Even Without a Few Big Names, World Cup Remains Just as Captivating

Some of the most exciting — and more importantly, recognizable — international soccer stars are dropping like flies. With less than five days until Mexico and South Africa finally open World Cup play, FIFA is losing high-profile and marketable names left and right.

America's fastest forward, Jozy Altidore, sprained an ankle and may not get off the sidelines. Germany captain Michael Ballack isn't playing after injuring his ankle, too. England captain Rio Ferdinand is out for the tournament with a knee injury. Ivory Coast sparkplug and arguably its only hope, Didier Drogba, just broke his arm and is in serious doubt for the World Cup.

This is the equivalent to LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant all coming down with something just before the start of the NBA playoffs.

But the show must go on. And it will, without a hitch.

Most Americans are still jumping on the World Cup bandwagon, cramming in with the rest of the world every fourth year — right around the time ESPN starts broadcasting those awesome commercials. It fills our nation with pride as we get to stand behind our country and cheer on our boys, even if we can't name the starting lineup or don't understand what group play actually is.

Pride, however, only takes Americans so far, especially when there are only three U.S. games in 12 days to open the World Cup. It’s not the love of the sport or respect for the game that keeps the majority of Americans watching — it's the celebrity.

Sports are half athletic prowess, half popularity contest. We want to hear a name and instantly feel like we know him or her — and thus, his or her team. We want to be able to connect with a facet of the World Cup when the U.S. isn't involved, and in it's-not-what-you-know-it's-who-you-know America, we connect with a favorite player. And because those of us frantically searching for a second-favorite team are likely the ones frantically scouring rosters for a familiar surname, the news that internationally recognizable stars like Ballack, Ferdinand and Drago have disappeared makes us uncomfortable.

Of course, there is plenty of healthy soccer royalty left, with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, England's Wayne Rooney, Argentina's Lionel Messi and Spain's David Villa. They're easy to adopt as your own, and their jaw-dropping play is easy to talk about.

But that's exactly what's fantastic about the World Cup. You don't need to have a vast knowledge of the 32 nations competing for the crown. You don't need to know who's who beforehand. Sure, the guys just mentioned will have a hand in a few of their homeland's goals, but it's much harder to carry a team of 11 across a soccer pitch alone than it is a team of five on the hardwood.

The World Cup is all about the team. The country most unified almost always wins this thing. So even though some big names are falling off the world's biggest stage, the World Cup will be no less fun to watch, no less memorable.

For just one month every four years, respect for the game actually trumps celebrity.