Anticipation and the World Cup - Sao Paulo

Folha de São Paulo sports section, December 4, 2013

For those of you who don't know, and even for the percentage who don't care, the World Cup Draw is on Friday at 2 pm Brasilia time. During this live event, the 32 qualifying teams will be ping pong ball lotteried. You know that vacuum tube thing...or wait, will it be the spinning cage? I don't know. Anticipation is killing me.

There will be 8 groups of 4 teams and the big thrill this year is the possibility of the "supergroup of death." I don't make up this term--it is whispered about in all corners. Or as the International Business Times says it "the specter of one of the deadliest groups in World Cup history..." etc. Turns out that 9 teams qualified from Europe this year--one group will have more than 2 European teams. Who is the odd team out? Le Bleu. La Belle France. Le Dead Meat.

Now I am going to digress for a moment to tell you that I can't believe I know this stuff. Well, actually I can--between the personal trainer and the husband discussing this stuff at every training, and all the newspapers (except US ones--wait, what, them too? ) rambling on every day, I soon shall be the knowledge source of 2014. I plan to bore you all ad nauseum.

Back to the draw. For the last week, the anticipation has grown. There are websites devoted to coming up with all the possible combinations. My favorite puts the US and Iran in a collision course.  Hit the reset button and you get a whole new possibility. Here it is: the 2014 World Cup draw simulator.

That's what it is right now: Imagining the possibilities. I hope Friday and its final definition comes slowly...this is (shhhhhh, don't tell on me) quite fun...