The earliest memory I have of the World Cup is the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. I remember that summer being filled with screaming, excitement, and tears. Every house I went to always had a soccer field on the TV and the dads were always pointing and yelling at the screen. Football/soccer is the number one sports game in the world, it unites every culture and every continent together. The Qatar 2022 games began on November 20th and end on December 18th. These games are special because this is the first time they’re being played in the Arab world!
It’s incredible how the Superbowl only unites the United States, and the World Cup unites the globe. The World Cup is such a spectacle that artists come out with songs just for the event. Some crowd favorites are “Waka Waka (This time for Africa)” by Shakira, “La Copa de la Vida” by Ricky Martin, “Wavin’ Flag: by K’naan, and “We are One (Ole Ola)” by Pitbull. One of the songs we’ll be hearing this year is “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)” by AISHA, Davido, and Trinidad Cardona. Football is played by more than 20 million people in more than 140 countries while American football is only played by 5.23 million people.
So many people have emigrated from their mother country so being able to cheer for them from another country with your family and friends is unbeatable. And it doesn’t stop there, you get excited watching other countries play too. I may not be from France or Brazil but, they’re definitely amazing teams that are super entertaining to watch. Additionally, having to wait every 4 years for this makes it so much more special compared to an event that happens every year. Also, it doesn’t sit right with me that the Superbowl is one day. The Stanley Cup is usually around 50 days, and the World Series and NBA finals are about a week long. The World Cup is 29 days and every day is stressful, but fans wouldn’t want it any other way.
I’m excited to see who wins this year and it’ll be interesting watching the games during the holidays!