15. June 2010 07:12
There have been a lot of people in one the Indo-Pacific side of the globe waving the flag for the World Cup at all hours of the night this week. The first days of the World Cup are always a little messy, always filled with emotion across the globe as early exists are made to the tune of the zuzuvela. Here's a quick rundown of World Cup basics for the first week.
'Cotelindae Africanus'
Punters' Cup
Finally, the only part of the World Cup that most of us can actually get physically involved in! The bookies opinions are precious in themselves ... not least because they show at least five teams placed well below Australia in the rankings. Phew! You can check out the entire World Cup betting odds listing for a more comprehensive view - here are the highlights:
- Spain, Holland, England, Brazil and Argentina are all placed below the 10.0 mark
- Spain are the current favourites, with odds of 4.75 at most World Cup betting centres
- Algeria, New Zealand and North Korea are the worst-placed teams (or perhaps the best, in the event of a mass fireball that takes out all European and South American teams...), with odds of over 2000 to 1.
- Australia's odds are around 401 at most betting centres. That puts us higher than the teams listed above, as well as Greece and Honduras. But that's about all...
Reporter's Cup
At this busy stage of the World Cup there's a lot to report! Here are some of the highlights:
- People are loving the official World Cup 2010 theme song ... 'so much better than Shakira' and 'much more inspirational than that horrible, nightmarish 'Tubthumping' have been some comments observed on Youtube. Just sayin...
- The vuvuzelas, those deafening, horrible plastic horns that have dominated this World Cup, have been tested at 127 decibels. Exposure to noise levels over 100 decibels foor more than 15 minutes causes hearing damage. You can also download a less noisy iPhone app mimicking the sound though.
- Tin Cahill was reported as being 'a mask of raw emotion and his eyes welling with anguish' after learning that he'll possibly be suspended for the rest of the Group D stage.
- The media has been just as harsh on the Australian team's performance in general. Won’t stop millions of us watching or betting on the World Cup, though!
- Jong Tae Se, a North Korean soccer star known as 'The People's Rooney', is being touted as making North Korea an outside chance to advance in the World Cup. So, a bet on one of the 2001.0 odds teams may end up paying off ... ?
Tweeter's Cup
Wow ... the World Cup is a truly global effort, not just in terms of football, but also in terms of Tweeting! Just type #worldcup into Twitter, wait a few minutes and watch the 'Tweets since you started searching' build up. Here's a very recent selection!
~~~ phetched Maybe these goalies would be better at catching the ball if they weren't wearing Hamburger Helper hands. Just sayin'. #worldcup #noodles
~~~ _witt Even I can score more than Aus #worldcup
~~~ NielsDC I only just now realized that a soccer ball magically appears next to the #worldcup hashtag (Small things...)
~~~ manny_miles #WorldCup Hack: A Simple Fix to Eliminate That Annoying Vuvuzela Horn - http://is.gd/cPs69 via @Alyssa_Milano, others..