Another Giant Taken Down

Alright, I lied. I'm not done writing about the World Cup yet.

I frustratingly joked that I'd watch soccer again in 2 years when the World Cup prelims started up again, but that wasn't true. So why the change of heart, you ask? Well, I didn't have much vested personal interest in the NHL Finals when it was Flyers-Blackhawks, but I wrote about it. And even though I covered a good amount of the NBA Finals, I feel my best post was when the Suns and Magic were still contending (still no personal vested interest). So what do these topics have in common with the World Cup? The have-never's and haven't-in-a-while's still got a fighting chance!

Just recently, the Dutch defeated Brazil 2-1, eliminating Brazil. After a Brazil own goal tied it up in the 53rd minute, Brazil started playing again and stopped lollygagging the match heated up, but the Dutch ultimately took the lead on a gorgeous header assist, header goal off a corner kick.

Let's roll out some numbers really quickly. The World Cup is pretty lobsided when it comes to win dispersion (don't worry, not too much stats here). In order to measure this, I compared the World Cup with the 4 major sports in the United States. I calculated what percent of total championships per sport were won by the three teams with the most championships. Of all the World Cup championships, 2/3rds have been won by 3 countries (Brazil has won 5 of the 18, Italy has won 4, and Germany, 3). Of the 4 major US sports, the only sport that comes close to that skewed in championship distribution is the NBA, whose top 3 teams account for 61% of all NBA Finals champions (The Celtics, 17 of 64, and the Lakers, 16 of 64, are the main catalyst for this). The NHL is next highest, allocating 56% of all it's Stanley Cup Champions to the top 3 teams, and the NFL isn't even close (36% by top 3 teams). But what about the MLB, with powerhouses like the Yankees, Dodgers, and Cardinals? Nope, they pull in just ahead of the NFL, with the three teams above accounting for only 44% of all World Series Championships.

But championship distribution isn't the only thing that's making this World Cup exciting. The past 4 World Cup finals have consisted of 4 teams. 4. That's it. Italy, France, Brazil, and Germany are the only teams that have made it to the World Cup finals in the past 16 years. Of those teams, only Germany is left this year. Of the teams remaining, the most recent World Cup champions were Germany in 1990. Argentina won in 1986, and of the other 5 teams still in it, only Uruguay (who is going up against a pretty good Ghana team, in my humble opinion, Oscar worthy good, even Edit: Apparently Ghana isn't that good) has ever won it, all the way back in 1950.

How does this all add up? Hungry teams that are proving themselves to be the top in the world are putting it all on the line knowing this may be their one chance. The beauty of a World Cup only every 4 years is showing itself, as players know they may not have this opportunity again. The giants of the soccer world are dropping like flies, and the only thing standing between the eventual destined team and the Cup is a few more games.

But don't worry. For those teams that end up being nothing more than the supporting cast in a fairy tale story for one team, we'll be here. Even though I know that's exactly where you wouldn't want to be.