2014 FIFA World Cup

[Plubby]

I've got some bad news for Newcastle in that scrap.

(I kid )

[stokeriño]

What have I got to look forward to this coming season? A nail biting scrap for 9th with Swansea and Stoke?

Sounds infinitely more exciting than anything England will do at any tournament ever.

[Gazz]

I couldn't care less about England either to be honest.

[stokeriño]

Neither could I. The World Cup's enjoyment has come from entirely random teams that just happen to be entertaining.

Some could do the same in the league, I suppose...

[stokeriño]

I look at this now and it seems as though Jesus has torn a hole through our reality with his bare hands.

"COME FORTH, HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE AND UNLEASH THE FINAL JUDGEMENT"

[Thrilla]

I love the way Merkel is like, fuck this running a country malarky, I'm going to Brazil for a month to watch football.

[METALMAN]

Club football is so difficult to get excited about by comparison.

You are a peculiar human being.

Let's use the Premier League as an example. 20 teams, about fifteen of which don't even see the point of even trying to win it. The contenders are just those with the most money. It's a competition where 75% of participants don't even see the point of competing. Unchecked capitalism is never very exciting to those that enjoy an underdog story or something a bit different. Compare to the World Cup. Everyone from Costa Rica to Germany to Algeria gave it a shot. There were plenty of surprises and nearly every single game meant something.

It's no contest.

Why not compare the World Cup to a similarly-formatted competition like the Champions League? Unless you're about to tell me that money ruins that because the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid 'always' doing quite well is somehow totally different to the likes of Germany and Brazil 'always' doing quite well.

Nevermind that I might bring up what the majority of international football actually is, which is years of dreary bullshit qualifiers where you go and scrape a draw away to Estonia or crush San Marino, intermixed with friendlies that not even the most fervent fan of X country can get excited about. Compare THAT to whichever club league competition you care to.

Okay, let's compare to the Champions League. The Champions League group stashes are more or less a formality. The double legged format helps ensure that exciting or unexpected outcomes barely exist. I mean, the Champions League is okay. It's not the aspect of club football I have a problem with, even if it is increasingly being colonised by the same contingent of Spanish, German and English clubs.

I agree with you about the majority of international football. After all, that's why I said there's nothing in football that I care about in the next four years.

The World Cup is by far the most special to me. Maybe that's exaggerated by it only happening every four years. Maybe it's because it's populated by 32 teams who all know they are only seven games away from winning it, many of which, like Costa Rica or Algeria, give it a real good shot. Maybe it's because, unlike the Champions League with its goalless second legs and end of group stage dead rubbers,,practically every game means something.

I don't think seeing the World Cup as the pinnacle of the sport makes me a "peculiar human being".

[DavidMarrio]

He probably means your peculiar for finding it hard to get excited by club football not because you find the world cup the most exciting.

[METALMAN]

Oh I just find watching football in general a bit dull to be honest. The sense of occasion that I get from the World Cup helps me enjoy it.

[DavidMarrio]

I love club football but nothing beats the World Cup. You've stated all the reasons why anyway there's always a team that causes a few shocks, one of the big nations normally gets knocked out early, players can make a huge name for themselves. It's always a big occasion and the atmosphere is always great.

[Nerf]

Oh come on, let's not pretend like there are never any fairytale stories or surprise packages in club football.

[METALMAN]

Southampton finishing eighth doesn't count.

[TCO]

Yeah I don't think it's unreasonable to enjoy the World Cup more than anticipating which of the 5 teams who've spent the most in the Premier League are going to succeed this year.

It's an unfair comparison sure, but still, nothing comes close to the World Cup in football or any other sport.

[Johnny Latino Heat]

Don't think this has been posted yet (if it has, my apologies):

Some friendly advice for Argentina.

[Arjen Robben]

Miroslav Klose and Rhianna such an odd pairing. Don't even mean as a potential unlikely couple, literally just mean being in the same photo.

[Jimmy]

Not that weird, looks like she was out with the whole team.

[Gazz]

What a glory hunter.

[METALMAN]

The Daily Mail are furious about Rihanna touching the World Cup trophy.

She should be supporting Barbados anyway.

[Chris2K]

What does she have in her nose? Other than drugs of course.

UK viewing figures are in:

BBC peaked at 16.11m, ITV peaked at 3.81m

It's like Germany/Brazil all over again.

[Berober]

INGERLAAAAND?