England

I lived for in England from 1982-1989. Formative years, where I fell in love with English football, the teams, tradition, and national team.

My boys - 10 and 8 - wear EPL jerseys most days to school and Sunday nights are reserved for the EPL game of the week and top highlights. The backyard holds two goals and a daily game where the boys pretend to be Rooney, Lampard, or Gerrard.

Imagine then the shock and confusion when their EPL idols went out not like the 3 Lions but rather like the 3 lambs.

Tears were spilled as they processed the 4-1 pasting by the Germans and the humiliation that was England's World Cup.

All sports fans live vicariously through their teams, but this World Cup is allowing me to see the depth to which children believe in their idols and the real pain the children feel when their heroes fail to live up to expectations.