June
2006
Hopeball: The Greatest Game on EarthComments 0
I have an idea. We’ll fill a leather sack with feathers and hair until it reaches 30-40 cm in width and subsequently kick it through a small net attached to long bamboo canes. We’ll call it Tsu’Chu (Chinese for football). It’ll be a hit.
Who knew this game - first played in China during the Han dynasty (2nd and 3rd centuries B.C.) - would become the greatest game on earth?
In 1998, the total television viewing audience of the 64 World Cup matches was an estimated 37 billion; 1.3 billion alone watched the final.During the years in which the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup is in contention, flags fly higher; national pride shines brighter; and time – for a moment – stands still. After all, more than a trophy is on the line. Dreams are. European football is more than a game. It is a birth right with a single objective. Gooooooaaaaal!

