Watching The World Cup

Soccer is kind of like apple cider, you don't really have a thirst for it all-year-round, but during the winter time, I drink it like it's going out of style. This is precisely how I feel about Soccer and more importantly about watching the World Cup. I'm not the only one either. It's what everybody wants to talk about and it's the default ice breaker at the bar. While at the bar the other day I found myself in the middle of an intriguing social experiment…

Have you ever noticed when you get into squabbles with your buddies, like good sportsmen often do, it becomes fun to pretend to be GM of either team and explain why your 'starting 5' is better than theirs? Or maybe that your expert analysis of the league means you should quit your day job and bet on sports? Well, I got to thinking and realized you can't do any of that with the World Cup, can you? Let me explain.

The Analysis

1. There are 32 teams competing for the World Cup. That is a lot of research for a competition that happens every four years for only one month. I guess it's possible though.

2. You're both rooting for the same team. Unless you're a first generation immigrant, which, in that case, welcome to our country, you're going to be fist pumping for the United States.

3. You don't watch Soccer all-year-round. That means you're both equipped with the same info ESPN.com and fifa.com gave you 3 minutes ago on your iphone. You're not going to win any arguments with that…

So the question I asked myself was , well shoot, Is there even a point to watch? It's as if all the social norms for watching sports have gone straight out the window.

To answer my rhetorical question, yes in fact, there is!

This is a bonding time. It's one of the only times you can actually enjoy the companionship of your friends without being at each other's necks. Have a beer, relax, and cheer on your fellow Americans. These guys are some of the few athletic enough to play such a demanding sport and we should cheer them on.

I'll see you at the bar.

#beerstories #drinkingwithfriends #beerandsports