It's all over

The World Cup was one event I was looking forward to with great anticipation right from the time my vacations began. I had watched the previous World Cup too but Germany 2006 was way more enjoyable than KJ 2002. Firstly, there were fewer upsets which meant that the top teams were competing in the knockout phase unlike last time around when lower-ranked teams like Korea & Turkey were playing in the semis. Also was the fact that the coverage was much better than last time. I've been watching sports for almost a decade now and I feel that the coverage provided by ESPN-Star Sports is by far the best, be it any sport. They bring to sports broadcasting a perfect mixture of fun and serious analysis and hence please both the purist and the new follower. Bravo ESS keep it up!!
There were obviously other reasons why I liked this WC more than the previous ones. Firstly, all of the matches were played at night(IST) and this gave me a great opportunity to see all the action live, something which I was unable to do last time around when the matches were played in the evening. And of course this gave me a chance to actually improve my footballing skills by playing football every evening. Lets hope my football playing doesnt become a one-off, WC only activity. Because that would be a real pity.
Then again this time around my favourite teams played pretty well, though they didn't go that far in the WC. Spain & Holland both showed that they are very good teams and went out early only due to a tough draw. I also found a new team to support - Germany. Their attacking style of football made me a big fan. I just loved their striking pair of Klose & Podolski and also the new players like Lahm & Schweinsteiger. Klinsmann turned out to be a great coach and I have a feeling that in the years to come, this team might be the best in the world. Ditto with Argentina & Holland, both of whom had extremely young squads. And finally one of my old favourites - the Azzuri - managed to win the title, so I'm in a great mood now. And my favourite - Andrea Pirlo - also had a great WC which was the icing on the cake for me.
I guess I loved the WC so much because I finally got to see some top-quality football, which I was deprived of during the last year. And also because I had a blast throughout the WC as in coincided with my vacations. Heck, I even missed Wimbledon just to see the WC. I must have seen about 50 or more matches during this World cup, out of the 64 played. And thats a lot of TV watching. But the fun that I had during that is simply unmatchable.
But it's all over now. Time to move on. Feels sad that it's over, and even sadder to know that one of my all-time favourite footballers - Zizou - will never play again. But the show must go on. However irrespective of what happens later, I shall always remember the WC 2006 as one of the happiest months of my life. Cheers!!!