Olé, Olé, Olé
With the World Cup soccer tournament getting underway in North America, we thought it fitting to honor the sport that, by most every metric imaginable, reigns as the most popular around the globe, though not so much in our own nation.
The estimated viewership during the the 2018 World Cup reached a record 3.57 billion people, almost half of all humanity alive at that time. Viewership increased to an estimated 5 billion people for the 2022 tournament. Something like 1.5 billion people watched the final match, with Argentina and its mega-star Leo Messi emerging victorious. And so, we put Señor Messi first in this week’s acrostic (see answer A.) and tossed in some other soccer-themed clues and answers.
We drew the quotation from Clemente Lisi’s lively book that chronicles the tournament since its inception in 1930. As for his assertion that “the British set the rules for the modern game,” we can also refer you to a wonderful 2020 TV series called The English Game, still available on Netflix.
The 2026 tournament has an official theme song, “Dai Dai,” featuring Shakira and Burna Boy. For sheer exuberance, though, it’s hard to top the song and video made for the 2010 World Cup – also featuring Shakira. Check out “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).” Tsamina mina zangalewa!