I was at Best Cuts last night waiting for my kids to get a haircut. As I sat quietly, I noticed an ESPN the Magazine with Paul Pogba on the cover. "Cool," I thought to myself, a Premier League preview.
Nope. The Magazine was 2 months old and loaded with World Cup Predictions. Usually I wouldn't hold ESPN to their predictions, but the magazine had the article The New Hooligans of Russia, which was my online inspiration to write the rebuttal: The World Cup (Someone Will Be Wrong). ESPN was predicting carnage in the stands of Russia and it just didn't happen.
So with that in mind, I reviewed ESPN's other World Cup Predictions. Man, they were wrong about EVERYTHING.
GOLDEN BOOT: HARRY KANE - 6 Goals
Runners Up: Lukaku, Griezmann, Mbappé, Cheryshev, and Ronaldo - 4 Goals
ESPN's Team of Soccer Experts (?) - Mark Ogden, Shaka Hiblop, Stewart Robben, Paul Mariner, Gab Marcotti, and Alajandro Moreno all incorrectly chose the Golden Boot. Mariner wins this category for being the closest for chosing Griezmann.
FINALIST: FRANCE v CROATIA
ESPN: All incorrectly chose the finalists, only Mariner chose 1 of the 2.
WORLD CUP WINNER: FRANCE
ESPN: Mariner chose well in hitching his wagon to France,
GOLDEN BALL (BEST PLAYER): LUKA MODRIC
ESPN: All analysts were incorrect.
They didn't even get close as none of their choices won the SILVER BALL, either.
GOLDEN GLOVE (BEST GOALKEEPER): THIBAULT COURTOIS
ESPN: Moreno finally got one right. He was the only one.
DARK HORSE: CROATIA
No writer was even correct on the continent.
FLOP: GERMANY
Marcotti was the blind squirrel that found a nut.
MOST LIKELY TO BE RED-CARDED?
ESPN: There were 4 Red Cards during the tournament. The panel predicting none of the offenders.
Paul Mariner actually did a fair job on predictions by more or less having France run the table.
Everyone else? What can you say, if they were any good at their jobs, they'd probably be on Fox.
Just a personal note: The Coach at my Alma Mater, Ben Dotson, is doing a fantastic job turning Brunswick High into a regional soccer force.
I predict continued success for BHS with Dotson at the helm.