and so, the final

Part of the joy of a World Cup is watching a gazillion matches, and that's a joy I've missed out on because of the time difference between Australia/New Zealand and Berkeley. I've managed to see some good games and have spent a lot of time watching highlights, but that's not the same. But I got up in the wee hours to see Spain defeat Sweden, and this morning (or more accurately, tomorrow morning) I will be up at 3:00 AM to watch the final between Spain and England. I have no idea who will win, but it's always nice to have a rooting interest, and as has been the case for a long time in international soccer, after the USA falls short, I have Spain to fall back on.

Meanwhile, I was up at 7:00 this morning to watch Wrexham. The difference between the Wrexham of the past decade-plus and now is evident in the quality of the telecasts ... it's not just the professional camerawork, it's the fact that there is more than one camera at a match. The highlight post on YouTube wins this week's award for hyperbole: the video is called "BEST GAME EVER?!", when it is more on target to say "Worst Defending Ever". But it certainly was exciting.