Sports Nut

The 2010 World Cup

A roundup of Slate’s coverage of the planet’s biggest sporting event.

Not-So-Beautiful Game: Spain’s win over the Netherlands brings a fantastic World Cup to a hacking, plodding end,” by Brian Phillips. Posted Monday, July 10, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Spain’s Joan Capdevila,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Monday, July 10, 2010.

This Will Pair Nicely With Your Vuvuzela: The best South African wines to drink while watching the World Cup final,” by Mike Steinberger. Posted Friday, July 9, 2010.

Do Soccer Players Choke? Assessing the research on penalty kicks and pressure,” by Phil Birnbaum. Posted Friday, July 9, 2010.

Orange Devolution: Why all soccer fans should root for Holland to lose to Spain,” by Brian Phillips. Posted Thursday, July 8, 2010.

The World Cup in Super Slow Motion: A celebration of the weird, close-up facial contortions captured in slow motion throughout the 2010 World Cup.” Posted Thursday, July 8, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Germany’s Mesut Özil,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Thursday, July 8, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Holland’s Arjen Robben,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Wednesday, July 7, 2010.

Hang Up and Listen: The Disgusting Display Edition,” by Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin and Mike Pesca. Posted Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

The Curse of the Nike Ad: The company’s ‘Write the Future’ commercial is a warning against banking on star power during the World Cup,” by Douglas Haddow. Posted Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

Soccer Diving: A Historical Perspective,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Friday, July 2, 2010.

Landon Donovan Needs a Cat: Could a brain parasite found in cats help soccer teams win at the World Cup?” by Patrick House. Posted Thursday, July 1, 2010.

Who Will Win the World Cup? Round 2.” Posted Thursday, July 1, 2010.

World Cup Travels in Post-Apartheid South Africa,” by Robin Shulman. Posted Thursday, July 1, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Spain’s Joan Capdevila,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Wednesday, June 30, 2010.

Hang Up and Listen: The America and the Beautiful Game Edition,” by Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin and Mike Pesca. Posted Monday, June 28, 2010.

Star-Spangled Bummer: The United States’ inspirational, disappointing 2010 World Cup,” by Luke O’Brien. Posted Sunday, June 27, 2010.

The Myth of the American Soccer Guru: Why U.S. manager Bob Bradley is a great coach, not a miracle worker,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Friday, June 25, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Slovakia’s Miroslav Stoch,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Friday, June 25, 2010.

Caltech Wind-Tunnel Test Concludes World Cup Ball Acts Goofy,” by Tom Scocca. Posted Thursday, June 24, 2010. 

Dive of the Day: Algeria’s Rafik Halliche,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Thursday, June 24, 2010.

Cursing, Jeering, Beer Flinging, and Joy: In the stands for the United States’ amazing World Cup win over Algeria,” by Luke O’Brien. Posted Wednesday, June 23, 2010.

Among the Hugs: Watching the World Cup in a small English town,” by Jeremy Stahl. Posted Wednesday, June 23, 2010.

USA vs. Algeria, As It Happened: The Guardian’s live blog of the Americans’ big World Cup victory,” by Paul Doyle. Posted Wednesday, June 23, 2010. 

The Eli Manning of Soccer (or Something),” by Alan Siegel. Posted Wednesday, June 23, 2010.

The French Dejection: The sordid details behind the collapse and mutiny of France’s national soccer team,” by Mathieu Grégoire and Olivier Monod. Posted Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

Introducing the Vuvuzela: Amid the uproar about droning vuvuzelas at the World Cup, Slate V imagines new ways to use and sell the world’s most annoying horn.” Posted Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Honduras’ Emilio Izaguirre,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Tuesday, June 22, 2010. 

Our Vuvuzelas, Ourselves: Each nation responds to the infernal plastic horn in its own way,” by Anne Applebaum. Posted Monday, June 21, 2010.

Hang Up and Listen: The Scalped in South Africa Edition,” by Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, Mike Pesca, and David Plotz. Posted Monday, June 21, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Ivory Coast’s Abdul Kader Keïta,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Monday, June 21, 2010.

American Soccer’s Strong Second Half: How the 2010 World Cup could push the United States into the international soccer elite,” by Stefan Fatsis. Posted Saturday, June 19, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Argentina’s Gabriel Heinze,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Friday, June 18, 2010.

Slovenia Discovers the Best Propaganda Ever,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Friday, June 18, 2010.

Do Women and Soccer Mix?” by Claire Grossman. Posted Thursday, June 17, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Uruguay’s Luis Suarez,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Thursday, June 17, 2010.

World Cup Weirdos: International soccer managers are the strangest men in sports,” by Brian Phillips. Posted Wednesday, June 16, 2010.

I Love the Smell of Kim Chi in the Morning,” by Troy Patterson. Posted Wednesday, June 16, 2010.

Can Ear Plugs Silence Vuvuzelas?: A Slate experiment,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Wednesday, June 16, 2010.

Dive of the Day: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Wednesday, June 16, 2010.

Why Does the United Kingdom Get to Have Four National Soccer Teams?: Could we field a team for California or Texas?” by Brian Palmer. Posted Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

The Dive of the Day,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

The World Cup Turns New York into a Model U.N. Conference,” by Troy Patterson. Posted Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

Hang Up and Listen: The Mike Plays the Vuvuzela Edition,” by Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin and Mike Pesca. Posted Monday, June 14, 2010.

Rob Green’s World Cup Blunder: Keepers past and present have their say.” Posted Monday, June 14, 2010.

Introducing the Dive of the Day,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Monday, June 14, 2010.

We Tied! We Tied!: A festive mood in South Africa after the United States 1-1 tie with England,” by Luke O’Brien. Posted Sunday, June 13, 2010.

A Draw, and the Drinkers Go home: The view from England after the United States and England play to a 1-1 tie,” by Inigo Thomas. Posted Saturday, June 12, 2010.

World Cup Madness” Magnum Photos gallery, produced by Zena Koo. Posted Friday, June 11, 2010.

When Are We Going to Lose This Time?: A dispatch from England on the eve of the World Cup,” by Inigo Thomas. Posted Friday, June 11, 2010.

How To Write a World Cup Anthem: The band behind ‘Goal! England’ explains the secret of soccer songcraft,” by We Are Scientists. Posted Friday, June 11, 2010. 

Slate V: How To Get Americans To Watch Soccer

Who Will Win the World Cup?: Introducing the Slate poll, where our readers predict the news.” Posted Thursday, June 10, 2010.

Why Do We Call It Soccer?: Most countries think of the World Cup as a football tournament. What’s our problem?” by Brian Phillips. Posted Thursday, June 10, 2010.

The Loneliness of the American Soccer Fan: The world’s most popular sport is on the rise in the United States—and my neighbors still couldn’t care less about the World Cup,” by Daniel Gross. Posted Thursday, June 10, 2010.

The True Story of American Soccer: From The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup,” by Dave Eggers. Posted Thursday, June 10, 2010.

Among the Braniacs: The intellectual classes descend on soccer,” by Bryan Curtis. Posted Wednesday, June 9, 2010.

The Secret History of American Soccer: In the 1920s, soccer was on the cusp of becoming a major sport in the United States. Then it all crashed and burned,” by Brian Phillips. Posted Wednesday, June 9, 2010.

Why Do Brazilian Soccer Players Have No Last Names?: And other World Cup questions, answered by the Explainer,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Wednesday, June 9, 2010.

The Greatest Ad I’ve Ever Seen: Nike’s epic, witty, wonderful new World Cup ad,” by Seth Stevenson. Posted Monday, June 7, 2010.

Hang Up and Listen: The Dead Solid Perfect Edition,” by Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin and Mike Pesca. Posted Tuesday, June 1, 2010.

Hello, World Cup: Assessing Team USA’s chances after a final tuneup for South Africa,” by Alan Siegel. Posted Monday, May 31, 2010.

Hang Up and Listen: The LeBron is Cement Edition,” by Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin and Mike Pesca. Posted Monday, May 17, 2010.