Another week has gone by and the World Cup is over. Even though I'm not much of a soccer fan, it was really interesting to be in Japan while they were co-hosting the Cup. Whole cities turned into mini-festivals for the teams they were hosting. School kids who might not have been able to locate Cameroon on a map got to meet and spend time with their team. Hell, even Fukui found a passion for Mexico, of all places. For over a month you could get Corona, Tacos and $400 sombreros at the department stores.

(Before you ask, the Mexican food was less spicy than I remember it should have been, but it was still a damn sight better than Taco Bell)

International interactions aside, it was surprising to see people cheering wholeheartedly for the Japanese team. I know it was only a passing fancy, but for over a month, everyone had at least that one thing in common. I was sorry to see the Japanese team lose.

But even after Japan was eliminated people still had a lot of interest in the games, especially with Korea's great performance. It's sort of a shame that feeling is gone.

But I'm not gonna miss that Beckham-style haircut. It's not like there weren't enough people running around looking like Astroboy without adding the molded hair-fin.