World Cup Fever, Catch It!

I go through this every four years. I suppose it's kind of how basketball fans get during "March Madness". I print out brackets and track scores for teams from places like Togo (not the sandwich shop).

I used to have dreams of playing in the Olympics or World Cup. I always wanted to be a member of a national team and have those cool warmups that had USA on them in big, red, white, and blue letters. My college goalkeeper coach had been on the Peruvian national team and had connections with a lot of people. Unfortunately it didn't work out for me. At the international level, it appears you need skill in addition to heart. Who knew?

The 1982 World Cup came in the summer between my freshman and sophomore seasons in College. My best friend and I were the only two returning goalkeepers for the team and we were all about soccer. We had even checked out a dozen or so balls for working out on our own during the summer. I think we watched every minute of every game available (before all the games were televised in the US). I still remember watching what I think was the greatest World Cup game ever played. It was the semi-final between West Germany and France. At the end of that game, I wanted to be Harald Schumacher. Just reading a recap of the game makes me want head out to the pitch and hit somebody.

Check it out: Classic Moments from FIFA World Cup History