Juanson World

A few random comments on the World Cup:

1) As usual I find myself watching the Univision broadcasts rather than the ESPN ones. Although I find the Irish announcer they use sometimes to be entertaining, there is something about the play-by-play in Spanish that allows the broadcaster to employ much more hyperbole and emotion without it sounding corny. Not to mention the ubiquitous passion of a gol call after a team hits the net.

2) Claudio Reyna plays professionally in England, and when he was interviewed after the Yanks' crushing defeat at the hands of the Czechs, he spoke with a pseudo-British accent. I've always found accents to be fascinating, and when I returned from Chile four years ago, my parents video-taped me speaking in Chilean-inflected speech, complete with a whole new set of slang words. I have a good friend who goes to St. Andrews in Scotland, and she now completely speaks like a Brit. It's kind of annoying, but I guess if you are surrounded by it you naturally adapt. Similar to many Southerners who tried to lose their y'alls when they came up North for college.

3) The teams that have impressed me so far: the Czechs, Italians, and the Spanish. The African sides all have held their own, but are a step behind. I don't expect much out of the Middle Eastern teams or the Asian teams (poor Japan got taken out to the woodshed in a flurry). We'll see if any of the Latin American teams besides Argentina and Brazil make any noise. I like Ecuador and it would be awesome if CR could get out of their group.