FIFA established their international competition for soccer in 193, with the games being played every four years. There were two exceptions: due to World War II, the 1942 and 1946 games were not held. Whether you all it soccer or football, the World Cup games have been a frenzy of international excitement, comparable only to the Olympics.
There have been nineteen tournaments held and of these, seventy six nations have participated in the games at least one time, with twelve making it to the final match and eight announced as winners. Over the years, the World Cup has made some major transitions from a more subdued game to a complete world championship competition. Different countries vie for the honor of being the host country for the World Cup and it is considered an important national treasure to be selected as host.
Continue reading “The Soccer World Cup Winners Throughout History”
This year’s World Cup has brought about some of the most spectacular venues in FIFA’s history. Brazil has pulled out the red carpet in creating twelve host stadiums that can only be described as over-the-top. With a main focus on ecology and renewable/sustainable energy, these stadiums have demonstrated that Brazil knows how to throw a party, while still respecting nature.
It seems that technology is moving faster than most budgets can keep up with, and this is no more true than in the world of electronic sports scoreboards. In the concept of time, it wasn’t that long ago that old fashioned flip boards were changed out for light bulb scoreboards and then to the more efficient and cost effective LED scoreboards. The latest phase in the efforts of going green have been to make use of solar power for not only the field or stadium, but to power the score boards as well.
If you have been to a sports game in any of the stadiums around the country in the last three years, you will probably have noticed an incredible increase in efforts to go green. Due to the intense amount of waste and trash along with the high electrical requirements that occur at every game, many stadiums took the challenge of the green commitment. The most recent adaptation has been the installation of solar power for what started out as powering the high tech LED electronic sports scoreboards, but is now expanding into full on renewable energy for the stadium itself.
The pride of Missouri is the Busch Stadium in St. Louis and every Cardinals fan will back that up. But the stadium has made the ultimate decision to take their sense of pride into the next level and include a commitment to ‘greening the game’. While the idea is being embraced by many stadiums across the country, Busch Stadium has introduced electronic sports scoreboards that are operated with solar power.
American was founded by people that considered themselves individual thinkers. It is therefore not surprising that this culture continued as we developed as a nation. The U.S. takes great pride in establishing unique traditions that are completely alien to other countries. Our attitude towards our sports games is often a lot more obsessive than the rest of the world and this includes the concept of cheerleading. But cheerleaders and sports fans are not the only things that differentiate Americans from other countries, there are many things that we do that, frankly, the rest of the world considers bizarre.
As Americans, we don’t think twice about cheerleading. This is part of our culture and we are introduced to the tradition at a very young age in school. In the U.S., a certain stigma has developed on the topic of cheerleaders, as they fight the generalized concept of ‘dumb blondes’ that usually date the jocks. The idea of ‘cheerleading’ is not one that is shared or even a consideration in other countries. Europeans are completely alienated on the topic and, it is often a topic of both amusement and irritation.
Any fan will tell you that there are many nuances involved in a college basketball game. Beyond the game itself, are the players (and the favorites), the build-up on the electronic scoreboard, and of course the continued excitement generated by the cheerleaders and dancers. The latter can take a game that could be ho-hum, and pull it up to a reveled area of frenzy. While fans are focused on the people, there is a subliminal view of the uniforms and outfits. These can make or break a cheerleading team, and therefore there is a lot of competition when it comes to design, look and color. Some of the college basketball cheerleading uniforms are winners and some are rather questionable.
Sports footwear is big business, and pretty much dominated by the two behemoths, Adidas and Nike. The two giants are in the midst of a battle to have their names and logos on everything that relates to the World Cup. The winner will appear on uniforms/kits, all the way to electronic scoreboard ads. The quest to be the top brand is an ongoing marketing war between the historic name of Adidas and the newcomer, Nike.