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World Cup 2010 Draw: What Are You Hoping For? Posted: 03 Dec 2009 11:10 PM PST Don’t know if you heard, but the draw for World Cup 2010 happens today in Cape Town, South Africa. Judging by my TV schedule, FIFA are set to make the relatively simple process of picking balls out of pots last something like three hours. But no point complaining. Better to just dive in and enjoy. Because it’s basically a big party. With Charlize Theron, David Beckham and a multitude of other famous footballers and noted South Africans. There’s even a video address from the now 91 year old Nelson Mandela. Plus Sepp Blatter. So something for everyone. Unless you like expletive filled homophobic rants, as Diego Maradona’s ban includes this event. Below you’ll find a quick recap of how it all works, followed by a very simple, but very important question: Who’s your team and what are you hoping for? First the recap. As Chris explained on Wednesday, we have four pots: Pot 1 (Seeded teams): South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Holland, Italy, Germany, Argentina and England. Pot 2 (Asia, Oceania, North/Central America): Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Mexico and Honduras. Pot 3 (Africa, South America): Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay. Pot 4 (Europe): France, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Denmark and Slovakia. The eight groups (A to H) will be selected by Theron, Beckham et al drawing one team from each pot and hey presto you have a group of four. Only rule is that (with the exception of Europe) no group can have two teams from the same confederation. So when they draw the team from Pot 3 to go in South Africa’s group, it can’t be any of the African teams. I’m excited. You’re hopefully excited. Everyone is excited. And maybe a little anxious. Because no one wants to see their team in the dreaded Group of Death (which must exist, by law). So please share in the comments: Who is your team and who do you hope they get drawn with today? The ceremony (that’s the ceremony, not the actual drawing of balls) begins at 7pm Cape Town time, which is 12 noon USA eastern time, 5pm UK time. Chris will be LiveBlogging the event here on WorldCupBlog and following Charlize Theron’s movements. But not in a creepy way.

Meet Group of Death, the Band. Here for Group of Death, the Draw Posted: 03 Dec 2009 05:16 PM PST Comment on the Facebook page for Group of Death, the perhaps slightly tongue-in-cheek heavy metal, footy-powered band: “I was inspired to give my first wedgie to a nerd after listening to this album!!“ Can a band aspire to higher praise than this? I think not. But with songs like, “Your love is like a boot to the face,” I’m pretty sure this will not be the last time they receive this kind of accolade. Chorus: Your love is like a boot to the face Your kick leaves a mark The heart can’t erase Your love is like a boot to the face I’m down on the ground Now you’re runnin’ in place All over my face Shakespeare is turning green with envy. Or maybe it’s decomposition. Whatever. I still challenge you to listen through it and not fight the earworm for the rest of the afternoon. Meet Group of Death, the self-proclaimed “world's foremost football (soccer)-inspired heavy metal band.” More musical talent than Spinal Tap. More profundity than Paris Hilton. More Facebook fans than your grandma. (Unless she plays in a metal band, in which case all bets are off.) They’re helping ESPN roll out their coverage of the World Cup draw, and following up with a concert at Nevada Smith’s in NYC at 5:00. To get us in the mood for tomorrow’s draw, I asked the band a few questions: – What’s the history of the group? How long have they been together? Where are they from? The Group of Death has been around for over 50 years (since 1958), but our membership changes all the time. We're like a soccer-inspired heavy metal version of Menudo. Except, you know how Menudo has an age limit? In the Group of Death, you have to retire when it becomes obvious that you can no longer shred. We call it getting Black Carded. Once you get that Black Card, you're out. It's pretty intense but everyone understands, it's all about the soccer-inspired music. When you lose that focus, you gotta go. Because our membership changes, we are the world's most global band (which is appropriate because soccer is the world's most global sport). We're huge in Southeastern Asia and many of the Central American countries. If you spend any amount of time in Belmopan, Belize, you wouldn't be able to escape the Group of Death. They love us over there. – What’s the story on how the group and ESPN linked up? ESPN contacted us and said, "we need you to melt the faces off of soccer's most diehard fans" and that is an exact quote. Obviously that was an easy request because that's what we do anyway. Every four years, the Group of Death gets together and plays a huge show at Nevada Smith's in New York City. We watch the World Cup draw, see which teams will be in the Group of Death and then we each pick a team. Then we get painted up and play an epic show. It's like the metal version of Bruce playing the Stone Pony in Asbury. It's the official start of our tour. – What role is the group playing for ESPN, and vice versa? It’s obviously a cross-promotional thing, but are there concerts or appearances involved? ESPN has been extremely supportive of the Group of Death. They understand our vision of bringing the world music that celebrates soccer (aka The Greatest Sport Ever). There have been rumblings about them wanting to be involved in our Greatest Hits album, but right now, that's just rumors. We're psyched to have them as partners though in any capacity. – in the group’s bio, you say: After the World Cup groups are chosen, the band assumes the identities of the four countries that represent the Group of Death thus creating synergy with the football universe. Care to explain further? Of course. There is an energy in the universe that bounces around, much like when you kick a ball around the pitch. We are a band that sings about all things football and how awesome it is. When we assume the identities of the World Cup Group of Death, we create a connection between the music and the game that is stronger than most life-forces known to human kind. If you come to a show, you'll understand what we are talking about. It's like the universe is at peace and all is right with the world. Which is true because we are rocking and another amazing World Cup is officially underway. – what’s your group’s role on Friday for the draw? Our role is to celebrate the dawn of the greatest tournament in the world by shredding the ears and blowing the minds of all the football-metal fans that love rocking out. It's a role that we take very seriously. – what happens next, after the draw? For World Cup? It's time for the Group of Death World Tour. We rock and roll all the way to Soccer City, Johannesburg and leave a trail of melted faces in our wake. Soccer. World Cup draw. Heavy metal. The building blocks are in place. Now it’s up to you to make it work. So go forth. Become a fan. Or the next wedgie may be yours. www.facebook.com/thegroupofdeath www.myspace.com/thegroupofdeath

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