Everywhere we turn there’s talk of the World Cup. #WorldCupFever. Maybe you’re sick of it. Maybe you love it. But regardless of how you feel about it, let’s look at how the world sees it.
I don’t really think it needs to be said, but I’ll say it– the world loves football. Real football. The patriotism. The athleticism. The skill. The raw energy. 90 minutes could change a country’s history.
The World Cup began in 1930 held in Uruguay and happens every 4 years. It was paused during WWII for obvious reasons. In 2010, FIFA estimates (and I don’t know how they know this) that 3.2 billion people tuned into the World Cup. That’s billion… with a B. Half the world’s population tuned in. When did American football, baseball, or basketball ever draw in that kind of audience? Networks only dream of those kinds of numbers.
The world takes these games so seriously that FIFA protects their referees because referees have been found dead after a questionable call in an important game. Yes, it’s that big of a deal.
You can see throughout my posts labeled Culture & Travel that I have posted pictures of how different town centers around the Europe treat big soccer games. They set up massive screens in town squares and have a giant party. And that was only for the Euro Cup. (see glowing orb and personal screening room.)
In 2008 for the Euro Cup, we’d been out the evening of Italy playing (I think they played France) in an elimination round. Well, Italy lost. When we made our way to our hosts house, our Italian host who spoke English said nothing. We started talking about how it was a good game and he shut down. Note to self: this is not something they brush off and say “next year” like we do with our sports teams.
On the opposite spectrum, we were in Germany during one of the games and when Germany won, the whole city went nuts. I was in bed trying to sleep before an early morning, but the horns honked, people ran into the streets shouting and cheering, and fireworks went off like gunshots. I didn’t even have to watch the game to know who won!
The bottom line is: don’t mess with football. It’s serious.
In 2010, I was in Mexico for my honeymoon during the World Cup. We planned our day around watching the England vs US game. So there we sat in the middle of the Mexican rainforest with our ziplining gear on watching a flat screen TV in a hut, egging each other on. Thankfully for our marriage, England and the US tied that day. Lucky for me, I found a man who loves soccer. (Actually, it was a requirement but don’t tell him that.)
