The World Cup is over. Damn. Got to get back to real life.

No more games at 7 in the morning, no more excitement, no more arguments about who is a bad soccer player versus who is good. No more hilarious Maradona quotes to counter the usual regurgitated platitudes that spill from the mouths of coaches…

But this beautiful ride had to end, and it ended on a high note. The team that played the prettiest soccer won (Spain), the flashiest player scored the winning goal (Iniesta), and a new champion was added to the elite 8 of past world cup champions. I was rooting for Argentina, and I am going to be depressed for another 4 years, but I am at least satisfied knowing that an offensive team won the cup and that Soccer is growing in this country.

TV ratings were high, if you didnt believe my last sentence. People seemed to have a good time drinking pre-noon in bars and making brief alliances with countries all for the sake of enjoyment. If this is any indication, the next world cup in Brazil should be a glorious and effervescent event that will most likely incite Armageddon and destroy humanity. Special News: Espn3.com is going to show over 800 soccer matches from Europe online next year, which will keep me and fellow soccer fans content on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Soccer is different from other sports. It is passion, suffering and love. Usually it’s suffering. As a fútbol loving Argentine, I know a bit about suffering. The Brazilians always goddamn win, and there is always some small error that knocks us off the World Cup: Maradona’s Ephedrine problem in ‘94, opprobrious coach in ‘98, deplorable team in ‘02, not playing Messi against Germany in ‘06, playing Maxi Rodriguez and Otamendi in ‘10… All of those losses left me depleted and downtrodden for months on end following the tournament. It is hard for Americans to understand the importance of soccer to other people around the world. It really is more than a game. It means life. Just watch this amazing commercial from Argentina. I seriously i get a tear every time it plays.

Why do you think Brazilians are always smiling? And the British always frowning? Soccer.

Overall, I am content with the outcome of the World Cup. The better teams advanced, the best team won, the overtly defensive and boring teams got eliminated early (England, Greece and Italy) and South Africa served as a splendid host. There was some drama (The French team implosion, USA’s run, Maradona), some amazing goals (see below), and even some activism.

What follows is a recap of the 2010 World Cup’s most defining moments: the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.

The Good

–Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites have increased awareness of the World Cup in the U.S., helped people find bars that showed the games, and let people in on the discussion with all the drama the US team faced in the group stage. Chad Ochocinco, and Steve Nash are a few celebrity athletes that publicly followed the games.

–The discussion over goal line technology spread like wildfire after all of the missed calls from previous games, and now there is some serious pressure that might force Sepp Blatter (the archaic fuhrer of FIFA who vaguely resembles Jabba the Hut) to make some changes or–gasp–step down as president.

–People are beginning to recognize good soccer. Brazil was a pretty team to watch until Dunga took over. But now people are realizing that soccer is not boring when teams like Spain, Holland and Argentina play with an offensive and beautiful style.

–Italy didnt win the world cup! They played defensive, fascist soccer, which sadly is effective most of the time. This time they placed in worse standing than New Zealand. What did they expect when they didnt call up Rossi or Balotelli? Oh you wanted old, decrepit and injured Camoranessi and Pirlo. Way to go Lippi. You just got herpes bitch.

The Bad

–Vuvuzuelas: Don’t give me this overplayed shit from ignorant sports journalist/ESPN/Jay Mariotti that it is South Africa’s culture to blow a horn that plays no note but an annoying bee sound. It’s a part of their culture? Oh Really? you know what’s also a part of their culture? Apartheid. Colonization. Racism. Don’t be condescending toward people that you know nothing about. The Vuvuzelas are FUCKING annoying and probably ruined Africa’s home field advantage by drowning out the fans singing and chanting. Minus 10 points for FIFA.

–The ball. Way to do it again Adidas! in 2002 they introduced a new ball that no one played with before and used a special gas so it would go higher and faster. The result? a shitty World Cup where Brazil won with a fatty striker. The 2010 World Cup had the second lowest goal count ever. Everybody hates this ball. Everybody. This new ball is as bad a decision by a huge dumb corporation as it was it for Fox to cancel Arrested Development. Yeah, that bad.

–Joe Biden. I seriously forget he is our VP of Sales in America. He is so useless that some of the American players didn’t even greet him when he came to visit the squad before the England game. Damn, go plant a tree or something, White Boy. You look like you molest your niece during family vacations.

The Ugly

–Domenech. I only blame him for the French team’s disaster because he is the man that picked the squad. Like Italy, he called up old players that were too slow to play this level of soccer. No one in France liked him and the French Football Federation had named his successor before the Cup even started.

–Italy. Flopping jerks.

–Cristiano Ronaldo. Thats what you get for being named after the Reagan.

–England. Way to have a foreign coach teach you how to play bad soccer. That sucks. not as much as Rooney. HA!

& last but not least, THE BEAUTIFUL

–ESPN’s top 10 world cup goals seem to be randomly picked. In my opinion, these are the prettiest goals that World Cup had to offer:

–If only Forlan was Argentine. Dangnabbit.

–Here are FIFA’s top goals. way better than ESPN’s.

–Palermo’s goal vs. Greece

–Villa’s goal against Portugal (go to 0:51)

–Podolski’s goal against England (go to 0:30)

–All of the goals in the Italy vs. Slovakia game.

–Higuain’s third goal vs. South Korea (go to 1:41)

Eliseo C is a frequent contributor to Serious ‘Stache & in case you couldn’t tell, (ha!) a very passionate Argentinian fellow. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER