Everybody's got the fever*

"I have always been accused of taking the things I love- football, of course, but also books and records- much too seriously, and I do feel a kind of anger when I hear a bad record, or when someone is lukewarm about a book that means a lot to me. Perhaps it was these desperate, bitter men in the West Stand at Arsenal who taught me how to get angry in this way; and perhaps it is why I earn some of my living as a critic- maybe it's those voices I can hear when I write, 'You're a WANKER, X.' 'The Booker Prize? THE BOOKER PRIZE? They should give that to me for having to read you.'"
-Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch

Four years ago, my dad was watching the World Cup in our living room, so I did what I do for most big sporting events...I grabbed a book and went downstairs to watch the cool commercials. Half an hour later, I realized I hadn't even opened my book. I discovered something new that day: I actually like this sport.

It's not just the fact that I can actually understand how the game works, or that the whole world is involved in the World Cup... I actually like watching it. I've found myself looking up statistics online, reading analyses of teams, having my dad explain what 'offsides' means- and actually getting it. Today I sat at a restaurant for 2 hours watching the US v Ghana game, and tomorrow I'll be out to breakfast early to see England (hopefully crush) Germany. Coming from someone whose mind turns off the minute someone mentions the word 'game', this is pretty amazing.
And it doesn't hurt that I get to cheer for countries I've visited and countries I want to visit while watching a sport played by kids all over the world.


*"Fever" by A Fine Frenzy