Brazil World Cup Upset, by the Books

By Jason Boog 

upset.jpgToday the Netherlands upset Brazil in a stunning World Cup game, an upset that crashed Twitter as the world came to terms with the loss.

If you want a historical look at Brazilian upsets, check out the book entitled The Game of Their Lives: The Untold Story of the World Cup’s Biggest Upset by Geoffrey Douglas. The book looks back at an American win in the 1950 World Cup, but the championship ultimately ended with another Brazilian upset.

An description: “In the summer of 1950, a most unlikely group was assembled to represent its country in the first soccer World Cup since World War II. The Americans were outsiders to the sport, the underdogs of the event, a 500-to-1 long shot. But they were also proud and loyal men — to one another, to their communities, and certainly to their country.”

The loss also caused our favorite dark soccer correspondent, graphic novelist Warren Ellis, to tweet: “Brazil are knocked out of the World Cup. The sun comes out. Birds sing. The earth heals itself. Everything is beautiful.”

Author Andrew Keen tweeted: “glory glory Wesley Sneijder. Brilliant result. Bye bye Brazil. #WC comes to life.”