The World Cup - the great equaliser

I love the World Cup. The fact that I've only watched half a match in the two weeks since the tournament started doesn't diminish my love of the World Cup.

I watched half of the Brazil-Croatia match on the fifth day of the tournament. It's not that I'm a fan of the Brazilian team, but everybody was talking about the Brazil team, and in Hong Kong, those who aren't England fans are Brazil fans. And yes, it really is a bit odd to see about 5% of Hong Kong men wearing t-shirts that bear the crest of Team England. Anyway, though only one goal was scored in that match, it was quite exciting to watch the shots on goal. It would have been quite boring to watch that match on my own, but it was kind of fun to watch it with the silly boys and girls who chose to stay up until 5:00am to watch it. In hindsight, it would have been more fun to watch Argentina beat Serbia and Montenegro (didn't Montenegro declare independence just this month?) 6-0, though. I was also reminded of why boxing, ice hockey, and NBA basketball are the ONLY sports I watch on TV, and even then, only very very very rarely. Oh, I don't mind women's volleyball too. There's nothing like tall, slim, athletic women jumping around... yum.

While I'm not a huge fan of the Brazil team - I normally like to cheer for underdogs, never overwhelming favourites - I do like that a developing country that is otherwise known for a big river, for tropical rain forests, and (which is even named for) an overwhelming disparity in wealth can be so successful, even dominant, on the world arena. Along with the traditional great powers like England, France, Germany, and even Spain, Italy, and Portugal, there are the relatively insignificant African, Balkan, and Latin American countries, all of which are fully capable of delivering upsets to countries substantially more wealthy than they are.

Today, for example, Ghana, despite the suspension of their two top scorers, beat the US 2-1. I LOVE IT! I absolutely hate seeing the US at the top of the medal tally every Summer Olympics I can remember, but seeing the mighty US turfed from this truly global tournament, in the first round, no less, brings me tremendous joy. And what do you know about Ghana? I bet most of you can't even point it out on a map! I only know that UN Secretary General is from Ghana.

I guess what I love about all this is that it shows that money can't buy everything. What do you need to play football? Just a ball and a flat playing field. No need for expensive equipment. Of course, consultation, coaching, being able to fly around to play talented opponents, and a system that nurtures talent helps, which probably explains why the wealthiest European countries still produce players of such high calibre. But still, most boys in the villages of Africa, the towns of the Balkans, and the favelas of Brazil can probably afford to play football and can all aspire to greatness, to one day beating, perhaps humiliating, their former colonizers on the world stage and to one day earn millions playing somewhere in Western Europe. How beautiful is that?