The World Cup is a soccer competition between the 32 best countries in the world. Prior to the Cup, the 32 teams have to first qualify out of their groups before actually competing in the tournament. Junior Alp Kahveci said the months before the World Cup are one of the best times in his life because it only happens every four years.
“The lead-up to the Cup is just awesome. The draws came out two weeks ago, and everyday I search on the web about the World Cup to get all the news about it,” Kahveci said. “Since it happens only once in four years, the tournament is so precious. My family and friends gather together before the tournament and watch every game so it’s almost like festival.”
When the World Cup happened last time in 2010, Kahveci had to miss the final between the Netherlands and Spain because he was traveling on the road during the match. Because he missed the finals, Kahveci said he is more impatient than usual for this World Cup to start. Kahveci said his favorite team is Germany, who are one of the favorites to win the tournament this time. He has already bought the official ball that will during the games along with an authentic jersey of the German National Team.
“We were stuck in a traffic jam during the when the finals happened in 2010,” Kahveci said. “It was horrible because I waited to see the last game for so long and missing it due to a traffic jam was almost unrealistic. That makes the World Cup in six months even better.”
The U.S. dominated their qualification group and are ranked 14th in the world. Junior Jared Richardson said because U.S. is heading into the tournament in a strong position, he is also eagerly waiting for the World Cup.
“It is a bittersweet kind of wait. I think U.S. has a great team this year, and they have a chance to shock everyone,” Richardson said. “I don’t know why but the World Cup this time has something even more special about. Maybe it’s because there are just so many teams that have a chance to win it this time.”
Some people have also developed unique traditions during the lead up of the World Cup. Junior Nich Wahl said everyone in his family predicts the teams that will go through the group stages and eventually win the Cup. The person whose prediction is closest to the outcome of the Cup gets twenty dollars from everyone else in the family.
“It might sound a little crazy, but it’s actually really fun,” Wahl said. “It’s like FIFA World Cup Madness instead of March Madness.”
With all the anticipation going on before the tournament, Kahveci said the build-up can sometimes become a distraction from school. He said because there is so much excitement and eagerness for the World Cup to start, sometimes it becomes increasingly difficult to focus on classwork.
“I have a lot of family members coming over from Turkey all of a sudden so sometimes it becomes really hard to concentrate on school,” Kahveci said. “However, the is the unique thing about the World Cup. You experience a sudden change in lifestyle, and there is just so much excitement leading into the tournament that everything seems different.”
By Harsh Singh
So, does the World Cup excite you more or less than the Super Bowl?
