Tomorrow is the big day, the day the 2010 World Cup finally kicks off in South Africa. It seems like it was eons ago that Italy hoisted that most precious hardware, the Jules Rimet Trophy, after Zizou’s zany antics involving the hardest part of his head and the center of Materazzi’s manly chest. Now, it is time for another team to go from local lads to worldwide legends.

It is time for just one nation to rise above their restless rivals and claim their spot in soccer lore. 

Amazingly, that one nation will be just one of the 204 countries who competed to be included in the 2010 World Cup. No other sporting event in the world brings the entire planet together like this single soccer tournament. Tomorrow’s games will be the “first” of the tournament, but they will also be the culmination of qualifying campaigns that began way back in 2007. While we are all focused now on who will win, we should also note that we all have actually won.

What I mean by that is, the world is a better place because of this spectacle known as the World Cup. It forces us to come together even if we may disagree on political issues. For one month, the tournament allows us to enjoy top shelf soccer and distracts us from the incessant social turbulence that threatens to engulf our spirits. Soccer may be just a game. But, it is a game that generates goodwill among gregarious gents from all different parts of the world.

So, consider this your formal invitation to join us for the soccer storm that will start tomorrow and rage for 30 days and nights. Consider this your “golden ticket” to the “big dance.” Join us here and meet soccer supporters from far away regions all over the world who are in love with the world’s most beautiful game. In short, please come back to STO (and our sister sites PLTO, SATO and LLTO) throughout the 2010 World Cup for the best soccer news around.

photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video