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!
Very timely (and fun)!
Quite enjoyable Acrostic. Like ice hockey, soccer always seems as if everything is happening everywhere all at once. It is the beautiful game unlike the unrestrained boxing matches taking place on skates.
Truly fun! The thematic answer which most tickled me was for clue J. I knew the theme but still could not guess it without nearly all letters. The 2nd most ticklish was for clue I. I’m sure there were other answers which alluded to the theme but escaped my awareness — even after completing the whole thing. I wouldn’t say it was the most difficult of Dave and Jane’s acrostics which I’ve seen, but certainly the most “de riguer”!
Wonderful (as usual) and timely.
Despite being currently obsessed with another sport (my hometown Knicks being on the verge of reversing 53 years of futility, God willing, fingers and toes crossed), I can’t help but be aware of and delighted by North America’s hosting the World Cup.
I found this puzzle tougher than usual to get a foothold in. Thankfully, clue A (and the date) made it clear this was all about soccer, and that helped a lot.
Even though I’m far from a soccer expert, the theme-related clues were, as usual, plentiful and clever. The ones I detected were:
A (of course);
C. strikers – attack-minded players on the offensive line;
H. Set piece – pre-planned play;
I. throw-in – what the team does after the other team touches a ball that goes out of bounds beyond a sideline. (Excuse me: “touch line”. See below)
J. Offside – a soccer rule that, to this ignorant observer, seems ridiculous. It would be as if you penalized a basketball player for leading a fast break basket. (I know, I know, not one actual soccer aficionado agrees with this.)
O. Touch line – what right-thinking Americans refer to as a “sideline.”
S. Own goal. What happened to an unlucky Paraguayan player against the US last night. Fortunately (for him), it didn’t make a difference in the game, which the US won handily, 4-1.
U. La Liga. Spanish soccer league.
v. Dribble. What ya do with your feet in advancing the ball.
W. Catchment. Not sure about this one, but in youth soccer, your kid generally must join the team in his or her catchment area.
Y. Pitches. What we would generally call a “playing field”.
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As always, these clues were very deftly disguised, except for the first one which, as I said, I was very grateful for.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! I was pretty sure of the theme based on the LEOMESSI clue, and as a World Cup junkie the soccer related entries were catnip. I loved the slyly concealed references like OFFSIDE, THROWIN, and STRIKERS. B and S get the golden boot for this delightful puzzle.
Slowly zeroed in on the theme, thinking; British, literature, sports? But even I got Messi, but not right away. Way back in my college days I chose women’s soccer as my sport and played the end position. Sadly, the strikers didn’t know how to use us to advance the ball, usually hogged it and created clumps center field, so I eventually got bored. After seeing it played properly later, I now appreciate the game much more. Enjoyed the puzzle.