whapakk.

And, well, here's my story.

The World Cup fever is officially on!

I remember the 2006 FIFA World Cup for one primary thing: it was the grand event that introduced me to the world of football. I was a complete idiot about the sport prior to it, and what better way to introduce the sport to noob like me than get me hooked to this wonderful tournament?

Everyone starts out not knowing which team to root for. Okay, maybe that only applies to nations not participating in the World Cup.

I didn’t know which team to root for (but I sure as hell knew I wasn’t going to root for Team USA; this wasn’t a damned game with a ball and a couple of baskets involved – I thought, and thought right, that the US had a lousy football team), so I read through all football literature I could gather at the time. I picked up roster lists from every marquee team, I read through World Cup rookies’ biographies, I browsed lists of football legends, and also got myself interested in the football clubs these players – new and old – were affiliated with. I got myself in too deep with reading material that I felt that it was too late to stop: I was into it. I bought EA Sports’ FIFA 07 and that was it: I was addicted as hell and played the game (even ignoring succeeding updated game titles and sticking to the 2007 version) for three years straight, until my PlayStation 2 broke down and I got myself a PlayStation 3 and FIFA 10.

Pictured here is Lionel Messi, one of my first favorite players; the other two were Lukas Podolski and Fernando Torres. They were all on my FIFA 07 team, suckas.

I know damn right that I'm never going to play with it, but why in the world do I feel like taking this ball home with me now?

It didn’t matter that the Philippines had one of the worst teams in the international football scene. I reckon there are more than a hundred (maybe even two hundred) teams better than us. We suck. But I didn’t care. I was already rooting for Argentina and Spain: Lionel Messi’s team and Fernando Torres and David Villa’s squad. I quickly found my favorite players, based on limited TV time and endless nights with FIFA 07.

La Furia Roja means "The Red Fury," referring to the Spanish national team. I'm also like that when I'm mad drunk.

I've been wanting to get one for myself for years.

So yeah, the 2006 FIFA World Cup has got to be one of the sports events I’ve really enjoyed watching, ever. How can I not feel excited about this year’s World Cup? And being the Adidas boy that I am, it’s about time I forget about the KB24s and LB23s friends have been blinging: an Argentina football kit is much, much worth it right now, I think (even more so Spain’s; I really think they have a huge chance of winning the cup this year).

What the heck. I think I’ll just buy both next week.