Spain won the World Cup in Soccer blanking the Netherlands 1-0 on Sunday afternoon in the Final.
The Championship for Spain was not a major surprise, they are the reigning European Champions, plus the bookies had installed them as one of the heavy favorites; along with Brazil.
But what made the World Cup so enjoyable were the unexpected twists and turns over the last month.
Having Ghana in the Bayshore Broadcasting pool and watching them advance to the Final 8 was a personal delight.
By comparison, Brazil not making the finals was a bit of a shocker.
Plus soccer mad nations like France, England & Italy all disappointed on a major scale, pushing significant newsworthy items in those countries to the backburner while they lamented the failures of their soccer hero’s on the pitch.
It’s a one month tournament, staged once every four years, which magnifies, even tiny plays to highest degree.
You build, you promote, you get excited for four years and then it’s over, sometimes in matter of a week.
In North America, there will be precious little attention paid to the sport of soccer until 2014 and the next World Cup.
But for Spain the rejoicing will last for years, if not decades, and for the fans in France, England, Italy, Brazil and Argentina, the next four years may seem like a torturous eternity.
I’m Fred Wallace