I’m really enjoying this year’s World Cup. And not just because red-hot Spain just won the intense semifinal match against the Germany machine and will be playing against the Clockwork Orange in the finals on Sunday. But that does help. I just think that most of the matches have been of really high quality – at least since the Round of 16.

Sure, there were some surprises and disappointments. France crapped out early (good!) and Italy bit the big one (nice!). Mexico got a bum deal. And then England shit the bed. More recently, the South American powerhouses of Brazil and Argentina surprised the world by not winning the whole tournament five times over. Emily’s favorite team, Slovakia, did better than anyone expected – except for her. It’s a shame they had to run into Holland in the Ro16. The US actually played better than most people expected. That was nice.

I don’t pretend to know very much about football. I only started watching the sport eight years ago during the 2002 World Cup. That was awesome. We have so many friends from all over the world that each match had a personal spin to it that really added to the excitement. I was out at a different bar every night watching matches between tams from countries that I didn’t even know existed. The 2008 World Cup sort of came and went. I watched it, but it wasn’t nearly as memorable. And this year’s tournament has been watched mostly from the comfort of our living room sofa. But we might as well have been in the middle of Plaça Catalunya with all the shouting and cheering coming in through our open balcony doors from the entire neighborhood watching the same match at the same time with their balcony doors open. It was electric.

So… this Sunday. The 2010 World Cup final. La Roja vs. the Oranje. Spain’s first-ever World Cup final appearance. With a team made up principally of Barça players. Vamos España! Força Espanya!!