World Cup

The NHL season ended a few weeks ago when my Flyers lost game 6 in overtime. It was tempting to feel bad about the loss, given the weak goals that cost them the game and the Cup, but there are a lot of positives going forward. They’ve shown resiliency in playing through all kinds of injuries, they’ve shown the ability to fight even when many “experts” predicted a Chicago rout, and most of the team will be around next year. Chicago played a great series and was the stronger team, although both goalies were human in the series. Congratulations to Chicago and all its young guns who will be in this league for the next twenty years.

It’s normally the time of year I hate: the few months where there is no sports news of interest. The NHL draft and awards come, then free agency, then a month or so of nothing as teams get ready for the new season. Luckily, this is one of the off-seasons where I have something else to focus on: soccer.

The World Cup is one of those things that I could watch all day, every day. The story lines and the drama are as top notch as the skill. The tournament starts with 32 teams in round-robin play before moving to single elimination games. The New York Times has had some great coverage not only about the games but the cultural, social and financial aspects of the African continent’s first World Cup.

The World Cup is a time for unity. All fans are united in the joy of the game, and watching and sharing these historic moments are probably my favorite part of the tournament. It’s something so huge that you want to share it with everyone, friends and strangers alike. The viewing parties were always a lot of fun when I was back in Philadelphia, and I’m looking forward to going to some here in Albania. The city of Durres has an outdoor screening area that shows the games along with numerous bars. I spent a week watching the initial rounds with some other volunteers in the southern town of Corovode, and now one of those friends is visiting me at my site to continue the viewing.

The last two nights, we’ve watched games beachside at a really nice outdoor restaurant with a swimming pool and dance floor, shaded by trees. The first night we saw them bring out an HD flat screen and almost died, given that the TV quality in Corovode was so bad we could barely see the numbers on the screen. But how would we get good reception, given all the trees? In true Albanian fashion, one of the waiters climbed onto a table, put a 6’ long bench on top of a table, stood on the very top of said bench with both feet (which would have made the fall at about 10’), and threw the antenna over the lowest available tree branch. So much that could have gone wrong there, but luckily it didn’t. We see tons of gravity defying moves like that on a regular basis.

It’s always interesting to look at the popularity of the world’s sport and to wonder why it’s not nearly as popular in the US. Personally, I never really cared much about it until I spent a year in Germany (in 2002, when Germany lost to Brazil in the finals). Watching the German side for all these years has really been a pleasure, through all the highs and lows. Perennial performers who were a game away from the finals in 2006 and lost to Spain in the 2008 European championships, you never quite know what you’re going to get from this team but you know it will be interesting. There has been a changing of the guard with veterans like Olli Kahn, Jens Lehmann and Torsten Frings either retired or not selected. Injuries to key players like Michael Ballack and Rene Adler (not to mention the death of Robert Enke) have supporters asking just how far the team can go. Add to it that this is the youngest team Germany has played since 1934 and predictions are impossible. What we have seen in the past weeks is a driven team lead by Philip Lahm and the surprisingly matured Sebastian Schweinsteiger and the success of the youth movement. Whether the youth factor will help or harm remains to be seen. But while Brazil and Spain as the heavy favorites, Team Germany can’t ever be figured out when it comes to success.

Today we are off to Durres for the Germany / England match. Last night’s US game was very exciting. Although they lost, Ghana was the better and more deserving team and seemed to be covering every inch of the field. Obviously I’m hoping that Germany wins the Cup, but I’d be more than happy with Chile or any other team that hasn’t won in a long time. That France and Italy (the defending champs) didn’t even make it out of the initial round has been cause for great happiness already, with more memorable moments on the way as the knock out phase begins.