the world cup is over

the last month has been awesome. i've loved ever second of it. a soccer lover's dream. 64 of the best soccer matches on pretty much every day for a month!

the World Cup Final yesterday wasn't the greatest played game by a long stretch, but kept me entertained for sure.

I generally like the Netherlands better than Spain - usually and I thought they had been playing better this past month. (Although Spain has the stacked team with the better players.)

BUT Dirk Kuyt has always annoyed me and this tourney Robben REALLY started to get on my nerves.

+ i'm a big Cesc Fabregas fan. He is one of my fav players in the world... naturally i've been upset at Spain for keeping him on the bench.
in my humble opinion - when Fabregas came in the game yesterday is when the game turned in Spain's favor! i think he changed the tone. i started really cheering when he started playing. before that i was pretty much neutral.
i was really excited to see Fabregas and really all the Spanish team celebrating their biggest win EVER.

i hope America caught a little more World Cup Fever this go round. it would be good for us. we think we're the most "advanced" but haven't even caught on to the most popular game in the world yet... or THE BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT IN THE WORLD! but, everyone was watching "the decision" with Lebron. (that blows my mind.)

hopefully the beautiful game will become a big deal here in our country. hopefully it will take over the streets during games like in every other country. (but by then hopefully i'll be living in one of those other countries.)

So, now that the World Cup is over i have a WHOLE LOT of free time in the evenings! it was a difficult task to watch all 64 games, but i made it happen. great tournament overall. i only wish i could have been there in South Africa.

can't wait til 2014 in Brazil. (Crystal and i are saving up already for 2018...)

now i'll have some time to watch my Yankees again who are kings of the world... their rightful place. + i'm stoked to actually get to follow my boys Newcastle on TV again this season as we're back up in the EPL. we have as many televised games as any team in the 1st half.

i hope you enjoyed World Cup 2010 from South Africa. it was a beautiful thing all the way around... like i wrote about HERE.

worst call ever?

what an intense game to watch. i was going crazy.
to play so crappy and go down 2-0 in a game we were supposed to own.

*Then it was so awesome to see us wake up in the 2nd half! i couldn't believe Donovan took that shot... and then i couldn't believe he actually put it in the top shelf. we owned that 2nd half.
the whole buildup to Bradley's goal was brilliant! = Donavan's cross, Altidore's header down, Hercules' run to bring the defender forward, and then Michael Bradley's finish. awesome.

then came the game winner! so i thought for a few seconds as i celebrated... a 3-2 win after being down 2-0 is pretty much as good as it gets. but inexplicably, the goal didn't count. we still don't know what the ref called.
(i do know i see 3 of our guys getting fouled in the box! especially Bradley getting bear hugged and Bocanegra basically getting body slammed.)

if you haven't seen what i'm talking about yet (where have you been?) check it out below.


wow. that was a brilliant game winner and it was taken away from us. Now, i'm not going to blame the whole game on the ref. we played like crap in the 1st half. it's our fault we lost... he's also a human and i don't hate him or anything. he just made a mistake. he's probably a great guy. but c'mon ref... you took away a win & 3 points & probably winning the group.

*i'm also encouraged to hear our U.S. players not dwelling on it and looking forward to beating Algeria.

so, what do YOU think? worst call ever?

Bono's top 10 for this decade

i've written a lot about Bono in the past here on renown.

Recently i read his top 10 list for the next 10 years. you can read his 10 for the next 10 years HERE. he talks about everything from cars to intellectual property; from pollution to nonviolent revolution...

and here is his #1!

The World Cup Kicks Off the African Decade

"It’s getting easier to describe to Americans the impact of the World Cup — especially the impact it will have in Africa, where the tournament is to be held this summer. A few years ago, Ivory Coast was splitting apart and in the midst of civil war when its national team qualified for the 2006 jamboree. The response was so ecstatic that the war was largely put on hold as something more important than deathly combat took place, i.e. a soccer match. The team became a symbol of how the different tribes could — and did — get on after the tournament was over.
This time round, for the 2010 World Cup, naysayers thought South Africa could not build the stadiums in time. Those critics should be red-faced now. South Africa’s impressive preparations underline the changes on the continent, where over the last few years, 5 percent economic growth was the average. Signs point to a further decade of growth to come. Canny investors will put more capital there. This in turn has the potential to shore up fragile young democracies across the continent.
It would be fitting if Nelson Mandela, who has done more than anyone for Africa’s rising, would kick off the opening ceremonies. If he shows up, the world will weep with joy."

did any of you go read his whole top 10 list?

another must see World Cup commercial

The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world!
(yes, way bigger than the Olympics or most stuff many of us Americans get into.)

it begins in only 15 days, 16 hours, 30 minutes and 17 seconds (and yes I have a countdown on my phone).
I feel like a little kid again. i am so unexplainably excited. *This is the greatest month every 4 years! nothing rivals it.

There has already been one amazing commercial for this World Cup and i posted about it HERE. but this one that just released about a week ago is possibly just as good. it's a must see!

wow - Drogba, Cannavaro, Rooney, Ribery, (was that Roger Federer and Kobe Bryant in there?), Cesc Fabregas, Ronaldinho, and of course Ronaldo all in the same commercial!? wow. that's like 9 different countries represented right there. (not to mention America's only hopes = Howard and Donavan.)

The Rooney part is my favorite because it's so true. Rooney is a pimp. i love that guy. i want him with me if i'm ever in a bar fight. (which i hope i'm not... i'm just sayin.)

This is a short and simple but GREAT example of how BIG soccer really is and how entire countries hang their hopes on their team at the World Cup. Huge chunks of the globe stop for a month this summer. It's bigger than a game. It changes economies and statues are erected! Soccer is one of the greatest pictures of globalism and it is supracultural. i love it.

*What's your favorite part?

my fav commercial... ever.

I don't watch commercials. They are a waste of time. I rarely watch TV at all and when I do it's only something I have DVR'd so i skip every commercial.
This commercial may have been out for a while and I just saw it last week while getting my hair cut. Watch it below!


Man! that's just a beautiful and awesome commercial!
Maybe just for me? You might be sitting there wondering why i love it so much?

I think it just combines several of my passions:
*soccer - of course. my 1st love. And still one of my greatest loves. the beautiful game. Of course the World freaking Cup is the epitome and height of that love. I wait 4 years for this moment. the anticipation is KILLNG me. (4 years ago i took weeks off of work to watch every single game! in High School i got sick so i didn't have to go to camp or work the whole month the games were on.)
*Bono - like one of my favorite people.(+ U2 is one of my fav bands.) anyone else's voice and you maybe don't even notice this commercial? his voice is both the essence of inspiration and coolness! Because of all the great things he stands for i just get fired up listening to him talk.

*World Cup - it's coming! need i say more?
*the Nations - everything Global and International is a love for me. i love the nations and i love what brings us together instead of divides us! **It's crazy awesome that a GAME is what can unite us all in spite of our differences all across the world. (I wanna write about 10 blog posts on this idea...)
*Africa - the WC is being played in my fav continent in the whole world for the 1st time ever. I've been to South Africa and stoked to go back to Africa this September. wanna live there for the rest of my days...
*Worship song - the fact that the main commercial for ESPN to promote the BIGGEST event in the world is set to the opening of a worship song!? how cool is that? The awesomeness of the Magnificent One being sung in combo with all these other things is pretty awesome!

anyway, hope you liked the commercial as much as me!