Though the Word Cup is at times an after thought in America, I often find myself caught up in World Cup fever. Being a casual futbol/soccer fan, I ofcourse am a big fan of Brasil. Much like what the Lakers and Yankees are to casual American sports fans; Brasil is the global powerhouse when it comes to the Word Cup. They sport an impressive lineup of all stars and a storied history.

Like many children in America I played quite a lot of futbol until the age of 13. After that I became more interested in traditional American sports. While in college I rediscovered the sport through the FIFA video game on the original PlayStation in which I had some epic battles with my roommates. This also coincided with the 1998 Word Cup and the rise of two time FIFA Player of the Year; Ronaldo. Ever since then I have come to really enjoy and respect what the World Cup offers.

The one major downside I see is the rise of nationalistic sentiment across fan bases. The sport’s racial tensions and fan violence has been well documented. As we all know, the Word Cup and futbol in general is a major source of ethnic and regional pride. This pride can often manifest into a feeling of racial supremacy that brings with it many ugly undertones. I am very curious to see how this will affect basketball over the next 50 years. Basketball is well on its way to becoming the next major global team sport.
Regardless of some of the disgraceful acts associated with futbol, I’m a huge fan of the Word Cup and I look forward to watching Brasil play as much as I can. GO BRASIL!!!!