It is all over until Moscow 2018

The beautiful game was the winner. With Mario Goetze's goal in the 116th minute of the game Germany won the World Cup. Eleven German and eleven Argentinian men ran around on a beauteously maintained green paddock  chasing a ball for almost two hours with millions of people watching, without scoring until almost the end. It is hard to explain to someone who doesn't appreciate football why this was exciting and not excruciatingly boring, but it was certainly exciting, with near misses, opportunities unrealized, frustrations, incredible ball skills and pushing the limits of exhaustion. Being there, even if only on my television set, was a great exhilarating experience. It was also a happy experience. I might have felt sorry for the Brazilians, some of the teams might have been unlucky not to proceed, but that is football. The impression I took away was the happy carnival atmosphere. Few of the hosts, the Brazilians could afford to be at the games, the white faces greatly outnumbered the black faces, but I hope that those who could not be inside the stadiums could enjoy the spectacle on Copacabana beach. I also hope that all of Brazil will feel good about having hosted this wonderful competition despite not winning the major prize.