Posted by
Barry Siskind
Community Manager
Indulge me for a moment.
A few years ago when I was working in Buenos Aries, I was waiting in the lobby of our hotel when a number of police cars and two buses drove up. A group of young men exited the elevators and boarded the buses and with sirens blaring the procession left. I asked what that was all about and was told that it was the soccer team from Brazil who was playing Argentina that night. That was my first exposure to world class soccer.
The world cup is fast approaching and I have no idea which team to root for.
Let’s leave the world of exhibitions for a moment and put on your other hat: sports enthusiast. Who, in your opinion has the best chance of winning the cup and why should I support them?
Barry,
Get on board with the old Mother country for ’empirical’ reasons. Has to be England (pronounced Ingerland). Wait till you see Wayne Rooney in action you will forget the skill you once glimpsed on that tour bus in Buenos Aires.
Given that Tim Howard and Landon Donovan both played their club football at Everton in England this season past, the cream of Team USA clearly point the way to go!
Dear Barry,
Soccermania also at yearly European Exhibition Venue Tournament on June 18. Normally dominated by German Messes but this year home playing Jaarbeurs Utrecht from Netherlands is really going for it (I know since I have to train very hard to not end on the bench! About 400-500 peope in the industry are joining to transform this event in a fantastic happening.
Details http://www.jaarbeurssoccertournament2010.nl/
And yes we will be watching Germany, Italy and Holland play on huge screens.
Any Brits willing to take the challenge to participate in the future?
Gerard Leeuwenburgh
Director International Exhibitions
VNU Exhibitions Europe
Only an american would ask such a question about who to cheer for at the World Cup! Your own country of course (that is until they are eliminated)then root for your second best choice if you like the game.
In America, we love our sports and follow them closely. In fact, we have so many sports and teams to choose from that soccer (football to the world)ranks very low in the attention given. All countries find time to cheer for the teams from their tribes/cities. We all need a hero to cheer for and to feel that emotional charge from victory.
Soccer is truly the sport of the world. Every country embraces it and appreciates the skills required for excellent play. Other than the Olympics,the World Cup is the one sporting event that world pride comes into play. You want your country to win, but we cheer and appreciate the effort and talent from the team that makes it to the top.
My Chicago Blackhawks have just won the Stanley Cup (sorry Canada)and the city is elated! What a feeling of joy if you played the sport as a kid and followed a teams success for 4 months of play. Today there is a ticker tape parade down Michigan Avenue in Chicago- 300,000 people to attend.
In 1990 I was attending an OSPI conference in Rome with my family. The World Cup semi finals were under way. As an American, I did not fully understand the seriousness of the event. Many of our fellow world country companies at the meeting argued very loudly about their teams. In the end the winners hugged the losers to show the respect they deserved.
One evening at my hotel room in Rome with my family, Italy had just won a preliminary game. I have never heard such a roar in my life!Imagine an entire city shouting at the top of their lungs for the victory-
(and I thought Blackhawk games were loud).
I have just read a book entitled “How Soccer Explains the World”-(Franklin Foer).
Reading this surely helped me to better understand the passion (and corruption) of countries and tribe mentality when it comes to cheering for your heros. We all need hero’s to cheer for!
In the end, it’s only a sport that the organizers and athletes make the money that we as fans support (unless you are a betting man).
May the best team win!