Its been about a week since the start of the 2010 World Cup and after many years I have been following most of the matches on TV. In India, ESPN has done an excellent job of the live telecast. Let me get one thing out of the way first - yes, the vuvuzela sound is annoying, irritating and distracting (Vuvuzela on Wikipedia).
I have also been rediscovering the pleasure of watching live sports without annoying commercial breaks. The sheer luxury of watching the entire 45 minutes of a half without even one interruption is something for which one has to thank ESPN (whether it is deliberate or lack of advertisers, I can't say, but more power to whatever has caused it). As a digression, advertisement breaks have killed the pleasure of watching cricket on TV (whether it be of the Test, 50 over or T20 format). At least in India, the last ball of the over has barely been bowled and more often than not, not even fielded, before we go to a commercial break. The commentators have become resigned to it and break off mid-sentence the moment they realize they are off the air. Newbie commentators are notable for not knowing when the break starts.
Back to the matches - this is based on the matches I have seen and not in general on all matches to date. I was impressed with Argentina (even in their 1-0 win against Nigeria). They seem to be playing to their potential, as opposed to France and Spain. The England - USA match was a disaster for England, the almost self goal by Green is now legend, but they hardly looked like a good attacking unit. Their draw yesterday with Algeria means that they have a must win game against Slovenia (who surprisingly are leading the group!). Greece played very well against Nigeria (who seem a little lost on the field).
I watched the Brazil game against North Korea and I must say that I was surprised and impressed by North Korea. Brazil though played with reasonable fluency (Kaka disappointed, but the team does not really depend completely on him) and though North Korea tried hard, ultimately the better team won. The Portugal - North Korea game would be very interesting to determine the group standings and who goes through to the next round.
On to the second week!
