Associated Press columnist Nancy Armour called the opening World Cup ceremony “hokey,” saying FIFA put on an opening ceremony “that even a two-bit carnival wouldn’t take.” Yikes. In the U.S., we couldn’t see the opening ceremony on ESPN2 prior to the start, but gosh, we hope it wasn’t that bad. But a reggae band? Goat herders cracking whips, fake haystacks, wagons, and cowbells? Surely someone could have hired U2 (whose songs are all over this tournament), Oasis or even Tina Turner!!? As Armour says “Even Vince McMahon and the WWE folks would have found it tacky.” Fans go to the World Cup to see their team, sure, but also to witness the spectacle of the coming together of an entire nation to make the massive event happen. There’s something reassuring about knowing a series of games might help stop a civil war (in the case of the Ivory Coast), or command the attention of 95 percent of a country’s populace (in the case of Brazil). That’s the tournament; the ceremonies and such are a waste of money. In this instance, the folks at ESPN and the American media got it right: get right to the game, cause that’s what we’re here for.