The 2022 World Cup is finally here, and many students at Corona del Mar High School are eager to view the soccer matches happening in Qatar. Soccer often referred to outside the United States as “football,” is by far the most popular sport in the world. The World Cup allows people all around the world to both support their own national teams and come together in a spirit of unity. Popular online soccer news outlet World Soccer Talk notes that for the 2018 World Cup “on average, the live audience hovered around 517 million concurrent viewers” with “FIFA estimate[ing] that over one billion people watched the World Cup Final between France and Croatia.” Like the Olympics, the World Cup is set on a worldwide stage, bringing lots of fame and glory to the host and winning countries, as well as a hefty $42 million for the World Cup Champions.  In contrast to the huge scale and grandeur of the World Cup, Soccer’s simplicity is a major reason why globally most people enjoy soccer. Unlike football, baseball, and basketball, soccer does not require potentially expensive equipment, gear, and playing spaces. All that is needed to play a game of soccer is a cheap inflated ball and a relatively flat space.

Many CDM students are excited about this year’s games. One of them is Shia Shirvani, a 10th-grade student at CDM, who described to me his feelings on soccer: “Soccer is my favorite sport and I am very passionate about the game. Being able to support the country where I am from is an exciting experience, and I cherish these moments. As a soccer player at CDM, when I watch the games, I learn new moves that I can apply to my game and help our team out as much as I can.” CDM teachers also caught up in the Soccer spirit, have allowed students to watch the World Cup in many classes, projecting the games on the big screens. Some teachers have even allocated a chunk of class time in which their students can decide if they want to do their work while watching the world cup. Similarly, all around the LRC during lunch, games are being broadcast on a large TV. Kelvin Hoffman, a 9th-grade student at CDM noted that “being able to watch the world cup occasionally during a school shows how significant the event is across the globe and I am glad we have a chance to experience a piece of it at school.” Regardless of which country ultimately wins the World Cup, students at CDM will enjoy the fierce competition and its celebration of soccer.