Viva Futbol

June 4th, 2010

0

“Ole Ole Ole Ole!”

You might not be familiar with these words, but in one week this chant will take over the world. The World Cup comes around once every four years, and has earned the title of the biggest sporting event in the world. It causes 26 billion people to put everything on hold and lose their voices cheering for a month straight.

One of the disadvantages of being a soccer, or rather, futbol fan in the U.S. is that we don’t fully feel the impact of the FIFA World Cup because soccer is not the dominant sport in our country. That is starting to change as more and more people from the U.S. join in the World Cup craze. With this post, I am going to take you through 80 years of World Cup history so you’re ready to chant with the rest of them during the 2010 World Cup.

The very first FIFA World Cup, organized in 1930, was hosted, and conveniently won, by Uruguay. Fourteen nations took part in that Cup. The U.S., believed not to have a soccer history, played and beat Belgium 3-0 in one of the first two games played in the first World Cup. Since then the World Cup has been held every four years, except in 1942 and 1946 when the Cup was canceled due to World War II.

Quick facts about the tournament:

  • Brazil is the most successful country in World Cup history having won 5 FIFA World Cup championships. They’re also the only country to have competed in all World Cups.
  • Italy has followed Brazil closely, winning 4 trophies of their own.
  • 76 nations have competed in at least one World Cup, but of these 76, only seven have actually won.
  • The World Cup trophy is made of 18 carat solid gold. Don’t get any ideas about stealing it though. In 1970 the trophy was stolen and has yet to be recovered. FIFA now keeps the trophy locked up and only replicas are given out to the winning country.

The 2010 World Cup will kick off on June 11th in South Africa. This is a big deal because it’s the first ever African country to host the Cup. Something else to get excited about is the coverage. Sony will use 3D cameras to capture 25 of the matches, including the final. Even Bono is excited.

So how can you get ready?

  • Check out the official ball, created by Adidas.
  • Say hello to the 2010 mascot.
  • Listen to the official song, performed by Shakira and Freshlyground
  • Take a look at these stats. The World Cup is taking over the web!
  • Watch as Nike sums up the excitement with their 3-minute short Write the Future.

Border Stylo has gotten a little soccer-crazy in the last week. We’ve played pick up games in our building’s back alley, and we even filmed a World Cup-themed office video (due out next week.) And don’t forget about our party. Glass is hosting a World Cup event on June 12th for the USA vs. England game. More details can be found here.

Yes my friends, the 2010 World Cup is upon us. All I have to say is “Viva Futbol!”

Tagged with: World Cup 2010, Culture

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Author

Khurram Amin

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Khurram is the Marketing Coordinator and he is ready to blast off to infinity and beyond.

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