Re: When will the Philippines get a World Cup team?

You can draw similarities between the World Cup and the Olympics, such as they both happen every four years and they are both global events. But what makes the World Cup different is that it's only one sport, people are actually passionate about that one sport, and not all countries are represented -- i.e. the Philippines.

This makes the Philippines one of the worst places to be during World Cup season. You're more likely to find a rowdy crowd in North Korea than in the Philippines. Filipinos aren't interested in soccer. They have the same attitude towards it as the USA -- football (I mean soccer) is a slow sport with not enough action. In the Philippines the fast-paced, high-tempo aggressiveness of basketball is king. We celebrate it as though we invented the sport -- but the truth is, we suck at it. We don't have superhuman characteristics like height or speed to be good at basketball, we're too malnourished for that. Despite this basketball is our prime sport followed by billiards, boxing, and then ice skating.

Football's unpopularity does have its perks. It's such a niche that you're forced to talk with people you hardly ever talk to, because out of your 400 facebook friends only 4 people stay up till 230AM to watch the game.

Here's what needs to happen before the Philippines can get a World Cup team.

1. The USA needs to win the World Cup.
   The Philippines' culture is intertwined with American culture. We watch American movies and TV shows, we listen to American music, we eat American, and we root for American sport teams (ew Lakers). We are superficially American. What I'm really trying to say is that soccer has to take off in Americaª before it can take off here.
2. We need to implement a soccer program in our public school.
   We're not exposed to soccer enough. We don't get the opportunity to play until it's too late. Other countries are passionate about soccer because they grow up with it. They learn it while they are young and they start developing strange tendencies to do everything with their feet. If you throw a ball at a Filipino he will catch it with his hands. If you throw a ball at a European, he catches it with his chest.
3. Similar to the economy, we need better infrastructure.
   I'm talking about lots of grass. We don't have a lot of grass in the city -- where things really matter. The only place where soccer can take off is at DLSU, UP, UST, and Ateneo, because our campuses are either big enough, or have already designated an area for outdoor sports. You can't even tell us to play in our backyard, because we don't have one.
   
   

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ªIs soccer finally taking off in America?

No. Once the World Cup ends it's going to be back to basketball, football, baseball, golf, tennis, nascar, and wrestling -- everything except for soccer. Why? Because soccer is the world's sport, and America is no good at it. The United States will only watch a sport if they're the best -- or at least competitive. And when will we know that the United States is competitive? When they start showing soccer games on ESPN. Same goes with cricket and rugby.

Can soccer take off in America?

Yes. Next World Cup season, once America beats Brazil, or a team equally challenging (instead of beating Algeria, ranked 30). You need to have dignity before you can feel proud.

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World Cup quarterfinals predictions
Ghana 1 - 0 Uruguay
Brazil 3 - 1 Netherlands
Germany 2 - 1 Argentina
Spain 2 - 0 Paraguay