One More Day and Ways to Pass the Time.

The World Cup and the BISERGS officially gets underway tomorrow.  If that still seems like too long of a wait and you need a way to pass the time, here are a few links to podcasts that you might enjoy.  The first one is from the last six minutes or so of the most recent "This American Life".  It is a sweet story of an imaginative boy from Peru who could spin tales of triumph for the football teams that he loved.  If you have Peru in the BISERGS (I'm talking to you Matt, Brian, Dan, Mom and Katee) then you should really listen to this segment.

The US not qualifying for the World Cup this year really was an unbelievable failure on so many levels, but it isn't the first time America's World Cup dreams have ended in disaster.  My next recommendation is a series of ten podcasts by Roger Bennett called "American Fiasco".  It follows the US Men's National Team story from the end of their overachieving 1994 World Cup performance, through some shocking victories over Mexico, Argentina and Brazil to the high expectations leading up to the (Spoiler Alert) Fiasco in France.  It is a fascinating insight into the competition that a National Team faces to qualify for the tournament and the competition that players have among themselves to catch the coaches attention and get named to the team.  If you are pressed for time, you may want to start with episode 2.  Hey Glenney's, this one is perfect for long road trips.

You don't have to worry about the US National Team not qualifying for the World Cup in 2026 because they don't have to.  FIFA announced today that a joint bid between the US, Mexico and Canada had won the race over Morocco's bid to host the Cup.  It appears that Seattle may host some games in 2026 in a tournament that will also include 48 teams for the first time ever.

Ramadan will be over in the next couple of days, but Saudi Arabia will have to start the tournament against Russia while fasting.  This will be incredibly challenging and depending on the moon cycle and the official end of the Muslim month, Egyptian, Iranian and Moroccan players may have to play while fasting on Friday as well.  Tunisia's first match will be after Ramadan ends, but they have played warm up matches this month and their goal keeper came up with a creative way to get his teammates some much needed water and food at the first possible moment.  This guy will get a lot of votes for teammate of the year.

By the time you listen to all of these recommendations and read these stories it will be time to enjoy the worst opening match ever.  Just because the two teams aren't ranked highly, doesn't mean it won't be a great game.  One more day until kickoff!