The World Cup is of a totally different order
What will be the sporting event of 2010? The upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February, or the football World Cup in South Africa next summer? NRC Handelsblad sports reporters cross swords. "The Winter Olympics are an elitist event for a limited number of countries."
People who say the Winter Olympics are 'bigger' than the football World Cup shouldn't even be taken seriously. The comparison between the funny winter festival and the greatest event on earth falls short on every level.
First of all, there are entire continents (Africa and South America) that don't have the faintest clue about the Winter Olympics. Or did you really believe people in Ivory Coast or Uruguay know about luge running, bobsledding, ice skating, curling and biathlon? Let alone have they heard about Dutch speed skating champions Sven Kramer and Ireen Wüst. Even the Dutch don't know any of the competitors aside from those competing in their cherished skating ring. The absolute heroes of the last games, Ahn Hyun-soo, Jin Sun-yu and Michael Greis - who each earned three gold medals at the Turin Olympics - can still walk the streets of London, New York and Amsterdam without being noticed.
The Winter Olympics are an elitist event for a limited number of countries in the Northern hemisphere, that meet in front of half empty grandstands to divide 250 medals. Good for you if you win, the mayor of your town will come to shake hands with you when you come home. And never mind if you lose, even the runners up will be honoured.
The football World Cup really is a whole different ball game. A record number
of 204 countries tried to qualify for the 32 coveted tickets to the
tournament in South Africa, where only one title counts.
Sure, football has its charm, but the world cup tournament is basically about watching 22 men in shorts perform the same trick over and over again. The dynamics of ice hockey, skiing, bobsledding, skating, cross country skiing and snowboarding will be greatly missed in South Africa, writes sports reporter Henk Stouwdam in his article about the two tournaments.
Counter point
The World Cup draw in Cape Town earlier this month drew hundreds of millions of people to their television sets. Not nearly that many will watch the Winter Olympics on its biggest day. The international football federation Fifa sold 2.1 billion in broadcasting rights and is expecting viewer ratings over 26.3 billion. The entire world will watch the battle for the title in this zenith of sports. History is written at every world cup tournament. Champions like Pelé, Diego Maradona, Romario, Ronaldinho and Zinedine Zidane will be famous stars for the rest of their lives.
There is no sport that evokes more emotion than football. The Netherlands was inflicted with an everlasting trauma when it lost the 1974 final against West Germany. When it won the 1988 European championship, the country reached a level of madness never seen before. I don't recall Amsterdam house boats sinking under the weight of fans when Renate Groenewold won a gold medal, as they did in 1988 when an outrageous crowd wanted to see its heroes' victory parade through the city’s canals.
In 2006, the Germans for the first time since the Second World War felt confident enough to waive their national flags. And the whole African continent has been looking forward to the 2010 edition for a decade.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kaká and Robin van Persie are ready to make history this summer. Wherever you are in the world, you will know the one question on everybody's mind is: who will be the World Champion? Football haters may have a horrible time between June 11 and July 11, but I won't feel sorry for them for a single moment.