World Cup Fever

Not too many Americans reading this will care, but today On Point radio (XM channel 133 11am-noon) is dedicated to the upcoming Football (Soccer) World Cup. Everyone on the program is talking excitedly and getting really worked up over the tournament and via radio waves passing that excitement on to me. People are saying that the USA is at its best ever, so we will be one of the teams to watch out for. Granted, Brazil is also said to have its best team ever (which means significantly more than the US best-ever team), so we'll have to see how that works out.

Personally, I'm torn at the moment as to who I should cheer the most. I am American, so the USA team will be up there. I absolutely loved following football (soccer) when I lived in Paris last year and since I was in high school I've been fairly partial to the French team. But now there are 3 added countries that really cause the dilema - I am going to Mali with the Peace Corps in July, so in the spirit of "trying to fit in with the culture" like the Peace Corps wants, I ask "who will the Malians be cheering for??!"

4 African teams are participating in the World Cup this year, 3 of which are located spitting distance from Mali: Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Ghana, and Togo - all of whom are 1st timers to the World Cup. Cote D'Ivorie is a no brainer since they are the only team I like in Group C. However, Ghana and the US are both in Group E while France and Togo are both in Group G. Actually, I guess that makes it easy enough: I'll go for Cote D'Ivoire, USA, and France in the Group phase of the tournament (although Ghana is said to have an extremely good team this year, I might have to switch over to them if they impress me more than the US does).

Anyways, the point is, I'm conflicted between loyalty to my country (USA), loyalty to the country taught me the love of the World Cup (France), or loyalty to the countries that closer identify to where I will be for the next two years (Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo). Sigh... if only all of life's problems were as interesting and fun to figure out as this.

On a completely aesthetic note, out of these above mentioned countries, The French Les Bleus have the best uniforms. The Ghana Black Stars have the worst. My Wild Card pick goes to the overall team with the coolest uniform: Ukraine. Cote D'Ivoire has the most appropriate mascot, the Elephant (due to the "ivory").



Special note to anyone thinking about going to Germany for the World Cup:
The Nazi "Heil Hitler!" salute (even mocking it) is illegal in Germany, so try not to be stupid (this will prove harder than it sounds because the beer comes in very large steins).



On a different note, happy Slay Day, everyone! The heavy metal band, Slayer, has declared today the official Slay Day (6/6/06). They request everyone call in sick to work and play Slayer albums loud in public places to convert the non-believers. Personally, I'm not a big Slayer fan, but I will be listening to:
Sympathy for the Devil (The Rolling Stones), Devil in a Blue Dress (Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels), Running with the Devil (Van Halen), Devil Went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels Band), Devils and Dust (Bruce Springstein), and everything ever made by Rob Zombie. Ah thank you.

Quote of the day: "Each of us should view ourselves as if the world were held in balance and any single act of goodness on our part could tip the scale." -Mainomedes