On a cool day in February, two teams will battle head-to-head to determine who is the best in the NFL. In a stadium spilling over with fans, players will be blinded with thousands of flashbulbs illuminating their every move for the ravenous media. The boyhood hopes and dreams of 100 athletes will be on the line as every grunt and every drop of sweat is offered in hopes of becoming champions. In all honesty, how could it get any better than this? Maybe if the emotions lasted an entire month!
As much as I love the Super Bowl and the NFL playoffs, in all its majesty, nail biting anticipation and American significance, there is no championship contest like its predecessor, the World Cup.
Since the 1930s, the World Cup has captured the attention of almost the entire sports world, and with a growing U.S. interest in the tournament as a result of the success of the past women’s and men’s qualifying teams, the World Cup will remain not only the most popular, but also the best sporting event in the world that even overshadows the Summer Olympics.
As much as my Sundays are always spent sitting on the couch in a Julius Peppers jersey watching the gridiron battle, cheering for my Carolina Panthers – we’ll get back to the Super Bowl next season – the World Cup gives sports fans even greater teams to root for.
The 40 year-old Super Bowl, though it guarantees nearly every seat in front of a television in America filled, has little influence on culture and countries outside of the states.
As great as declaring the Panthers the champions of football would feel, I would have an even greater sense of pride if I could see Landon Donovan or Eddie Pope lift up the World Cup trophy than the Lombardy trophy or a gold medal.
Like the Olympics, the World Cup brings countrymen together cheering for one common goal: to see their respective country win it all, to (in some way) show that their country is the best. The World Cup has all of the excitement of the Olympics without the steroid accusations.
Crowded in suspicion, the Summer Olympics often lose their historic luster and reputation of being a showcase of the best-trained and most deserving athletes around the world.
With so many asterisks being placed on the accomplishments of Olympic athletes, and many other record breaking performances being erased from the books altogether, the Olympics have become shrouded in mystery leaving fans to wonder if an athlete truly deserves their victory after every competition.
In the World Cup, there is little speculation as to how a striker scores a goal. Though often plagued with too much diving (faking an injury to increase the chance of having a foul called), and questionable offside calls, there is no doubt regarding the natural ability of a soccer player to score.
Also, the World Cup escapes much of the money-squandering publicity stunts that surround most Summer Olympics. Instead, it relies more on the intensity of the matches than the glamour of the opening ceremony.
With all its trouble with steroids, as well as its often gaudy and unnecessary ceremonies and performances, the Olympics lose sight of their targeted audience: sports fans that could care less about introductions and formalities, and want nothing more than the action of the game.
The World Cup provides such action without putting its fans to sleep days before a single match.