World Cup fans blog their support

Berlin: For World Cup fans who couldn't make the trip to wave their national flags in packed stadiums or Germany's streets, emotions run just as high - and low - on hundreds of Web sites, blogs and discussion boards.

Soccer is dubbed the world's sport and its each reach across the World Wide Web is just as great.

Since the monthlong tournament started, scores of blogs have appeared - some professional, some decidedly less so - where fans cheer, jeer or bemoan each mighty win or devastating loss.

Some bloggers tout the triumphs of their favorite teams and players. Others dissect each match, opine on what teams should have done or raise the complaint that is as old as sport itself.

"One of the truisms of this World Cup is emerging," wrote Alex Ooms on The Denver Post's Soccerbawl, part of its Bloghouse feature. "If a referee can damage and deplete a game, they will."

Casual fans can get a free account with Google Inc.'s Blogger, transfer digital photos to Yahoo Inc.'s Flickr or other image-sharing sites, and even record short dispatches from a fanfest in Nuremberg or inside the stadium in Kaiserslautern.

For fans such as Bob Kellett of Portland, Oregon, the World Cup is a chance to blend a passion for soccer, a love of technology and rapid reporting of the day's events.

The 31-year-old former journalist took the helm of www.worldcupblog.org last year, building on the blog's beginnings from the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

"It was four guys who stayed up late at night and (got) some random traffic," he said. "In 2006, they decided they wanted to do it right. They recreated the site, with 32 team blogs, and hired me as the managing editor."

Unlike the blogs favoured by the hordes of traditional media, which use content from paid staffers, the World Cup Blog uses volunteers to cover each country before, during and after the event.

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"These are all fans ... not journalists," he said. "They are just people who love the team. Some are in the country, some are scattered around the world."

It also offers written and photo essays on fans and the 12 host cities as well as biting commentary about everything from the bikinis worn by female spectators to the hairstyles sported by some players.

"The World Cup is such a fun event and there are so many odd stories. A dog named Rommel from Japan? You can't beat that," Kellett said.

There's also the matter of sport.

The site, like those maintained by The New York Times, Britain's The Guardian and dozens more, offer live coverage of games for those who can't watch.

Each game is being blogged in real time with shots, yellow and red cards and goals tracked along with failed plays and balls gone out of bounds.

"It's stream of consciousness," said Kellett. "If I see a player and he's got really bad hair, I write about it."

Readers can comment as the action takes place, making for a lively discussion.

"It's like this virtual pub from around the world of people who don't know each other," he said.

Others merely take to the Web to post their musings on the beautiful game and the disruptions it causes.

One, Limey's World Cup Blog, reminds readers that the world is like a soccer ball, "round and constantly being kicked around by a bunch of fanatics in short pants."

The blogger wrote about throngs of Italy and Portugal fans in Switzerland celebrating their teams' victories.

"For the second week in a row, depending on who is playing, I have had to fight hordes of street paraders armed with air horns and flags on my way home," the blogger wrote. "If this goes on much longer, I will start spending the night at work. That is all."