Naming The 2014 World Cup Ball

August 14th, 2012 | by: chris | Comments Off

In a move of ingenious foresight, adidas has handed over the task of naming the ball for the 2014 World Cup to the fans, so that when everyone complains that its flight is dictated by voodoo, they can just say, “Well you chose it.” Even if they only chose the name. And then everyone will stand around in silence because the company is just plain crazy. (It’s a theory. It has some holes.)

The names in question:

The three names are Portuguese words and all are feminine, conforming to the Brazilian stereotype of the ball as a woman, to be caressed and cared for. One of the finalists is Carnavalesca, a word describing someone who plans or participates in the country’s raucous carnival celebrations. Another is Bossa Nova, a reference to the famous samba-jazz music genre popularised in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1950s and 1960s. Finally Brazuca, which is a playful slang word for native Brazilians that Adidas said summed up the country’s irreverence.

Voting link.