7 slightly random, mostly Atlanta-centric facts to help you enjoy the World Cup final

Who knew? There’s a futbol club team in Argentina named Atlanta.
1018

Drinking beer, singing songs, spilling said beer while shouting “Gooooal!,” and singing more songs, it all comes to an end with Sunday’s World Cup 2014 final between Germany and Argentina. Will Germany score seven goals again, as they did against tear-stained Brazil? Will Messi turn all the pressure into diamonds with seven goals of his own? In what has been a zany World Cup, not even Nate Silver has the answers.

But to make the most of the finale, we’ve come up with seven facts and suggestions to help you better appreciate and enjoy the match here in Atlanta, 4,757 miles away from the action in Rio de Janeiro.

  1. If you can leave by Saturday, it’s not too late to fly to Rio for
    the final. You’ll just need $6,000 for the round trip plane ticket,
    returning on Monday, according to our Expedia research. Good luck
    getting a game ticket!
  2. Looking for a non-bar, slightly nerdy, definitely pro-German spot to
    catch the game? The Goethe Institute in Atlanta will show the final
    on Sunday. Also, did you know? Goethe himself once declared, “Knowing is
    not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
    Later, some say Nike shortened this to, “Just do it.”
  3. Hey, Argentina has a club futbol team named after Atlanta.
  4. Want to eat to a World Cup theme? For German cuisine, visit Kurt’s Bistro in Duluth. For Argentinean flavors, hit Sabores del Plato on Buford Highway.
  5. In honor of this World Cup and Atlanta’s reputation as an international city, let’s convince tipsy friends to start a campaign to bring exotic South American animals like Patagonian Maras and Maned Wolves to Zoo Atlanta! Or maybe some Alpine Ibex to the wildlife center at Stone Mountain?
  6. Does it seem like Germany has more fans at the bar? The 2010 Census recorded 224,952 Argentineans living in the U.S. In the same count, more than 49 million people identified themselves as German-American.
  7. Another connection between Argentina and Atlanta: The last time Argentina played in the World Cup final was 1990. That’s the same year Atlanta won the 1996 Summer Olympics. And this is really just a reason for us to watch this video again and jump up and down. Atlanta!
Advertisement