Copa Mundial!

It's hard to believe that the 2010 World Cup is around the corner. It seems like just yesterday I was skipping out of French class in high school to watch France play at the downtown Irish pub, Fado, since I didn't have cable at my own house. I thought it was justified- soccer is apart of the culture I would have been in class studying, right?

This tournament, the most watched sports event in the world, really does mean the world to me, and so many other soccer fans alike. But this doesn't just pertain to the avid soccer fans. I couldn't call most of my friends from childhood and college even fair-weather soccer fans, but when it comes to the World Cup, they know that it's going to be entertaining, action packed and full of upsets. Who is going to be this world cup's 2002 Turkey, who made it to the semis only to lose to Brazil 0-1?

With this monumental event approaching, I am reminded of how much of an impact soccer has had on my entire life, and how it has impacted the world. A great book I would suggest, by the way, is "How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization," by Franklin Foer. A truly fascinating book, (check out the CBC segment on the book), as well.

I also am reminded of all the creative advertising campaigns that have targeted the World Cup. As a young player, I remember wishing I was one of the little boys picking current talent like Zidane while bringing back legends like Platini in adidas' 2002 commercial. Also, we tried to recreate Nike's 3v3 cage matches starring Luis Figo, Van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry. Nike, of course, knew of players like us all over the world, so they naturally recreated the cage tournament in Southern California, where players came from all over the country to compete.




Already there are some great campaigns emerging. Puma did an excellent job with an alternative out of home campaign for Italy's qualifier match where they created real life foosball on the streets while handing out cautions to passersby to warn them that they aren't having enough fun. Brilliant!