To paraphrase the great Gary Lineker, football (soccer) is a game that lasts 90 minutes, and at the end, Styr's battle axe? Yes. But instead of letting it compromise your enjoyment of the game, just realize it’s all part of the theatrics and have a laugh. It also gives the other team a chance to catch a water break.

4. Tim Howard is Not a World Class Keeper

And neither was Casey Keller. Howard is a decent-to-good keeper, probably in the top 10 in the English Premier League, but it’s debatable if he should even be the starting goalie on the even Asamoah Gyan said he would have done, the “racial abuse” he was charged with doesn’t really hold much water, and while he dives a bit, so does everyone, including Brazil/Barcelona golden boy, Neymar. But he’s far from the villain he’s made out to be. (Even if he’s bitten a player once or twice.)

“Leo Messi will never be great until he wins a World Cup.”
The chance to win a World Cup comes every four years. He was 18 years old in 2006, and his coach in 2010 was Diego Maradona, who prioritized his choice of toilet over his team’s tactics. It’s hardly fair to judge Messi based on those two tournaments, particularly when he’s among the most decorated players in club football history.

“A European team cannot win it on South American soil.”
It used to be “...can’t win it away from Europe”, then Spain won in South Africa. Now it’s “...in South America.” Okay, that one’s true.

“The Netherlands are always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”
Also true. Blame Johann Cruyff.

11. There Are No Commercials

Okay, there are commercials. Tons of them. Everywhere you look you will likely see that FIFA has commercialized some aspect of the game. But in better news, there are no commercial breaks, a far cry from the onslaught of TV timeouts in American sports. It can be a little tough to get used watching a game go uninterrupted for 45 minutes at a time, but trust me, you will get used to it.

12. Host Nations Have an Advantage

The host nation has made it out of their group an incredible 19 out of 20 times (South Africa being the lone exception), and of the eight nations to win the whole shebang, six of them did it while hosting the tournament. The home field advantage at the World Cup is unlike almost any other in sports, and for that reason and that reason alone, Brazil is probably a safe bet to advance out of Group A. (It has absolutely nothing to do with Neymar, Thiago Silva, Fernandinho, David Luiz, Hulk, Willian, or Marcelo.)

13. Unknown Players Will Emerge

Even the most hardcore fan can’t watch every league around the world and the World Cup gives a universal platform for players to showcase their skills. Players no one’s ever heard of suddenly get a stage in front of billions of eyeballs, and putting in a great performance can mean a big-money move to a massive club.

At the same time, a great run of games does not a great player make. It seems to happen every World Cup - a player scores a couple of huge goals on the world stage and becomes the name on everyone’s transfer wish list. In truth, a few matches don’t say much about a player, and some national teams play a system that is built around their superstar, making them look better than they actually are. Some of them pan out, some of them don’t, but their performances for their club are a lot better indicator of quality than a few games.