World Cup Actually WAS Entertaining..A First For Me

A few weeks ago I wrote a story on my lack of interest in the world cup, and while I can't say I've been converted into a fan of the sport, I will say I was entertained while watching the final yesterday. That statement in itself is a long way from my former opinion on the subject, but after watching the entire game yesterday, shockingly being I've never given the sport much of my time, I must say at points it was exciting. My interest level increased as did the United States' chances in the cup and when I caught myself looking at my Iphone for updates while in a theater watching a movie, I knew I had taken the bait and was reeled in. After the United States team was eliminated, I happen to pass by the subsequent Ghana match on television, and surprisingly enough it again peaked my interest. With the last kick of the game coming off of the foot of the Ghanaian, essentially to win and advance to the semifinals, hitting the crossbar the stage was set for a showdown by way of penalty kicks. Each attempt was exciting as each individual attempt felt like a potential game winner. When Ghana came up short, they showed emotion that also gave me a new-found respect for the sport. In this country, our type of football, the one with pads and pigskin, reigns supreme. The two sports though similar in name are much different, with all of the differences in my opinion favoring the American game. What I did notice in watching the Ghanaian team overwhelmed with emotion and needing to be consoled, is the fact that in this country a loss is received much differently. With the NFL's popularity growing year after year many of its fans dedicate much of their Sunday's to the sport, with the rest of the week being decided by that team's performance. In other words, their mood is in tune with their team's win-loss record. Much of the time after a big loss, you'll see that it affects the fans much more than it does the players, as many times you'll see players out that very night partying. Everybody is different and reacts to failure differently, but the emotion that was poured out on that soccer field as Ghana realized their World Cup dreams were over, puts everything into perspective. While their fans around the world may feel the disappointment of an early exit, their emotion showed nobody cared more than them. Here, it's much different as it sometimes seems the fans have more to lose than the players, which is obviously not true. So with all of these factors playing a role, I was officially a viewer yesterday, and view I did from start to finish. Though the play gets tiresome even as a viewer as much of the game was scoreless, those final 15 minutes sure were exciting. I was hoping for it to reach penalty kicks with a scoreless tie but a goal was scored in the final 5 minutes. But I guess even that final sentence shows the excitement this sport can generate, at certain points. But, unfortunately 'at certain points' isn't enough for me to fully convert. Nice fling though.