Like many in the country, I try and watch the World Cup every four years. I also followed the hysteria of David Beckham’s MLS debut a few years ago.

The lack of scoring is one. Who wants to watch a 1-0 or 0-0 game?

Look at hockey, for example. Its TV ratings are lower than any other of the major sports here in America. Low scores in games have a lot to do with that.

Secondly, and this irked me during the opening round of the World Cup, what type of sport is OK with ending a game in a tie?

Last time I checked, sports are a competition to prove which team is superior. You lose that competitive nature with ending a game in a tie. Hockey finally learned that and implemented the shootout during the regular season. People were sick of watching a game for 2.5 hours just for it to end in a tie.

But while watching the U.S. in this year’s World Cup, one thing stood out to me more than anything else: the excessive amount of diving.

How am I supposed to take the sport seriously when a player, clearly shown on replay, drops to the ground to fake an injury, sometimes without even being touched?

Now, I’m not saying that all soccer players that fall are wussies or pretending to be hurt. Like any other sport, injuries happen. It’s part of being an athlete. But to embellish a little contact just to draw a penalty card or stall play really compromises the integrity of the game.

During the U.S.’ elimination match, players for Ghana were dropping like flies during the final 10 minutes. I can only imagine how frustrated the American players were to have the game halted as trainers for Ghana took their sweet time walking out on the field with a stretcher in an effort to stall play and waste time.

Yet, every World Cup I see it happen more and more, with the referees standing idly by. To their credit, most don’t fall for it. But something more needs to be done.

Implement a stopped clock. Instruct officials to become stricter with penalty cards, especially toward the end of a match. Do something.

Just stop with the diving. Maybe more Americans will take the game seriously then.

Carlos was an English teacher.  Both his school and home were demolished by the earthquake.

“I was walking across the street, and then everything shook,” he said.  “I tried running back to the house, but it was destroyed.  The noise from the buildings coming down was loud.  People were crying, blood was everywhere.”

Since then he has relocated his family to one of the many tent cities now popping up within the city.  There is no room for him, so he stays somewhere else.

“I sleep on the ground in front of the palace,” said Carlos.  “I paint to provide since the earthquake because there is no employment.”

Carlos is a member of a political group in Haiti called “Aba Demon” which means “Get out, Demon.”  They use the word, “Demon” not necessarily as a dark spirit, but as a term for a political power they view as negative.

“We are going to fight against their corruption,” he said.  “The government is taking food from us.  They are taking what’s supposed to go to us.  We have to fight!”

Aba Demon has engaged in skirmishes with the police.  Carlos is a testament to the deadly battles that ensue.

“I have been shot twice by them,” he said.  “My brother was shot 3 times by the government.  They killed him and also my cousin.”

Carlos bears the scars from bullets on his hip.  He even keeps photographs of his brother and cousins’ bodies which were too graphic to publish.  He blames most of Haiti’s problems on the corruption of the leadership, and says they steal the people’s food.

“The government is taking the food that is supposed to go to us,” Carlos said.  “The only way we can have peace is to fight.”

Carlos thinks the United Nations and the Red Cross have done very little for the amount of support they received.  He strongly believes, however, that the United States through former President Bill Clinton’s program is doing very much to help the situation.

“They do good work because they spend money for the poor people,” he said.  “We need that.”

Carlos shared Aba Demon’s upcoming plan to create a massive demonstration against the government in Port-au-Prince.

“After the world cup, thousands of us are going to fight,” said Carlos.  “We are going to protest nonviolently, but we will get shot at.”

Many of Aba Demon’s past demonstrations have erupted in violence from both sides.  Although bystanders have been hurt in the cross fire, Carlos said that the prospect of a free country was worth the lives.

“There will be more blood if we fight, but also more peace,” he said.

“On July 12, you are going to see it.”

As much as most Americans wanted the Games to be within the States, it truly is only fitting that Rio de Janeiro in Brazil be awarded the games. The modern Games have been played since 1896 and have only been hosted on four continents. The Brazilian city tried for the Games in 1936, 2004 and 2012.

With everything happening with the American infrastructure — health care reform, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the economic meltdown happening across the country — now is not the time to prepare for the Games, which would cost the city of Chicago about $4.8 billion, according to USA Today.

Although the United States is disappointed the Games won’t be coming here, the unity in a South American nation for the Games will be ever present. The continent is one of the last civilized continents to host the Games, with Africa being the only other one.

The benefit of Rio hosting the Games in 2016 is the stadiums and structures will all be ready anyway. Brazil is hosting the 2014 World Cup, so preparation has already begun.
It also is clear the world is ready for the games to go south of the Equator once again. While most of the votes from the International Olympic Committee in the first round went to Madrid, after Chicago was eliminated, most of the U.S. city’s voters swung toward Rio.

“It is a time to address this imbalance,” Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said to the IOC’s members before the vote, according to espn.com. “It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country.”

Chicago also spent a lot of money promoting the city as a “blue-green” site for the Games, a term coined to describe the environmentally-friendly setting the city proposed for the Games.

The city planted 500 plants in a rain garden to help filter runoff and reduce flooding while helping bolster its bid.

While most Americans are upset Chicago wasn’t even close to getting the Games — the city was eliminated in the first round in front of Tokyo and Madrid — the world knew it was time for Rio to host the Games.

Congrats, Rio. The spotlight will be on you for two years, between the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The time has finally come.