South Africa 2010

I can't believe it's already been four years.

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest, most popular tournament in the World, easily trumping the Super Bowl and the World Series.

It also holds a special place in my heart, mainly because of how and when I got into soccer. After hanging out with a ton of soccer kids at cross country in high school, they got me back into soccer; not just playing it, but watching it too. I remember watching Liverpool stun Manchester United for the UEFA Cup right before my Graduation. That got me hooked on Liverpool, and players like Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Peter Crouch, etc.

When the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on June 9, my life was already vastly changing around me; I had just graduated High School, got a new car (that very same day, actually), was - kind of - looking forward to running for Metro State in the fall, and was already missing the comforts of being institutionalized. Serious. Depsite the fact the I put forth absolutely zero effort in school except cross country and sometimes track, I felt safe knowing that someone else controlled the truly tough stuff in my life. Yes, Madre and Padre, that would be you. Thanks for putting up with my ENDLESS crap:)

Flash forward four years. It's June 11, things are completely different than in 2006. I live in Mormonville, am working 30+ hours a week (and actually loving it), still have the same Jeep Cherokee (with the same 2006 Tassel from Graduation...not taking that down till I graduate from college), am - extremely - looking forward to running for Utah Valley University in the fall, and am still kind of missing the comforts of home. Probably a little more than kind of, but that's generally pretty standard:).

It's funny how much can change, yet stay the same, in the span of four years. That's a little how the World Cup feels this year. Although my anticipation and expectations in 2006 were sky high, they seem to be even higher this year. Surprisingly, it's not the Yanks or the Three Lions that has my expectations so high (granted, that still has a little to do with it), it's more due to the fact that Africa is finally hosting a World Cup. You can get into the whole Political Drama that involves Africa all you want, but in my opinion, the bottom line here is hosting the biggest event in the World is a major accomplishment, and there's no better man to put it all together than Nelson Mandela. Once again, I don't care if he's black, white, purple, slightly green with a little fuschia, or even bright orange with a tinge of turquoise, he is a good man, and has done an outstanding job of bringing the Rainbow Nation together to actually be a rainbow. It's truly spectacular what he's done in South Africa.

What's even more spectacular was the inspired play by the host nation this morning. Ranked 83rd in the World, they took on a storied (and 17th ranked) Mexican team that just beat Italy, the 2006 Champs, in a friendly one week prior. After an intense first half where Mexico dominated the ball in the front, the Bafana Bafana (meaning the Boys the Boys) somehow found a way to hold them at bay and entered the locker rooms tied at nil.

The second half quickly became a different story. South Africa, energized by millions of their fans around the Nation (oh, and those annoyingly awesome horns that make it sound like Hornets are attacking the TV), started attacking the Mexican defenders relentlessly, finally finding a breakaway chance in the 55th minute, which ended in a "Beautiful Goal" in the upper 90, putting Bafana Bafana up 1-0.

Mexico later snuck behind the RSA Defense to even up the match at 1-1 in the 79th minute. South Africa had their chances near the 90th minute, including a painfully close shot off the post before time ran out, but finding a way to tie a tough Mexican squad is a major boost for the hosts.

And since I, along with virtually every other fan in the World, cannot stand France, I'm not talking much about their sloppy, lethargic play in tying Uruguay.

So with the first day of the 2010 FIFA World Cup behind us, we have a tie across the board. Technically, if the Group Stage were to end today, South Africa and Mexico would advance on more Goals Scored than the lazy Frenchmen and Uruguay.

The things that seem oddly familiar are the expectations for my two countries. The expectations are, and always will be, overexaggerated to the point of insanity for England. I will always worry about how the guys like Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, the Coles, and Head Coach Fabio Capello will handle the seemingly insurmountable pressure from the desperate Brits.

I'm surprised, and relieved, at how much pressure is also on the Yanks this year. After last year's debacle, I really thought the average sports fan (which is what America is made of) would lose interest fast and wouldn't care about US Soccer in 2010. I think 2009 forever changed that complacency from the average fan. Why? The Yanks stunned the top team in the World in Spain in the Confederations Cup Semifinal. A few days later, the Donovan-led Americans almost pulled off an upset as monumental as the Miracle on Grass in 1950 (the American amateurs shocked the Three Lions 1-0), but eventually fell to Brazil 3-2.

That run to the Confed. Cup Final raised the standards for American Soccer, even more so than the Quarterfinal World Cup run in 2002. It marked the first time in US History that the Yanks competed in a FIFA sanctioned Final. They are seeing that momentum and raising a streak of clean friendlies to prepare themselves for the sequel to Miracle on Grass. They even created a kit similar to the 1950 Uni:





And with that, here are my full predictions for South Africa 2010. I think I actually found a way to link my results while still using Excel, so here goes:

2010 FIFA World Cup Finals:

USA v England

As always, here are some enlightening articles on the Yanks and the Brits. By the way, I'm seriously bummed that I'm missing the game I've waited four long years for. England and USA square off tomorrow at 12:30 MST, so GO WATCH IT FOR ME!!! And cheer on your country, becasue the Yanks need all the support we can get!

US or England?

USA-England Preview.

'06 sucked, '10 needs to be better.

Why the Yanks need Bob Bradley.

GO USA!!!!!!