I find it interesting that the World Cup was such a huge affair in the world - eclipsing even the hype of the Super Bowl and the NFL playoffs. IMHO, the U.S. fans of the NFL rarely come close to the craziness of soccer fans in Europe, SA/CA, Africa and Asia. Ultimately, it's used as an escape from everyday life. Brazil is a good case study of this. Granted, this may not apply to some of the more developed European nations, but I think it's instinctive for citizens of those countries where freedom is not as prevalent top latch onto something - anything - to make life more tolerable.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/world-cup...sNewsThird

Quote:"Brazil during the cup was like Fantasy Island, but the reality shock will come," said Marcelo Salomon, an economist who follows Brazil at Barclays in New York. "We are in a process of deceleration that has surprised even the biggest pessimists."

Economists have repeatedly lowered their expectations for Brazil's gross domestic product growth this year. Mr. Salomon now projects the nation's economy will expand just 0.7%, down from 1.7%.

Quote:Glimpses of Brazil's deep economic divide were on display at the cup. President Dilma Rousseff, who is seeking a second term, was booed grotesquely by thousands of Brazilians at the opener in June in São Paulo. Yet the former energy minister retains deep support in the poorest parts of the country after her left-wing Workers Party expanded welfare and housing subsidies during 12 years in power.

Polls show Ms. Rousseff, 66 years old, is favored to win another term. The smooth functioning of the World Cup helped boost her latest approval rating to 35%, up after a drop to 33% before the tournament, according to a July 3 poll by the Brazilian firm Datafolha.

"We Brazilians will hold on to the emotion and satisfaction of having held a very successful event," Ms. Rousseff said at the conclusion.

Quote:And while the World Cup was a hit, it hasn't provided the big economic payoff the host was seeking. Brazil planned to use the tournament to spur construction of trains, subways and other infrastructure that would boost its local economies. Many of these so-called legacy projects, such as a planned high-speed train between São Paulo and Rio, were never built, as Brazil focused on basics such as stadiums. At least four of these arenas—Brasilia, Cuiabá, Manaus and Natal—are unlikely to get used much, potentially becoming symbols of overspending.

A partially built highway overpass meant to be finished by the cup collapsed this month, killing two people, not far from the Belo Horizonte stadium where Brazil lost to Germany.

In a self-described nation of soccer where expectations of victory had been high, Brazil's humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinal won't do much to lift Brazil's economic mood.

Some Brazilians are already returning to the broader questions about whether the cup's price tag was worth it.

"Now, with this defeat, people are going to look even closer at Brazil's problems, look at what was done, what wasn't done, the quality of the schools, the hospitals," said Rogerio de Souza Ribeiro, a 27-year-old São Paulo doorman.