Global Ground Zero

Spain – 2010 World Cup Champions

By The Hunger

If you ever wanted to hook up with a Spaniard, 2010 World Cup Sunday was paying better odds than a defective poker machine. Patriotism and partying, synonymous with Spanish football fans, hit a new national zenith in the wake of the country becoming the newly crowned world champions of football. I gate crashed the Spanish World Cup festivities the day before the big match.

To be in a foreign country and witness a page being written in their history book is special. Elections, sporting events, carnivals, festivals, revolutions, coup d’états are also events that become watermarks of history (as are wars, terrorist attacks and assassinations albeit with a darker twist). The feeling of that day is etched into the Spanish national psyche forever. Just listen to how the English talk about their 1966 victory; it’s as though they all live in a mental time machine.

There aren’t many days like this in life – everyone is naturally euphoric and people are more open to talking with strangers. It reminded me of when I was in Sydney for the 2000 Olympics; small talk had never been so interesting. This 2010 World Cup moment, combined with beers and sangria produced a powerful social cocktail of opportunity.

Global Event

Imagine what it was like when man first landed on the moon on July 20^th, 1969. It would have been one crazy night, even if you weren’t American or in the US. I remember hooking up with an American girl in Australia the night President Obama was inaugurated. Sharing this experience with someone with a home team advantage added another dimension to the event; like how some would prefer to spend St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland drinking with a bunch of Irish

Not everyone was lucky enough to watch Hendrix pluck his guitar at Woodstock 69′ or watch the Berlin Wall crumble in 89′. Future historic events don’t stick to a timetable and no one can predict when or where the next Global Ground Zero will be.

Increase your chances by checking festivals and global sporting event schedules or important anniversaries of past events. However, each one of these situations is prototypical – that’s what makes them so unique. Fans attended Game 6 of the 1977 World Series of baseball with typical finals excitement, but nothing could prepare them for Reggie Jackson’s triple homerun magic.

A Global Event gives a sense of history to our own timeline.  As the years pass and the memory fades, the Global Event you remember most will be the one that was extra special.

Flagging, Flags of the World