It isn't over 'til it's over...

For all of you who haven’t been following the World Cup, I have a few words for you: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? You’ve missed a great time. But don’t worry, it’s not too late to join the fun! We just finished the first of three rounds of group-stage play, which decides who goes through to the elimination rounds that start on the 24th. And, while we still have a long way to go until the finals on June 9th, there has already been enough excitement to keep even the most detached of non-soccer-fans on their toes!

You see, the beautiful thing about soccer is that every team has a shot. There is no team that is guaranteed to win any match, and no team that can be dismissed altogether. Sure, there are favourites, teams with World Cup tradition, with big-name stars, with high expectations. But the best play doesn’t always come from the people of whom we expect greatness, but rather from the most unexpected places. And so far, the only big team that hasn’t disappointed has been Germany, although for a team touted for their defense, they didn’t get the win easily, with Costa Rica putting in goals. England won, but barely. Brazil won, but barely. Portugal won, but barely. Argentina sweat to beat first-timers Cote d’Ivoire. France barely managed a sleepy, scoreless tie with Switzerland. Trinidad and Tobago, in its first-ever World Cup appearance, proudly holding the record of being the smallest country ever to play in the World Cup, brilliantly held the Swedes to a scoreless tie, even being down one player for most of the second half. You may ask, “90 minutes of play and nobody scored? Wouldn’t that be boring?” And my resounding reply is, “NO WAY!” It was one of the most intense, nail-biting, phenomenally-played games so far. Probably tied in my book with yesterday’s Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia game for best-games-to-watch-so-far. (Yes, even more favourite than the opening victory of my heart-team, Brazil, 1-0 over Croatia.) Tunisia and Saudi Arabia ended in a 2-2 tie, but it went right down to the wire, with Tunisia scoring the tying goal in stoppage time. (For those of you who don’t know, those are the minutes the ref adds onto the game after the official 90 minutes are up.) Just goes to show that it isn’t over ‘till it’s over! J

And, although of course I am biased, some of the best stories so far belong to the world’s goalkeepers. Take, for example, the Mexican goalie, Oswaldo Sanchez, whose team didn’t think he was going to make it to the opening game against Iran because he had gone back to Mexico just a week earlier when his father unexpectedly passed away. But, even though nobody would have questioned him at all for missing the first game, or even the entire World Cup, for not having the emotional energy to play, he flew in and suited up for his team. When the teams shook hands before the kick-off, the Iranian team gave Sanchez flowers. And he played an excellent game to help his team to a 3-1 victory over Iran. It was impossible not to cry when the game ended and the entire team piled on top of a crying Sanchez, hugged him, kissed his head, and celebrated by crying with him.

And then there’s Shaka Hislop, the backup goalie for the Trinidad & Tobago team, who was called off the bench just minutes before the opener when the starting goalie got hurt in warm-ups. And he played the game of his life! He made one unbelievable save after another, and was a veritable brick wall for his team. All without having the mental preparation of being able to anticipate the game and plan for it. Or Tunisia’s goalkeeper, who at the age of 40 is the oldest player in the World Cup and was one of the reasons they stayed tied with Saudi Arabia.

I LOVE THIS GAME!!! Who is YOUR favourite team so far?