Waka Waka

After fours years of waiting, the World Cup has returned. I love this event and everything that it stands for. Sportsmanship, Unity, Peace. For me, there is something amazing about the fact that competing in the same tournament is North Korea, South Korea, and the United States. There is something special about watching countries from the third world run with (and often beat) the wealthy, civilized empires of the West. What I love about the World Cup is that for one month all that matters is sport and the spirit of competition. As the tournament progresses I plan to offer a greater summary of why I believe in events such as the World Cup along with how I think they could contribute to global peace and how the Church should follow suit. For now, lets just enjoy the game and the festivities of the beginning. Lets also pray that the Yanks come marching in and beat the Brits tomorrow! Ole!

These are my projected winners of the group stage with the 1 seeds listed first:

Group A: France , Uruguay // nothing too surprising here

Group B: Argentina , Greece // this might be the group from hell and the hardest to advance out of. I pick Argentina as the favorite and would like to see Greece give their people something to take their minds of the current economical and political instability

Group C: England , USA // After upsetting (via tie) the Brits this Saturday, the Americans move on.

Group D: Australia, Germany // I do believe that both Germany and Australia will advance from this group. Placing Australia in the higher seed might be a stretch...

Group E: Netherlands, Cameroon // Netherlands are a given, Cameroon wins a couple nail bitters and squeaks in.

Group F: Italy, Slovakia // Predictable.

Group G: Brazil, Ivory Coast // Would love to see Portugal and Ivory Coast advance however its difficult to bet against the best team in the World. IC is my long shot Cinderella in this and injuries might prevent their advancement however what a great story that would be!

Group H: Spain, Switzerland // Spain is sick and the Swiss are as efficient and organized as ever. What more could we expect from the country that made Calvinism legit...?

So what are your picks? Who will advance from the group stage? Who will win the 2010 World Cup?