World Cup captivates everywhere but here

Sports is about many things. It fulfills a need for competition, it teaches sportsmanship and it can build bridges between people. \nEvery pickup game in any sport ever played contains a mixture of these elements. The World Cup has all the ingredients to make it the best sports competition in the world. The best players in sports represent the best soccer playing nations, making the competition stiff. The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) preaches fair play before the start of every game and the games always seem to have intriguing subplots and human elements.\nThe World Cup doesn't get a fair shake in this country because not many understand the fiber that makes it the world's greatest event. Every four years teams compete to be the best in the world, not just the North American continent. Yes, there is a world east of Los Angeles and west of New York.\nSure the Stanley Cup and NFL playoffs and the NCAA men's basketball tournament are great sporting events, but all the passion they generate pales in comparison to that of the FIFA World Cup. The passion generated by the World Cup Trophy is insane. I have seen countries come to a complete standstill when their team is playing. There are no shops open and no traffic passes through any of the streets in the cities.\nIt is some times argued that nations such as Argentina, Brazil and Nigeria have been held together in recent times because of the passion for their teams. When faced with ethnic division, rising crime and a failing economy, many fans cling to the hope and national pride generated by the team play. It is the difference between life and misery. I am sure those in Detroit and Carolina are not putting that much stock in their hockey teams. \nChina, the world's largest country, has riveted its televisions and radios following the national teams first campaign in the cup. They have built the biggest personality cult around a man simply known as "Bora." Some are saying that his likeness will soon replace that of a guy named "Moe" in Tiananmen Square.\nEvery four years the World Cup finals represent the culmination of a long process of continental qualification. Getting to the finals is an honor in itself. Many fail to realize that many of the top teams in the world fail to even get in. Absent this year are Holland and powerhouse Iran. In their places are the relative minnows of Ireland and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi team got pummeled 8-0 by Germany in the biggest one sided victory in World Cup history. Then there is the sheer and utter joy the games bring to nations they are played in (South Korea and Japan). \nSenegal, a former French colony, shocked the world by beating the defending champions in their first ever World Cup match. They are still partying on the streets of Dakar. Still to come is the match of Nigeria and England, a similar match up of colonizer and colony. The importance of this rivalry multiplies when factoring both teams will need to win this game to get in to the next round.\nThe World Cup, so far, has matched all before it in excitement and passion. The old guard countries of Europe and South America are being squeezed at the top by teams from the former backwaters of soccer. \nSo give the cup a chance. Wake up a little earlier then usual to watch magicians named Zidane, Ochocha, Ronaldo, Figo and Beckham dazzle.