Pokemon and the World Cup

When I was a kid the World Cup was one of the most exciting sporting events going around.

It's not like that anymore.

Most of the English Premier League clubs now have a large roster of foreign players.

So the chances of seeing new or undiscovered talent is rare.

What's really affected the World Cup though is the corporate dollar.

Even the bloody ball has a sponsor!

This week things hit an all time low when Japan announced that its team mascot for this year's tournament would be Pikachu.

Yes Pikachu. A bloody Pokemon!

Of course there's more to this than just a mascot. This is about deal between Nintendo and Adidas.

Honestly what is the world coming to when the once mighty Three Stripes is joining forces with an 18 year old computer game?

And what are we to think when the Blue Samuri (as the Japanese team are known) run out on the pitch accompanied by Pika-bloody-chu.

Yes it'll attract kids to football. Yes it'll get talked about. And yes the Japanese will probably love it.

But seriously. It's the World Cup for goodness sake!