Everything You Haven't Read About the World Cup But Should

by Nathaniel Whittemore · 2010-06-13 12:22:00 UTC
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I've got major World Cup fever, and I'm not alone. There is just something spectacular about an event that literally the whole world watches. Even in the country that changed the name of the sport, bars were full yesterday of fans cheering on the USA against England.

Like any event of this magnitude, the layers of backstory and interpretation are dense and fascinating. And because of the magic of the internet, fans have a better ability to explore those plot lines than ever before. Here are some of the links that are just worth the read.

Beware Wall Street's World Cup Predictions: I thought this Time piece was just great. Basically, it takes a look at the predictions of major investment banks about who will win this World Cup, and points out how fundamentally stuck in a historical mindset the banks are.

South Africa's World Cup is a disgrace: This piece runs counter to the conventional wisdom that says it is exciting and meaningful that the Cup is being held on the African continent this year. It basically argues that South Africa is too unequal, and access is still too limited for this to be really meaningful. Honestly, I don't think it's a particularly well-argued piece, but it's an important perspective even if one disagrees with it.

Who Should I Cheer For?: This cool website by the UK-based World Development Movement gives you a chance to compare the 32 World Cup countries based on a number of social justice and human development factors. If you're going off their rankings, you'll be supporting Ghana.

Tweetbeat World Cup by Kosmix: Twitter is an amazing addition to the live game experience. Following the simple hashtag #worldcup shows a stream of commentary and reaction from other fans around the world. But this cool tool Tweetbeat makes it even easier to filter and curate that stream based on what team you're supporting, what game you're watching and more. It is one more artifact in the story of how technology is reshaping how we interact with one another.

Being Robert Green: Yesterday, the English goalie lost control of what should have been a simple stop against the USA, a mistake which cost his team the game and him his reputation. This piece by frog design's Tim Leberecht is a really wonderful thought piece about how we can all relate to the ultimately tragic figure of the goalie. This is part of a larger series looking at the World Cup through the lens of design and innovation.

Photo credit: Axel Bührmann

Nathaniel Whittemore is the founder of Assetmap. Previously he was the founding director of the Northwestern University Center for Global Engagement.
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