In World Cup mode

— Update May 1st —
I´ve received many comments about my last post. I want to make it clear that what I wrote are recommendations, from my point of view, to completely enjoy the World Cup. In no way are they requisites that have to be covered to be able to do that. No, I won´t make you take an exam and no, it is not necessary for you to study for weeks either. The whole point is to enjoy the moment and have a good time. If what you want is to buy some beer and get together with your friends to watch the game, go for it! It´s an excellent way to do it. Football has no admission requirements and no code of conduct, everybody is welcome!!

But, you have to wear your team´s jersey or at least the colors of your country… there won´t be any flexibility with that, it´s for your own good. Lol. We have to support our own! Cheers.

A few days ago, the mark for 50 days till the World Cup passed by. For me, that officially kick starts what I´ve decided to call “World Cup Mode”. I usually start my preparations for big sports events like the Olympics and the World Cup a month or so before but this time I decided 50 days were needed. Why? Well, because this World Cup in particular will be one of the best. It´s been a while since so many players get to the World Cup at the peak of their talent. Players like Wayne Rooney, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Diego Forlan, Arjen Robben, Xavi Hernandez, and many more. This World Cup will have an extremely high level of competition.

The World Cup starts in June 11^th with the match between Mexico and South Africa. A game in which I expect Mexico to completely destroy the host team, but that is another subject. In order to get ready for that inaugural game and the rest to come, it is necessary to start preparing mentally and physically. In my opinion, it is not enough to wear your country´s jersey, buy beers and snacks, get together with a bunch of friends, and sit in front of the TV. All that is important, but you could say it´s the icing on the cake. There are a lot of things to do to get ready for that moment. You shouldn´t settle for what the announcers and commentators say in the pregame and during the game. To fully enjoy this experience you should have your own opinion, know what´s at stake in every game, who is involved, and most of all, have a fair understanding of the big picture.

In a tournament like the World Cup every action or result has a domino effect on the rest of the teams. If a player plays too much or gets injured, if he gets carded, if a team scores a lot of goals or just a few, if a game goes to extra time or is resolved quickly, etc. The point is everything matters and everything has an impact in the rest of the competition, no matter how insignificant it seems. In order to win, the teams must peek at the right moment and that is not necessarily the beginning. Italy in the last World Cup is a great example of that.

Now, this World Cup has been very well organized and there will only be a few games played at the same time, the group deciders. Since most of us can´t possibly spend between 4 to 7 hours in the middle of the day watching football games (even though we want to), we will have to choose the games worth watching and set our DVRs accordingly. Watching these games will allow us to enjoy the next game even more. It is also important to know what the “experts” think, hear different points of view. It is worth watching daily programs with recaps and analysis of the tournament. For us in Mexico the options are: Televisa´s La Jugada or TV Azteca´s Los Protagonistas (personally I prefer La Jugada, but you make your pick). So this means maybe going to bed later than usual and getting up earlier too since some games will be played at 6:30 am Mexico City time (early enough to watch a game before getting to work).

It might look like a lot of work but it´s worth it. Again, this happens every four years and only lasts for a month. One month every four years… I would want to be ready for it. On that note, I will be writing some tips and valuable information that will hopefully help you getting ready for that shining moment in June 11^th at 4 pm Johannesburg time when the balls gets rolling and history will be made.

So now, to officially kick off “World Cup Mode” a great video that will get you pumped and excited about the World Cup.