Day 1 of the World Cup.

Well, months of time, energy, money, and thought have all come into a physical game at long last. My television I bought is at work and I was able to watch the Germany v. Costa Rica kick off. I worked, I watched, I missed all six goals being scored. That's okay though. The Tico's were able to score twice on Jens Lehmann, the German Keeper. Why is that a big deal when the Germans scored FOUR goals on Costa Rica? Well, mainly because I like to see the Germans get scored on, but also because during the last World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Oliver Kahn didn't let a single goal get through until the final match against Brazil. That's seven games without being scored on. This time around it took 12 minutes.
Needless to say, I'm not a fan of Germany. They may be the team that most easily fits the stereotype of their country at large. They are mechanical, efficient and play without an ounce of passion. It's like staring at a clock or something. You can admire how it will always, ALWAYS stay on time, but that doesn't make it that much fun to just stare at the damn thing.
This is the great thing about the World Cup. Teams that have never met are playing against one another. Anyone who watches soccer knows that with different countries and different continents comes different playing styles. So when Germany meets a team like Costa Rica, you have no idea what's going to happen. The underdog can upset the heavy favorite. It's possible and you can expect it to happen at least once every World Cup. The heavyweights aren't safe. That's what makes this game beautiful.
Later, when Ecuador beat Poland. Just what I'm talking about. A 2-0 win for a team that was supposed to lose. They not only won on the score board though, they owned the game. They had more possession and they beat the Polish defense down time and time again. I watched it with my friends, my co-workers and my boss (who wouldn't stop giving me guff for watching soccer during work; something I imagine will be her "thing" for the next 30 days) and we all had a blast.
It's now the second day of play and I managed to scrape myself off my bed this morning after a phone call at 9:05, letting me know that Beckham had just scored an amazing goal in the third minute. Headache, backache and all got up and watched the rest of the game and was glad to see the English team work the field pretty well. After that, I slept. Woke up, watched Trinidad and Tobago stun the living shit out of Sweden for 90 minutes and keep them without a goal, although Trinidad and Tobago couldn't score either. Onece again a heavy favorite is stunned and a team that had absolutely no expectation to win and whose game plan included just keeping the game from completely getting away from them, maintained composure long enough to surprise themselves, their countrymen and about one and a half billion people watching on television.
As for right now, Argentina and the Ivory Coast are playing and are only 28 minutes in. I do love the South American team, but I feel a deeper part of me wanting the small African nation who has never played in the World Cup before to make another upset. It would be so great, but it's not likely. Crespo has just scored a couple of minutes ago.