Treasure;4029078 said:
Yes it is over....I already miss the excitement huh?
IT is indeed over, isn't it? It was a terrific and most exciting tournament. It had a bit of everything – wonderful goal keeping, defense and tackling, amazing passes and fluidity of play and an entire array of jaw dropping goals. I've enjoyed it tremendously. Also there were some “surprising results” let's call them metaphorically – from the early exists of European greats such as Spain, England and Italy to the amazing Costa Rica that did so well. There may have been some others, but I tend to have a rather selective memory
It was wonderful to see the newly discovered American enthusiasm for “soccer” once the U.S. realized its team could actually win (under the guidance of one amazing Mr. Klinsmann). I felt sorry for the Brazilian heartache, as I did for any other team's whose dreams and hopes were dashed along the way. I think Leo Messi is a true champion and a wonderful human being and I feel sorry for his nation's defeat. The solidity and consistency of the German mannschaft though cannot be denied and theirs is a most deserved victory.
Here's a video which captures some of the highlights of them thrilling five weeks
[video=youtube;eKd1Y2KcON4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKd1Y2KcON4[/video]
Also there were plenty of moments which inspired the social media. Some of the funniest ones have been collected by the BBC Sports folks over here
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-28266513
Beyond the exciting game on the field and the joy on people's faces in the stands which was a spectacle in and by itself, another aspect that I enjoyed very much was the commentary, most especially on the BBC – I think Gary Lineker is an awesome host, while some of the contributors to his shows were nothing short of extraordinary. I'm thinking mainly of Rio and the two Alans, Clarence and Thierry :bow:
I'm actually thankful to anyone who was involved in this amazing spectacle of diversity and sportsmanship and in spite of whatever ill feelings there may be out there I include here FIFA as well. I appreciate what they've done and I think everyone involved in the opening and closing ceremonies deserves to be acknowledged. Even some of the sponsors of the tournament were particularly exciting in my eyes, but that is another topic.
Let us hope and pray that football will always prove to be the beautiful game and always foster a “culture of encounter”, as Pope Francis recently tweeted.
And btw of FIFA, as one official eloquently put it at the beginning of the tournament: “
this goes beyond football and beyond FIFA”. I couldn't agree more.
Although music, sports and some other thing I can't quite recall now are universal “languages”, there are issues out there which surpass these individual trades. At times, the message is sooooo much more important than the messengers; or so it should be, anyhow.......
