RSA 1, MEX 1

Basketball? No, thank you.
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Baseball? Respectfully refused.

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Hockey maybe? No, sir.

What other choices does a young man need while the never-ending FIFA World Cup of Soccer matches are constantly on the 'teli'. I woke up at 6am this morning for the opening match: South Africa vs. Mexico. Since tuning into the opening ceremonies and opening day celebrations in Johannesburg, I have been akin to an emotional woman watching a Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks romance--I got misty at the opening ceremonies and even teared up this monring when South African midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala laced a left-footed liner past Mexican keeper Oscar Perez into the far-upper corner of the goal in the 55th minute. Think about it!--the first ever World Cup game played on African soil and the first goal scored goes to a South African player. The match was a draw, with Mexico's Rafael Marquez scoring the equalizer in the 79'. The match has since resulted in me walking around an empty home fist pumping the air, chanting incessantly, and giving African pride shouts to my imaginary friends. A recap of the game can be found on ESPN, here.

If you don't feel you have a reason to watch the 2010 World Cup, I'll give you four:

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1) The world as a whole is embracing Africa and her culture, and to honest, it is quite inspiring (i mentioned the tears).

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2) The World Cup involves countries on continents around the world and is truly the most prolific (in terms of fan support) sporting event that does so.

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3) This is most likely the most balanced World Cup in the history of the tournament, with top players on all of the qualifying teams.
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4) British announcers. The truth is, who doesn't want to listen to the Brits speak English for 90 minutes? And especially talking about the one thing that really gets them riled up: Football. The best part about the accent is, if you get bored with the soccer aspect of it, you can just close your eyes and imagine the announcers are commenting on the Tri-Wizard Tournament, or something.

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Games you will want to see:

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England vs. USA, June 12, 11:30am PT

Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) vs. Portugal, June 15, 7:00am PT

RSA (South Africa) vs. France, June 22, 7:00am PT - This will probably decide if RSA advances.

Brazil vs. Portugal, June 25, 7:00am PT - Number 1 playing Number 3? Please--unreal.

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Oh what the heck--just watch as many as you possibly can. The schedule can be found here on FIFA.com. (Note: South Africa is +9 hours from Pacific Standard Time)