Who do you support at the World Cup?

Cheering for a team at the World Cup Is hardly done arbitrarily even for those whose countries are not represented. The range of decisions that go into supporting some countries over others vary enormously and are based on critical analysis, formulas and decision making that we will all like to think will put a rocket scientist to shame.

From the ft.com, an Indian writes “I am an Indian but my country never qualifies for the World Cup. I usually support the Netherlands because I am a fan of Dutch football. But this year is different, because I work in England, pay my taxes here and feel that if England wins the World Cup it will lead to positive externalities for me. My boss may go easy on me, the general mood of the country will lift and even the looming spending cuts may feel more bearable. But should I sacrifice my love of Dutch football for the sake of my stake in the British economy?”

In the Telegrapphsblog.com, a reader writes: “My USA over England; My neighbours Mexico over SA; France (although I will miss Zizou forever) over Uruguay; Being born in the Balkans I chose Greece over S.Korea, Serbia over Ghana. My father used to root for Germany so Germany over Australia”

Rustbeltradical.com takes a more “Marxist” viewpoint.

- For anyone (but England) against the United States

- Against any country who ever had a colony

- In case of matches between imperialist powers; whoever has the most militant and conscious working class

- In the case of a contest between two former colonies the same applies

- A socialist state trumps all (we do not include in this category the team fielded by the DRPK).

Ethan Zuckerman of myheartsinaccra writes: My football strategy looks something like this:

- Sub-Saharan African teams get my support, especially Ghana, recognizing that it’s looking like a tough tournament for the African sides.

- Developing world over developed.

- Pretty football over ugly – Argentina, Spain, Brazil, Netherlands over Italy, Germany, England.

- Places I’ve been to over those I’ve never visited, with quality of national cuisine as a tiebreaker.

- Bonus points for truly unlikely teams, including NZ and North Korea.

- I’ll root for the US until they face Ghana. At that point, I’ll probably support Ghana, if only so there’s some conflict when watching with US friends.

What do you support and why?

Image Source: Guardian.co.uk