By all accounts, you can mark World Cup 2014 as my first. I knew Spain won the last World Cup. I recognized David Silva and David Villa for the way their names were pronounced and not their soccer skills.
But things are different in 2014.
I developed a genuine interest for “the beautiful game”. I recognize more players, delved into their club histories and watched more soccer in the past month than I have in my entire life. I am rooting for teams, players and most importantly: entertaining story lines.
This BBC Sport article detailing some of the most memorable moments of the tournament is a great summation of the tournament thus far. And with final game to be played, who knows what historic moment we have yet to witness.
What I enjoyed most about this World Cup is the common ground I and many others in the world share. I enjoy American Football but its appeal is very limited on an international level. Basketball is more global but it pales to the global appeal of soccer. Seeing reactions from European, South American and even Chinese observers is fascinating. Soccer may be the only sport my girlfriend and I will ever talk about.
It’s that kind of appeal that made me realize that I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I had to give it a chance. I wanted to be able to sit down at 3:00 PM ET today and appreciate the world’s finest soccer players duel it out for world supremacy. It’s why I tried to watch all these games and learn as much as possible because it’s investments like this that makes it more than just 22 players kicking a ball around.
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It’s still Battlefield 4 and Peace Walker with a dash of Layton on the side. With the Destiny beta looming, I don’t know if I’ll finish Peace Walker by the end of the month.
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