Tuesday, July 6, 2010

World Cup - Potential Realized

Associate AD-Communications Kevin O'Connor adds some World Cup thoughts after today's 3-2 win by the Netherlands over Uruguay

Congratulations to Holland for a strong performance in today's semifinals and a well-deserved berth in Sunday's final.

Kevin Conway made fun of himself when he mentioned the Netherlands in his pre-tournament picks, and a few of the rest of us also talked about how much we liked them. But, were we all just hoping they could be as good as they should be?

As it turns out, the Dutch are that good. They have stars, they have structure and, best of all, they can score goals. Wonderful, beautiful goals - two of the three today were as good off the foot and head as we've seen in the tournament. And the orange ... you'd expect a Dutch version of Rocky Top to break out in South Africa Sunday.

I find the World Cup to be so much better when Italy and France are home while Holland and Spain are still playing, but too often in recent years it has been the opposite. Now, we have the possibility of a delicious final, no matter who wins the Spain/Germany contest Wednesday.

So, Sunday we are assured that plenty of stars will be on display. If all goes well, both sides will look to attack, and hopefully it will be settled prior to PKs. This tournament has gotten better in every round of games, and at this point the final should put the proper exclamation point on the event. I can't wait.