A Million Thanks and a Look Ahead

What a ride it has been. For more than six months we’ve been blogging about the World Cup and it hardly seems time for it to end. We have a lot of people who contributed to the unbelievable success of this project that we’d like to thank, but first here’s the scoop about what is coming up next.

We’re going to keep World Cup Blog alive. The tournament might be over, but there will still be plenty of news about national teams, especially with the build up to Euro 2008 and qualifying for the next World Cup. With Sepp Blatter in charge of FIFA, we should have no problem staying busy and keeping you entertained.

We are also planning a top secret site dedicated to all things club football – English Premiership, Serie A, MLS, the Modolvan super league, your men’s league, you name it. We’ll let you in on our secret, the site is The Offside. The plan is to get things cranking in a few weeks once my fingers recover from the World Cup. You can check out the site or this very space for the official launch.

Although my name has appeared on World Cup Blog a lot, this site has become what it is through the blood, sweat, and typing of a lot of people. First and foremost are the 40+ men and women who blogged about the various countries. Their words informed us, entertained us and inspired us. These were people who took time from their busy lives to help enrich the World Cup experience for all of us. I can’t thank them enough.

A site cannot run on mere words alone. World Cup Blog has been blessed to have unbelievable marketing and technical teams from the good folks at the BootsnAll travel network. I have no idea how they keep things running, but I am grateful and humbled by their efforts. They are good people. Use them as a resource for your travel needs.

A site cannot run on mere pennies alone. The many sponsors on this site have been tremendous and a pleasure to work with. Thank you for believing in our mission.

Special thanks to our friends at AOL Sports and to all of the journalists who did their job to make our job easier. I would also like to thank all of the blogs and websites who have linked to World Cup Blog and who have supplied us with story ideas, tips and information about the beautiful game. This World Cup will be remembered for many things. One of them will be the explosion of the blogosphere. We are all better informed because of it.

If it is possible to thank an entire country, than our gratitude to Germany needs to be expressed. It has been our home for the past six weeks and the German people have made it feel like home with their friendliness, help and willingness to put up with our broken German phrases.

Finally, I would like to thank all of you for visiting the site and for leaving your comments. We have had more than 3 million people from countries all over the world come through our virtual front door. Your passion and enthusiasm for the World Cup is what made this site a success and what made it so very much fun for all of us.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Keep World Cup Blog bookmarked and while you are at it go ahead and bookmark The Offside.

Warmest regards,

Bob