Will the Brazil World Cup Be Like "Rio" or "Armageddon"?

There are only two days left until the start of the World Cup in Brazil. Let's think about that. World Cup. Brazil. We should be basking in the nirvana of sweet anticipation. We should be clinking our caipirinhas, and the worldwide sale of limes should be breaking the sound barrier. But we're not, and they're not. Normally hot for good reasons, Brazil's currently rising temperature emanates from a crucible of social unrest. For soccer fans, who did not sign up for this, the protests, the anger and party-pooping headlines are enough to make you miss the demonic buzz of vuvuzelas.

And yet, somehow, miraculously, here we are at the doorstep of a major tournament of planetary proportions. Excited, yet leery. It's like attending an incredibly elaborate wedding that you know the bride's parents can't afford. So what do you do, not show up? Well, no, you have to show up, because it was a very big deal to have been invited in the first place.

Being of Brazilian heritage, all I can tell you is that when Brazilians celebrate, there are no motives other than to have a great time. Brazilians are as warm-hearted as they are beautiful, supremely hospitable, unguarded and unpretentious. It is possible that once the games are underway, soccer fans around the globe will be able to lose themselves in the excitement and that somehow soccer and sunshine, with a little help from cachaça, will make the world right, at least for one thrilling month. I hope so. I really, really hope so.

But let us not lose sight of the ball. Over the course of 32 days, the world will be united by sport as 32 countries compete in a total of 64 matches to claim the World Cup trophy. The World Cup, I have recently learned, is hostage to FIFA and its formidable empire of corruption, but the tournament itself is still an emblem of peace and prosperity, and the game itself is still nothing less than the greatest metaphor for life.


Here are the teams:

GROUP A - BRAZIL, CAMEROON, MEXICO, CROATIA
GROUP B - SPAIN, CHILE, AUSTRALIA , HOLLAND
GROUP C - COLOMBIA, IVORY COAST, JAPAN, GREECE
GROUP D - URUGUAY, ITALY, COSTA RICA, ENGLAND
GROUP E - SWITZERLAND, ECUADOR, HONDURAS, FRANCE
GROUP F - ARGENTINA, NIGERIA, IRAN, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
GROUP G - GERMANY, GHANA, UNITES STATES, PORTUGAL
GROUP H - BELGIUM, ALGERIA, SOUTH KOREA, RUSSIA