest . . . or not. Just think of it as focusing on lady\u2019s<\/strong> hats<\/strong> and mint juleps<\/strong> instead of the horses at the Kentucky Derby<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s World Cup, in Moscow<\/strong>, started last Thursday and continues until the finals on July 15!<\/strong> Yes, a nearly month-long tournament. Since Vladimir Putin\u2019s Russia<\/strong> is the host, it might be important to know some of the history of the host countries. The host gets to pick a lamb for their first opponent \u2013 already\u00a0Russia beat Saudi Arabia<\/strong>\u00a05-0 (yes, they qualified for the World Cup!) on Thursday in the opening round.<\/strong> In 1934 Mussolini\u2019s Italy<\/strong>, which didn\u2019t have a particularly great team, magically won the tournament!! Same thing happen in the \u201870s when a post-Juan Peron\u2019s military junta insured that a less than stellar Argentina team won it all in 1978<\/strong>. So don\u2019t be surprised if a below-average Russian team does something spectacular.<\/p>\n

Still don’t care?\u00a0 OK, here\u2019s some World Cup trivia<\/strong> that you\u2019ll need to know if you want to pretend that you\u2019re the least bit interested in the biggest sporting event in the world:<\/p>\n