Fan Will Move to World Cup-Winning Nation, Might Root Against North Korea

Billions will watch the World Cup final this summer. Barry Biechner might be the only one watching with a search for plane tickets open on his computer.

That’s because Biechner is going to move to the country whose team lifts the trophy in July.

It’s a good excuse to get out of Portland, Ore., where Biechner lives, because he writes that “starting fresh” has been on his mind for a while. And there are a lot of great choices among contending teams: Brazil, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Argentina would probably be considered lateral moves or upgrades. Better still, Biechner only stipulated that he would live in the winning country for a year. If that turns into a year’s vacation in Rio de Janeiro, Biechner might be the biggest World Cup winner outside of the winning team.

Of course, Biechner’s also got more reason than most Americans to root for the USMNT, too.

⇥⇥Although he’s trying to stay neutral for the sake of the blog, Biechner is rooting for the United States. “But I don’t think they’ll win. History has at least shown that. It would certainly be the most convenient [if the United States wins],” he says.To his credit, though, Biechner’s trying to be open to every possibility. Even North Korea:⇥⇥Biechner says he will try to follow through on his promise even if the winner is a country where he doesn’t want to live. He mentioned North Korea, which is also in the tournament. “No one wants to live there [but] I’d embrace it as just an experiment and do the best I can,” he says.That’s the spirit! North Korea will beat that out of you in less than a week.(HT: World Cup Blog.)

↵