Before the start of the 2014 World Cup, I was sure I was going to hate it. I wasn't feeling the excitement I normally feel during the days weeks leading up the start of the competition. I should have knows those blues would not last.
On a personal level, I credit this with the sudden freedom to watch as much or as little of the Cup as I wished, due entirely to getting laid off. Suddenly, I didn't have to go back to a toxic work environment, and now I had plenty of time to see all the games.
The truth, however, is that what made this World Cup so great was that is was one of the best competitions I have seen in years. I won't go into too many details, as the punditry an analysis continues this week, following Germany's win over Argentina.
I will say that a few things stood out for me:
1. There were several matches that were complete maulings - most famously, Germany's 7-1 thrashing of Brazil.
2. There were some wonderful underdog teams that proved to be giant-killers, or at the very least, proved to be very tough for bigger nations to beat. Costa Rica is by far the standout among this group of teams, but I think Chile and Colombia deserve a great deal of respect for their performance as well.
3. Spain imploded, which was a shock to all. Italy was worse than I thought they would be, France was much better, and England were dire - all of them were unremarkable and went home fairly early.
4. The Dutch somehow missed the chance to lose in the final, opting to lose in a semi-final instead. Argentina, who were completely underwhelming, played their best game in the final.
And, the best part of the whole competition (for me, anyway)...
5. The USA managed to exceed everyones expectations, including their own. They played some tough games and escaped the group of death. Teams that played the USMNT played them with respect, and the USA can only feel pride at their performance.
Now, we wait for the start of the premier league. Once that begins life again will have meaning.
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