What does the World Cup mean to you?

DISCLAIMER: This entry was written the day the US beat Algeria to win Group C and advance in the World Cup. It just wasn't finished and I haven't had time until now. So it should be published on June 22, 2010.



For much of the world, the World Cup is the dance. The International Association of Football Associations (FIFA) put out the following statistic: "The cumulative audience of the 64 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is expected to be in excess of 26 billion."

Americans are divided, I feel, over the World Cup. Some of us are very excited to cheer for the US Team; others enjoy watching any sport and will cheer because Americans are competing in it; some don't even know it's occurring. And of course there are variations of those.

Last night I watched one of many movies in ESPN's 30 for 30 series, "The Two Escobars". This was a story of a nation, like many other countries around the globe, that live, breath and bleed football. The only difference between Colombia and many of those other nations:  Colombia literally did bleed football. The film tells the story of two famous Escobars - Pablo, the Colombian drug cartel headhancho and guru, and Andres, the captain and national icon for the Colombian football team, and how a bloody drug war transformed Colombia through their deaths. I won't get to into the plot because even though many of you know the story, I don't think you know the story. It was truly very moving and extremely informative.

What I love about ESPN's 30 for 30 series is that the stories are more than just sports, it's about the culture and history those sports are embedded in. It's about the emotions, thoughts and decisions shaped by a background, an upbringing or a community. It's about how a sport changed a culture, person, history, for better or for worse. And in Colombia's case, both have happened.

"The Two Escobars" depicts what the World Cup meant to Colombia on so many different levels. It made me think about what the World Cup means to me. I think of belief, competition, passion, disbelief and, most of all, unity and peace. Because in the end, to me at least, why do we compete through sports? Yes it is to win, to conquer and to gain power.  But in the end, it's the respect that pulls everyone together. And out of respect comes understanding and understanding leads to peace. And peace is really why The World Cup is played.