We're witnessing quite a few firsts in this year's World Cup the first time an African nation has hosted the World Cup and the first time two European teams will face off in a final held outside Europe. Most importantly, whether it is Spain or the Netherlands who hoists the trophy at the end of the match, it will mark a first-time victory for the winning nation.
It seems improbable that two of Europe's finest teams filled with talent that is normally scattered across top-flight league teams have yet to get their hands on a World Cup trophy. Both teams have worked extremely hard to get to this point, and either one could walk away with a victory that would be wholly overdue.
But despite the historical significance of this year's tournament, I'm going into the weekend's last two games feeling surprisingly underwhelmed.
Maybe I'm just bitter that the United States lived up to its reputation of "most likely to disappoint" yet again, or maybe I'm just not ready to face the rest of Summer term without streaming World Cup games in class.
Either way, I'm preparing for the momentous final with a sense that I was not given the show I was promised.
The buildup to this year's tournament in the States was bigger than I have ever seen I set my hopes too high. I was met with a handful of mediocre games, a side of some really dreadful soccer and, perhaps, only a dash of brilliance.
The flair came from places I didn't expect, and was lacking in any team historically known for its "Latin American" style of play. Countries like Brazil struggled in the opening group stages (scoreless at halftime against North Korea?). Germany, on the other hand, usually renowned for dagger-like long-range strikes and disciplined formation, dazzled crowds and surprised competition with its lethal counter attacks and unpredictable midfield buildups.
And so much for all the talk about the dreaded Jabulani ball and its legendary swerving capabilities. It took more than half of the month-long tournament for Japan to finally capitalize off of a free kick, in a 3-1 win against Denmark in its final group-stage game.
To add insult to injury, highly-ranked teams exited this year's tournament too soon and did so in laughable fashion. France checked out early on its own terms by refusing to practice, and teams like Italy and England, bolstered by so much hope and expectation, were, in the end, just average teams from soccer-crazed countries.
If you, like me, were hoping for the drama of the 2006 World Cup - a repeat of Zidane's infamous headbutt or even any of the wildness of the "Battle of Nuremburg" round of 16 match between Portugal and the Netherlands (which saw a staggering 12 yellow cards and four red cards) - then you have been truly disappointed. This year's most heated altercation wasn't even on the field, but near the benches at halftime between Argentina and Mexico in the quarterfinals. For a good part of the incident, in fact, it appeared that Argentina was just arguing within its own team.
The most striking disappointments, perhaps, have been the individual failures. Portugal's Christiano Ronaldo scored only one goal this tournament, a shot against North Korea which TV replays later showed should have been called offside, and his former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney hardly scared any of the competition. Argentina's Lionel Messi was not allowed a single inch of space to work his magic, and other heroes like the Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba and France's Franck Ribery hardly mustered performances worthy of their respective league teams.
But despite these faults and disappointing performances, at the end of this competition, we're going to want to remember the impressive plays and pretty set ups that brought some teams victory and others anguish we're going to miss this when it's over. We'll recall Landon Donovan's game-saving goal in stoppage time against Algeria and Ghana's inspiring run to the quarterfinals while all the weight of Africa's hopes rested on its shoulders.
This Sunday's final still has the potential to be filled with excitement. While the Netherlands has cruised through this World Cup with a winning streak and has outscored Spain two-to-one, the Spaniards are the reigning European champions who defeated tournament-favorite Germany. (Note: the Spain-Germany game also marked a perfect record for oracle Paul the Octopus, who correctly called every Germany game in the tournament.)
Whatever the result, we can rest assured that any lingering frustration at the end of the match will be droned away by the vuvuzelas.