Are You Ready for the World Cup?

Written by: Gabe

Two weekends of television monopoly, seven business days of GameCasts, tweets and streaming video, some hours of sleep filled with dreams of Cristiano Ronaldo (either as him, watching him, or married to him, depending on your fancy)… we’re now eleven days into the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It has been a flurry of the unpredictable. It feels unprecedented, but is it? In truth, the tournament’s character has yet to be defined.

Has Europe’s new dark age begun? Will CONCACAF finally prove its competence? Can home-continent pride translate to any form of success? Could we crown a nation champions for the first time? Will this be a tournament of anomalies or a rehashing of the usual? The opening rounds of the group stage asked more tough questions than we expected. The third round is when the answers begin to unfold.

So little is set. After all, if we approach the third round with the same speculations we had before the tournament, many of the precedents will be upheld. Spain, England, Germany, Italy and even France could still move on. Most probably will. Mexico and USA could let their destinies slip away once again. The home team zeitgeist could still be captured (sorry Cameroon). The Netherlands, Portugal, and Argentina may never find their synchrony. The barely-got-ins and good-but-not-greats could still fade into history. And if ever a team can be expected to meet their potential, it’s now, with everything on the line.

Yes, the games have been fun to watch. Maicon, Tshabalala, and all that… just be prepared to forget it a week from now. (except the North Korean 7-0 defeat. That’s certified classic.)