As you may have heard, the World Cup has started, and it's been a perfect distraction as I've been trying to pack up my apartment. It's been a highly entertaining Cup so far—the games have been a lot more wide-open than I remember from past tournaments. Teams have been very willing to continue to attack and look for a second goal instead of cynically sitting back to try to protect a one-goal lead. Then again, the Italians haven't played yet. Adding to the excitement is the fact that there's also been some unexpected heroes, such as 37-year-old Trinidadian goalkeeper Shaka Hislop (getting mobbed by his teammates above) who only got the call after the regular keeper injured himself in warmups. Hislop responded by making 7 saves and shutting out a highly-regarded Swedish squad.The Cup always provides some interesting matchups. Obviously, my heart goes the way of the USA, but I generally have a few favorites beyond the Yanks (this year it's England, the Netherlands, and the Ivory Coast), and I usually pick a team to root for in each first-round match. But every once in a while, I'm presented with a pairing where I wish it was possible for both teams to lose. Case in point: today's game between Mexico (hated regional rival) and Iran (well, plenty of reasons to cheer against them). I guess a Mexico win is a good thing, because it brings more respect to the CONCACAF qualifying region (which also includes the US), but it goes against everything I believe in as a soccer fan to ever want the Mexicans to win. I would assume they'll have a fairly easy match with Angola (who the US beat 1-0 in a pre-Cup friendly last week), but hopefully Portugal spanks the Mexicans hard.
But really, all of this is just a way to pass time until the most important game of the first-round: the US v. the Czech Republic, being shown live tomorrow at 11:55 a.m on ESPN2. Needless to say, I'll be taking a long lunch. Not for eating, of course. Not sure my extremely nervous stomach could handle food right now.
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