World Cup Soccer and Me

I will start this post by saying that I love the World Cup, but in a weird way. You see, I do not like watching sports and soccer is no different. I have no idea if Canada even has a team that is eligible to compete in the World Cup or whether we do, and it just sucks and hasn't been able to make it in a while. However, what I do love is seeing how into it people get.

I couldn't help but laugh at a friend's facebook status the day the World Cup started which said something to the effect to of "...now remember France this is soccer not volleyball," referring to France's win over Ireland that got them to the Cup. (The story behind this is that France and Ireland went into extra time and France scored. However "based on replays, the goal was triply illegal: two of the French attackers were offside, while one of them – captain Thierry Henry – clearly touched the ball with his outstretched hand.") My mum is originally from Ireland and every time we pass someone with a French flag some variant of "cheaters" is muttered. My mother does not watch soccer, nor has ever really shown an interest in the sport, but it makes me laugh seeing her get all indignant over the fact that her country didn't make it to the World Cup.

I also love seeing all the flags people have flying on their cars. Not so much in the town I live in, though they're definitely present but I went to Toronto yesterday and pretty much every single car has a flag on it. A good chunk of the people walking down the street were wearing they're jerseys (particularly the Brazilians, who were playing as we were driving). You could tell when the Brazilians scored because horns would sound all over the city and people would be hanging out of their cars hooting at pedestrians. It was particularly fun driving down St. Claire after the game and seeing literally every other pedestrian in a jersey.

Overall, I just see the World Cup as a fun way to celebrate your country or your heritage. While neither Canada or Ireland are in the cup, my dad and his family are all from Italy so I'm going to be cheering them on. GO ITALIA!