June 8, 2006                               

By: Travis Parsons                                                                                                                                   Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Weekly

   The biggest sporting event in the world "kicks off" on Friday in Germany.  The World Cup of soccer (football in most of the world), is without a doubt the biggest stage in sports.  While some may argue that the Olympics are the biggest stage, that just isn't true.

   The opening ceremony for the 2004 summer Olympics drew 127 million viewers worldwide.  This is more than the Super Bowl (95 million), and Olympics closing ceremony (96 million) of the same year.  These are indeed large numbers, but the world loves soccer.  The European Championship final in 2004 had 153 million viewers, and the world cup final in 2002 had an amazing 218 million viewers.  There is no doubt that the World Cup is the biggest sporting event (if not the biggest event of all) on earth.

           I personally cheer for England, I am from English ancestry, so it makes sense.  However despite the fact that I believe they have their best team in years, I still think it is Brazil's tournament to lose.  Some teams that I think people should keep their eye on, that aren't exactly the most talked about teams are as follows:

• Holland/Netherlands - This team is a very solid team.  I think they have the potential to be champions, but getting out of that group will be tough.  I think that each team has an actual shot of advancing.

• Ivory Coast - These guys also come out of the incredibly tough group "C" as the Netherlands, and as such they have an actual shot, but it will still be tough.  I don't see them advancing any further than getting out of the group stages, but they will surprise quite a few.

• USA - After a very strong performance in the last World Cup, I expect the Americans to advance from their group with the Czech Republic.  I feel that the Italian defensive style may be their undoing this time around.  And as we witnessed with France in 2002, there is always room for a powerhouse to stumble in the group stages.

• Mexico - Another CONCACAF team, like the Americans, the Mexicans probably have their best squad in years.  They will be fighting with Portugal for the top spot in group D, and could very easily capture the 1st place position, especially if the Portuguese don't put on a better effort than they did in the European Championship in 2004.

         Canada, sadly, was once again denied a spot in the World Cup.  Things looked to be going well for our national team when we won the Gold Cup in 2000, but failed to continue the success.  The team will now begin building for 2010, and success at the Under 20 level is seen as a sign of good times to come.

         On a more local level, the high point of Canadian soccer history was on September 14, 1985 at King George V Park in St. John's.  Over 13,000 people witnessed Canada's 2-1 victory over Honduras, which qualified Canada for their first World Cup (Mexico, 1986).  Canada failed to win a game, or even score a goal during the tournament, and have not been back since.  Perhaps with the new renovations at King George V, the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association can bring the National team here in 2009 in hopes of history repeating itself.  Until then, we'll just have to stay glued to our televisions and cheer on the best in the world playing 'the beautiful game'.