A Long-Shot: Go to the World Cup

With all of the World Cup frenzy winding down, I figured I'd touch on the subject a little.

First of all, I'm excited at how the U.S. fan base has grown this year. Sadly, this was the first year I have ever actually watched the World Cup, so you can count me in as part of the "new" fans, but I really enjoyed watching my country and others play on such a large stage in South Africa, even if I did have to find some "bootleg" streams to watch it on while working the night shift in Taiwan (ABC doesn't stream their games!)...


As always, there's a Wikipedia page you can check out if you aren't familiar with the World Cup. Or, for the short of it, the 64 best national soccer teams in the world compete in a huge tournament to see who is the best. It's an exciting time to see the world unite in a common interest, even if countries are competing against one another. If you're reading this, you're probably American, which means there's a chance that you might not know how big soccer really is. Just to give you an idea: it's estimated that 715.1 million people watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup. That's basically TWICE the number of people in the U.S. So what's the big fuss about?

The World Cup is, first and foremost, about who is the best in the world of soccer. However, it is also a matter of national pride and honor for many people, especially in countries renowned for their soccer teams. The month-long spectacle is also one of the few events that sparks common interest worldwide. I saw that firsthand here at THOGL. Just as the tournament started this year, a Taiwanese orphan motioned for me to come talk to him one day. I don't know his name, but he is one of the teenagers that lives here. He spoke to me in broken English/Chinese, and eventually I gathered that he was asking me about the World Cup. I got to tell him that I was hoping the U.S. would go far, and he kind of laughed at the idea. It was great to have that bond with him, though, even in a country like Taiwan, where the soccer team doesn't usually make the cut for the World Cup.

All of that to say this: one of my life goals is to see the World Cup LIVE. I'll travel wherever I need to in order to make it happen. However, it'd be a LOT easier if it was in the U.S. Since they played relatively well this year, that really helps the United State's chances of hosting the tournament in the future.

Currently, the U.S. have put in a bid to host the World Cup in either 2018 or 2022. You can help the process (and help me and many others get closer to achieving a life goal!) by signing the petition for the U.S. to host, which 854,847 people have already signed. Check it out here.

Oh, and in case you missed it, Spain won:

  

¡Felicitaciones, España!