So the World Cup starts tomorrow. This would normally be a time of great rejoicing, but sadly I won't get to see any of the opening day action (live, at least), as I have to attend to the closing on our house.

I'll deal with the last item first. A while back, I noted that I wasn't feeling all that bad about selling the family home. That had continued up to yesterday, when I got an email from my future sister in law, asking how I was feeling about it. She mentioned that my sister, who hasn't lived in the house for a good dozen years at any rate, was feeling sad about it.

Which got me to think about it some more, and feel a little more melancholy about the whole thing. I've brightened up a bit since, thinking more about what I wrote before, and I think I'm back to being OK. That may change by this time tomorrow, after papers pass and money changes hands.

I know there are things I'll miss. I know that, when I am back in Manchester, and I go by the house, I'm going to think of it as still being ours, and will have quite the temptation to walk right in. But I'm also thinking about my mom, who was in a similar position when she was young. She spent a lot of time living in Manchester going by the house she lived in as a girl, and it didn't seem to cause any sort of sadness. Of course, she didn't always have the easiest time in that house (seems that her grandmother lived with them for a time, and she wasn't keen on my mom for whatever reason).

The difference for me is that I'm not living in the town anymore. That may change in the future, as Sarah has a strong interest in living there (even stronger than mine, which comes and goes), but for now I'm kind of dispossessed. That may not be as big a deal as it sounds, seeing that I got up to Manchester precious few times over the last year or so.

More on this as it happens, of course.

Looking at the World Cup, my biggest concern is that I may fall asleep at my desk a lot. Consider that most start times for opening round games are 2:30, 5, and 7:30. That's AM! The US-Portugal match is a 5 am start on a Wednesday. I do have to start being in the office earlier starting next week (4 day work weeks, which makes Friday viewing easier), but even so, that's early!

The US is in an interesting group. They face Portugal, South Korea, and Poland. Conventional wisdom says they have to go 1-1-1 to make the quarterfinals. That's probably true. Portugal is the clear class of the group, led by Luis Figo and Rui Costa. For a while they were a trendy pick to win it all, but some lackluster play leading up to the Cup cooled such talk. I can't see them losing in group play, but perhaps the US can fight them to a tie.

South Korea hasn't had much success in the World Cup, never winning a game. But they're playing at home, and have worked hard to improve. The US match is at Taegu, the largest stadium in use for the Cup in South Korea, with over 60,000 fans. You can guess how many Americans will be on hand. Weather may also be a factor, as I've read that there's a good chance for hot and humid weather. The US should be able to beat the Koreans, but there's a definite home field advantage to overcome.

Poland is the X factor in the group, having been absent from the World Cup for 16 years. This after being much in the swing of things, finishing third in 1974 and 1982. Their new success comes from replacing the old, Communist-era soccer heirarchy, and the emigration of Emmanuel Olisadebe from Nigeria to Poland. Not that he's their only player, but he's the straw that stirs the drink. In a perfect world the US would beat Korea and only need a tie here to move on. My fear is that Poland will also go 1-1-1, making goal differential come into play. My hope is that the Koreans will spend their nut to beat Poland in the first game, and fall flat in the second against the US.

Of course, if the US does finish second, they get to play the winner of group G in the quarters. That'll almost certainly be Italy. Uh oh.