Football Supporters Show Their Own Athleticism

Tuesday began the final games of group play, and there is little doubt that necks around the world will have to be iced down at the end of this hectic week. With all four members of each group playing their final games of the first round simultaneously, fans everywhere will be forced into some athleticism of their own if they don’t want to miss any of the action. So get those neck muscles ready. This week is going to be wild.

Unfortunately for supporters who enjoyed the camaraderie involved with joining together in one of the many squares or stadiums around the world which displayed matches on super-big screens, the final games of the first round are not conducive to such entertainment. I have yet to hear of a square which put up the money for two big screen televisions, and even if they do exist, the effort of craning one’s neck, not only up, but side to side as well may be a bit much for we football supporters who are much more comfortable on the couch.

Many folks will simply resort to the old, somewhat archaic, method of flipping from channel to channel at breaks; if the ball goes out for a corner in the Sweden – England match, switch to Paraguay – Trinidad and Tobago to see how things are progressing there. Such an approach is functional, but what if something truly important happens, as it always does, in that half-second lull as the stations change? Wouldn’t it be better to watch all of one game and get updates on the other from the liveblog?

Another idea, and one which may be the most popular, removes such a possibility. More than a few people I know in New York plan to stack two televisions on top of each other, the larger on the bottom showing their American squad against Ghana and the smaller above so as not to miss any of the Czech – Italy drama. Disregarding the possible geopolitical correlations involved with seeing Americans as larger than the rest of the world, this approach may be the best bet in order to avoid missing any of the action.

But then another problem arises: what about those of us who don’t have two televisions? Or worse, those, like myself, who don’t even have *gasp* cable? That’s where the pubs come in. Aren’t they always the saving grace? Around the world, even in the States where the kick-off for the morning games is a disappointing 7:00am, bars and pubs will be open for fans to watch. Most of them will be showing both games, no doubt on opposite sides of the room so as to require supporters to try with all their might to watch both games simultaneously (a feat made easier with each downed pint). No doubt, this is the way to go, if for no other reason than the ambiance.

No matter what method they choose, there is little doubt that football supporters around the world will do whatever is necessary not to miss a second of the action from this year’s Cup. So no matter what approach you take in order to catch the games this week, take pride in the lengths you go to be a football fan. After all, nobody stacks screens for figure skating.