Why the FIFA World Cup is Awesome!
Contributed by Chigo AhunanyaThe FIFA World Cup is here. Whether you’re in New York City, London, Pyongyang or in a remote village in Sub-Saharan Africa, you are currently being kept up to date with what is going on in one of the world’s biggest sports events.This international soccer tournament that occurs every four years pits countries against each other yet somehow brings the world closer together. As Father Moon, founder of the Unification faith, said at the 2002 World Cup, “Soccer fever is heating up around the world. Each day, we see the drama of competition played out in the midst of upset and upheaval, joy and disappointment. In the midst of this, a celebration of friendship and excitement is unfolding that transcends race, ideology and national boundaries.”The World Cup is awesome, and here’s why:
The road to the World Cup is steep.
The World Cup brings 32 countries together every four years to compete for the honor of being declared world champions. This whole process starts with a long qualification process that unfolds over three and a half years in between the tournaments. According to FIFA, this World Cup saw 204 teams in six continents compete for these sacred 31 spots (1 spot is reserved for the host nation). It is a big deal to be participating in the World Cup.
The stadium is filled with good sports, and good sportsmanship.
As we follow the games live from our TV screens or at a public viewing we see crowds cheering their countries on and celebrating, filled with pride, patriotism and uncontrollable joy, hoping that their team players are ready to sacrifice everything to help the team win and advance to the next round. Just as the players display incredible amounts of commitment on the field, so do the fans.In every edition of the World Cup, we see fans draped in traditional and unconventional costumes, screaming, chanting, sighing and rejoicing as they rally behind a team, but every now and then a group of fans come up with astounding acts that leave the millions of people watching worldwide entertained and sometimes even inspired. During this World Cup, the Japanese fans have cleaned up the stands after every one of their group stage matches in an act of respect towards the host country, Brazil. Compared to the stereotype of loud, disrespectful soccer fans, this honorable act on part of the Japanese is definitely a step in the right direction and a breath of fresh air.Sportsmanship on and off the field is where our faith in humanity is restored and we can see the world uniting. Though the World Cup doesn’t always have the best sportsmanship, there is an expectation of honor there. “The beauty of the players appears when they demonstrate sportsmanship. They must work hard, shed sweat and tears and achieve incredible standards of skill. They must be trained in the virtues of fairness, proper order and etiquette,” said Father Moon.
The underdogs never fail to surprise.
We all love underdogs and, as we can see in this edition of the FIFA World Cup, the underdogs are nipping at the feet of the big teams and toppling them over. We have seen the shock exits of some well-known teams such as Spain, England and Italy in the first round, but as these mainstay teams are being eliminated, stronger and younger teams are emerging and national heroes are being made with every game that passes. Players are so determined to win for their country that some of them are playing out of position to help secure a good result, which has proven to work in the best way possible.Costa Rica is a perfect example; anyone who knows anything about soccer would have expected them to be happy with a third place finish in their group of death. To everyone’s surprise, they have finished the group stage undefeated and at the top of their group, having beaten Italy (6 time finalists) and Uruguay (2 time finalists), as well as holding England to a well-earned draw.The games are coming to an end.If you haven’t started watching the games yet, it’s not too late! The end of the first round is nearing, and these next few games mark who will continue on and who will have had their final run this year. Be a part of the fun and stay tuned as we give you a close update over the end of this week.The whole world is anxiously anticipating this news!We kept up with the USA games on the God’s Hope for America road trip; this revival tour is experiencing the same celebration, hope and energy for America’s role in God’s Hope for the world that this nation feels for team USA. After facing Germany and Belgium, two strong teams, the US has been eliminated despite having done surprisingly well this year. There are many other teams out there battling for the win, and there’s still a long way to go. Who do you think will win the 2014 World Cup? Let us know in the comments!