There’s a chance that Kevin Anderson might appear in Sunday’s Wimbledon final, and without being pessimistic that’s probably a once in a lifetime chance for the South African to claim the title.

If that’s the case, many sports fans will be torn between rooting for Anderson, in a match that starts on centre court at 3PM SA time, and a World Cup final that kicks off at 5PM our time.

Just get a few tennis appropriate drinks in your belly and hope for the best.

The question being asked at the moment is who to back in the footie final – France, who won in 1998, or Croatia, who have never made a final before.

I think I have given away my allegiance already, but The Atlantic has a fantastic piece, titled “The Greatest World Cup Fairytale of All Time“, that might seal the deal:

…we need to bow down before Croatia’s slightly ragged victory.

There are nearly four times more undocumented immigrants in the United States than the total population of Croatia. If metropolitan Philadelphia decided to secede and start its own nation, it would have a far bigger population pool to draw from than the Croats. The World Cup is historically a cartel—owned by a small handful of populous industrial nations—that Croatia stands on the brink of cracking.

Soccer, however, is at the core of its national narrative. It can be argued that the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, which culminated in the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the birth of independent Croatia, began at a soccer match. It took place in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, in the spring of 1990. Thugs from the Serb club Red Star Belgrade rushed from their section of the stadium toward Croatian fans chanting, “Zagreb is Serbian.”

A full-fledged riot ensued, with stabbings, shootings, and dozens of grave injuries. These casualties came in the shadow of Croatia’s first genuine elections in 50 years—and the riots helped propel Croatian separatists to victory. In other words, that game helped set in motion a chain of events that culminated in today’s game.

Luka Modric will lead his country into the single biggest match of their lives, and he also has a story worth retelling:

Luka Modric [below], the Tolkien-esque wizard at the core of the Croatian midfield, was himself a refugee. Serbian militia burned down his family’s home, and murdered his grandfather and six of his relatives. His family was consigned to live in a hotel, where he played soccer in the parking lot. Or take Mario Mandžukić, who scored today’s winning goal. As a child, he fled to Germany to wait out the war.

They also get on very well with photographers.

Alright, I can feel you’re starting to side with me, but other countries have also endured hardship.

I’ll take a fairytale finish:

Long before England managed to escape the curse of high expectations, these were a bunch of kids, fleeing grenades, without much reason to imagine their own success. That they have earned a place in the World Cup finals, despite their size and recent past, has the makings of one of the greatest stories in the history of the game.

I’m sure some of the French guys have overcome adversity to get where they are (like Olivier Giroud’s continual struggle with being really, really good looking), but a country of just over four million people stands on the brink of making history.

Kevin Anderson and Croatia for the double, and a well-earned hangover on Monday.

[source:atlantic]