World Cup

I guess I'm not much of a soccer (I mean football) fan. I grew
up in an era when kids got together to play baseball and
basketball. Games in which you used your hands instead of
your feet. My nephews and niece of course grew up with the
game and it's totally natural for them to think of the sport on
an even keel with other sports. However, I definitely have a
small portion of my inner self that enjoys the complexity of
the game and the way it can stir the emotions of it's fans.
When I was in the hotel business, back in 1994, lots of
fans of the German national team stayed at our hotel while
first round games were played in Chicago. The fans were
really excited...both before and after a match. I occasionally
look at the scores of the Chicago Fire and was a fan of
the Chicago Sting in the early 80's when they won the first
championship of any kind Chicago had seen since the 1963
Chicago Bears. Even a few months ago I gawked at the
stadium of Real Salt Lake before Lynn chided me and we
almost drove off the road. So now, the US national team has
made it to the final 16 of Soccer's biggest show. I feel like I'm
following "The Beautiful Game" only lately, but I guess in some
ways, I've been following it all along. I hope our team does
well!