Any soccer fans out there?
Any (American) people who secretly wish they could call it football instead of soccer without sounding like a weenie?
Any weeneies out there who have more than one pair of Sambas in their closet, even though they haven’t played a game of soccer in 25 years?
Any parents who spend more time than they care to admit showing their daughter youtube clips of the “25 Trickiest Goals in History” (which, unfortunately, also means spending more time than they care to admit listening to the terrible Euro dance music that always seems to accompany these highlights) when you are supposed to be helping her study for a vocab test?
Any (other) grown person out there who has watched this video [1] more than 50 times, and still can’t believe it’s real?
Any dads who have a crush on Neymar?
Any moms who don’t have a crush on Ronaldo?
Any mom, dad, son, or daughter who intends to spend an ungodly portion of the few weeks sitting on the couch and watching the World Cup?
If you answered yes to any of the above, we have a book giveaway that might interest you – or, even better, your kids. We have three signed copies of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s memoir, I Am Zlatan [2], to get you in the mood. We’re not usually athlete-bio types here at DALS, but this one is worthy (“The most compelling autobiography ever to appear under a footballer’s name,” said a reviewer at The Guardian, and reviewers at The Guardian ought to know, right?). We also happen to be big fans in this house (that’s Phoebe — and #1 Zlatan fan — above, in his jersey). The bad news is, Zlatan’s national team, Sweden, didn’t qualify for the World Cup this year. The good news is, this afforded Zlatan to impart yet another of his crucial lessons in humility: “The World Cup without Zlatan is nothing,” he said. But don’t despair. With this book, you can have both! Just comment below and we’ll pick three winners at random.*
And now, a little World Cup-themed round-up, to get you in the mood…
I can’t believe we wrote this healthy snack post for the last World Cup, four years ago [3]. But the idea holds: If you’re gonna watch, eat wisely and well.
I can’t believe how seriously our 10-year-old is taking her FIFA sticker album [4].
If you’re going to park yourself on the coach for the next month, you’ll want a few dishes on the rotation: chicken wings [5], nachos [6], and Stromboli [7]! (It’s literally impossible for me to write “stromboli!” without an exclamation point.)
A Call to Arms for Title IX moms [8]: Get out there and coach!
For a very different take on the best player in the world, check out Jeff Himmelman’s “The Burden of Being Lionel Messi [9].”
And while we’re on the subject of Argentina, this piece [10] by the ever-excellent Wright Thompson in ESPN, about the 1978 World Cup.
Argentina, Part 3: We will never stop linking to this clip [11].
Kids’ sports should be kid-sized [12]. In more ways than one. This one made us think.
A classic fry-up [13] for the morning after that England-Italy match.
I dare you to watch these videos [14] showing reactions to Neymar’s goal yesterday and not a) get the chills b) proclaim your undying love of all sports everywhere.
Looking for a good coach? Three simple things great teachers do [15].
Handicapping every World Cup match by the most important metric: uniform aesthetics [16].
The World Cup of Sausage [17].
What better excuse than the largest sporting event in the world to make our favorite cake of all time [18]?
May you get bed sores and back aches this weekend from watching so much soccer. Go USA (and Portugal, and England, and Argentina, and Brazil, and every other team our kids are randomly deciding to root for once the game starts)! See you next week.
— Andy & Jenny
(Sausage photo by Danny Kim for Bon Appetit.)
*Update: The winners have all been notified — congrats to Mollie, Greg, and Renee. Thanks to everyone who participated and GO USA!