It’s World Cup time again and 32 countries will compete in one of the world’s most popular sport soccer. Soccer (I use the name Soccer to distinguish from Rugby Football and American “Super Bowl” Football) is very popular in Europe and in Latin America and Asia, except in the Philippines (more on this later) and is a reminder to me that 2 more years will be the next Olympic.

I never really followed this sport. The last time I had the slightest obsession to watch this sport was when I was based in Singapore during the last World Cup. I remember I was starting to get the hang of it when I had to go back to the Philippines for a project. When I arrived in the Philippines there’s nothing there about World Cup. Muy silencioso! Not even a TV coverage, nada! I thought to myself, what’s going on here? In Singapore I was working in the German Centre in Jurong and I remember whenever Germany is playing there is beer and TV in the building’s lobby for everybody to enjoy. Even in shopping centers and in supermarkets, people stop what they were doing and will be looking up on those big-screen TVs airing live World cup games. But in the Philippines, you won’t receive that attention unless it’s a basketball game, of course.

Here in Canada, the spirit and rivalries are brought alive by the wide multi cultural representation in the country. This is very evident by the flags they carry in their cars. I have made a collage of these flags, a picture speaks more clearly than words.

This is also the first time the Worldcup is aired in High Definition format. What a night and day difference. The 6:9 widescreen format allows the camera to view a long kick of the ball without the camera panning. You can see the other players just freeze waiting if the kick results to a goal. Wow, for me there is no going back to 4:3. Also, the 1080i or p resolution allows you to see the grass vividly in living color.

Perfect as it might seem, on the one hand, the 3 Tenors will be missed in this 2006 World Cup - especially by me.