(Brian mentioned this video the other day; helps you see the difference between English-speaking announcers and Latin announcers)

The World Cup has been a disappointment. And it’s been a whole lot of fun. It’s also had a lot of surprises. Let me tell you about each.

The Disappointments:

• Scoring has been way down. More than that, there has been a definite lack of precision on offense. Scoring isn’t everything, but games are more enjoyable when players are playing at their best. Players have blamed: (1) the Jabulani ball that is being used. Supposedly it “soars” on them; (2) the vuvuzelas, those horns that fans blow constantly in South Africa. Players say the noise from the horns has prevented them from communicating with one another.
• The officiating has been bad. I haven’t minded so much the questionable offsides calls; they are part of the game. I haven’t cared for the booking-happy refs that have officiated some games, nor the incredibly bad playacting that has resulted in bookings in other games.
• I would have liked to have seen more success by the African nations, with this being the first time the World Cup was held in Africa.

The fun:

• Argentina won all three games, one of them in a big way.
• The United States pulled off a win in injury time to move them on to the second round. Beyond that, they even won their group.
• It’s been good to see the Asian teams do well. I have hopes that this is a sign of things to come.

The surprises:

• The surprises have been part fun, part disappointments. Some of the best teams have lost, not so much because of the play of their opponents, but because of their own failures. That’s disappointing. I was especially disappointed in the French team, who showed a complete lack of respect for themselves and for the tournament.
• It was surprising to see Italy be eliminated in the first round, after winning it all four years ago.

I have a feeling that there are more surprises to come. I’m definitely sure that there is more fun to come, and there might even be some disappointments.