The World Cup

In 1990 my wife and I were living in a small tropical island country far from home. That was where we caught World Cup fever for the first time. The country didn't have a team in the tournament, and with its population of only a million, it probably never will. But when the World Cup began, nobody talked about anything else. When there was a match on, the streets were deserted. Friends were an hour late for a dinner invitation, and finally showed up with their TV, since we didn't have one.

We knew nothing about soccer (football), but we quickly learned, and discovered how riveting the game can be when played by top-knotch players at the international level. We soon had our favourite teams (the underdog Cameroon sticks in my mind) and stars.

Since then, when the World Cup comes around it's a time of nostalgia and excitement. North America seems to be one of the few places in the world where people don't take much of an interest, and most of our friends think we're nuts. They roll their eyes when we rush home to see a game, or lament because a favourite team was eliminated, or go off our brains about the terrible officiating. But in a way, that just adds to the fun. It's our own excuse to share a little craziness once every four years.

Trinidad and Tobago's goalkeeper Shaka Hislop

Portugal's Francisco Costinha, Nuno Gomes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo
Saudi Arabia's Yasser al-Kahtani
Togo's Mohamed Kader Coudjaba and Emmanuel Adebayor celebrate a goal Switzerland's Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta share a hug
Mexico's Rafael Marquez
Brazil's Ronaldinho gives Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata a taste of his fancy footwork
France's Thierry HenryHe wears a suit well, too