underdogs

When I was young I loved playing soccer but as I got older I found it harder and harder to play because it requires more than just a few people and a decent enough space was needed (I also wasn’t a fan of playing on muddy fields) so I turned my attention towards basketball. Despite this I still found myself getting excited about the World Cup each time it rolled around. My parents were both able to see England win the World Cup back in 1966 but since that time have fallen short time and time again. This time round I had high hopes for England only to see them struggle to get into the second round. I can only hope that they are able to turn things around but having to face Germany next and possibly Argentina all I can do is hope and pray.

However, I believe the theme of this World Cup has to be the success of the underdogs. World Cup champions Italy failed to get out of the first round being held to a draw against 78th ranked New Zealand and Paraguay and lost a battle with Slovakia. France champions back in 1998 were only able to manage 1 draw. Spain the odds-on favorite for this World Cup lost to Switzerland, American holding England to a draw and winning their group and finally Japan defeating not only Cameroon but also Denmark. It just goes to show you that you never know what can happen.

To go back to the Japan-Denmark game, although I didn’t watch the game live due to it being shown at 3am our time some of my students at Smith’s 英会話 Hirakata did. The highlights showed it all. Japan simply outplayed them time and time again. The pinpoint accuracy of their free kicks were exquisite. Japan thoroughly deserved the win and I couldn’t be happier. There’s something about seeing the underdogs prevail that give all of us hope. I encourage anyone who is interested in seeing some very inspirational sports movies to check out the following – Remember the Titans, Cool Runnings, The Blind Side, The Cutting Edge, Jerry Maguire, Rocky, and Any Given Sunday. For more information about these movies check out the Internet Movie Database. It’s one of my favorite sites to check out when researching movies.

Go Japan!!!!

Adrian