However, outside the seasonal madness of the print business there is definitely something magical about the biggest sporting tournament in the world, even bigger than the Olympics, although it can be argued that in the Olympics we always have a chance of a medal in some sport or other…maybe in swimming or show jumping…say no more!
Unfortunately for this world cup we are only spectators. But even as mere spectators with a natural passion for sport, we will pick a side to ally ourselves to and root for them all the way. More so if they have some players in their team that we admire or on the flip side, if they have some we dislike…… Drogba, Messi, Torres and Rooney are the big names that spring to mind, you can work out who you like and dislike for yourself!!!
Overheard recently was a debate that seemed to have started over a quiet beer between 2 old men whereby an interesting question was being asked…if England and France progress they will eventually meet and given the heartbreak inflicted upon us by France and our age old rivalry with England, who would you support?
This lead to one old man saying, “sure why would you even support an English club team, why not support Celtic?…after all they have true Irish connection”, whereupon the other man said, “sure aren’t they playing soccer…the English national sport”. The two men continued this debate and as it sprinted from the central “brilliance and betrayal of Roy Keane”, down to the byline and crossed to “Cascarino was never Irish”, headed on to “Niall Quinn, was he a good striker?”, overhead kicked to “ Robbie Keane,… if he didn’t take all the penalties…”, this one hit the bar and rebounded only to be cleared by ”Packie Bonner was every bit as good as Shay Given is now”. What started with 2 men, soon became 4 men, then 8 men, and it was not long before a chorus of “ Ole Ole Ole ” was being sang…and we are mere spectators!!!
It’s fabulous to see the buzz generated by an occasion like this and no matter what your opinion or age is, we can all get very wrapped up in the whole event and it’s with great interest we will read the newspaper reports, will watch all the games (or most of them), fill in the wall charts, get updates online and will no doubt have a variety of flutters on who will come 3rd, 2nd and 1st.
We decided here at The Printed Image have our own wall chart printed, “Staff world cup sweeps” and it’s aimed at getting all the staff involved and enjoying the tournament with a bit of interaction and fun. Simply pick a name from the box, record it on the chart and see how your team progresses throughout the tournament. We have posted this great piece to our clients and there has been a big demand for more. Feel free to get in touch and request some, we think you’ll also find it a great communication piece and you never know, maybe you can use this as a springboard to offer your clients something similar with their branding on it.
Brendan.
