It’s a phenomenon that occurs every four years like clockwise; an occurrence, approximately a month-long in duration, that you’ve likely observed in others or perhaps experienced yourself: sudden and uncontrollable soccer fandom.
The remarkable thing about World Cup Fever is that in a decidedly (American) football- and baseball-centric country like the United States where professional soccer, although popular, is decidedly not a national pastime like it is across much of Europe and Latin America, all of a sudden everyone wakes up one morning and decides that they're the world’s biggest soccer fans. We’re talking about mild-mannered folks — folks whom may have never previously vocalized an interest in FIFA-related goings-on, let alone sports in general — whom could be found screaming at their televisions and swinging from the chandeliers during the Croatia vs. Greece match.
There are numerous reasons why this happens: a desire for sports-related camaraderie and bonding; an excuse to get completely lit with your friends (or a bunch of strangers) during the middle of the day; a reason to linger and chitchat at the water cooler; a desire to be part of a global event; an overwhelming need to present yourself as being worldly, informed, topical, fun. Everyone else is excited about this so why shouldn't I be?
While there’s certainly no harm in coming down with a severe case of World Cup Fever and then going back to a normal routine of being largely apathetic about soccer for another four years, fleeting futebol fanaticism does sometimes come equipped with one distinct drawback: a big pile of World Cup merchandise — tiny flags, t-shirts, jerseys, hideous headgear, the dreaded vuvuzela — that you've purchased but have no desire to hang on to now that the games are done.
Fortunately, the clever cutups over at Pocketwatch, part of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy family, have a few ideas on how to creatively reuse all that faddish World Cup gear instead of sending it to the landfill with their "Soccer Recycling Project:"
