They have closed the curtain on another chapter in world soccer history, but the memories will linger. How do you judge the quality of an event of this magnitude and this far reaching? Some like to evaluate it on the final game and how pleasing it may or may not be to the eye. Some like to look deeper into the tactics being used by the teams to show the latest trends in the game. Some will want to assess how the big names in the game entertained or faltered. Others will only see it as successful if “their” team did well, exceeded expectations, or won the coveted trophy. Then there is the commercial side and the amount of television viewership which will relate in four years time to an increase in advertisement revenue. The views, opinions, and perspectives are All relevant and why this is the most popular game in the world.

It is a simple game, played by so many, in every corner of the world. For me, there were on and off the field happenings that kept the heart pumping to the end. It should not be lost that South Africa was able to stage a successful tournament, given their status on the world stage politically and athletically not too long ago.  While the country is still working to make strides, it does show what we are capable of as a human race when want to do the right thing and are determined to see it through. The emotions that poured out when Tshabalala (has a nice ring to it) scored a fantastic goal to put the home side up 1-0 against Mexico in the opening game resonated around the planet. While there were many fabulous goals in the tournament, this would have to rank up there for both meaning and beauty. Any event that allows us to increase our vocabulary has to be a good thing. The world now knows, loves, hates, appreciates, or detests (take your pick)... Vuvuzelas, the plastic horns.  I don’t know if they were pleasing to the ear unless you are in love with the high decibel, constant drone of bees buzzing, but I do know it helped to create an atmosphere unique to South Africa, pumped up the local economy with sales, gave Amazon.com something else to sell, and had FIFA make a decision on their use at the stadiums. Getting FIFA to act quickly about anything is a miracle in itself. This brings me to technology, which is a forbidden word in the FIFA offices in Geneva, but nowhere else. With the exception of those who make the final rulings, most everyone else associated with the game agrees that the time has come to use what is available technologically when it comes to the crucial decision of whether a ball has crossed the goal line underneath of the crossbar to determine if a goal should be counted. Amidst all of the controversy, score one more for the people. While there isn’t always a great deal that people agree with over international boundaries, this surely is one.

The power and draw of the game is unmistakable, whether you were in South Africa or watching from a distant location. Governments declared country-wide holidays, work production went down, and national pride was renewed. People came together anywhere and everywhere. If that was all that comes out of this competition, it was enough. From the pubs, to the viewing parties, to friends getting together, in all parts of the world at the same time is an amazing picture. From remote locations it was all the same. My daughter, Kaitlyn was in the middle of doing her study abroad in the Gambia where rolling power outages are a part of everyday life. During the broadcasting of the World Cup games, the locals were adamant that a conspiracy was taking place between the pubs and restaurants that charged to view games and the Electric Company. They may have been onto something, as the power outages for residential customers appeared to coincidentally happen when the games were broadcast, but seemingly missed the commercial establishments.

...And we cannot forget Paul the Octopus from Oberhausen, Germany. He correctly predicted eight games including the Final and all of Germany’s games. I feel confident in saying that he made more correct calls than all of the experts. It is a shame that he never got to play the game, because his eight legs or arms (whatever your perspective) would have been a real asset in the field or as a goalkeeper. Now the world knows why the octopus is considered the most intelligent of all invertebrates!! Then there were the games and the moments that are too many to go into detail. I can say for sure that all of the emotions that were felt on the field were also felt off the field by so many around the world. Maybe that’s what keeps us spellbound. From the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat and everything in between, we had it all. There was Beauty and there was the Beast. There was David and there was Goliath. There were the many colors of the flags, of the uniforms, of the players shoes, of the people watching, and of those taking part that all came together for one month to remind us (to paraphrase Bob Marley): “One World, One Game, One Love, One Heart, and we all got together and felt all right.”