Everybody blast some V8, HERMETICA, RATA BLANCA, PAPPO'S BLUES, RIFF, HORCAS, BLOKE, THOR, ALAKRAN, PESCADO RABIOSO, HELLION, LOGOS, NEPAL, TREN LOCO, ETC.

That was the best World Cup final match ever. Thanks to France to finally start playing in the last 10 minutes of regulation. Congrats to Messi and Argentina!

Yeah that was a great final. Argentina looked to have it done at 2-0 until 2 goals in 2 minutes bought France back into it. Then extra time Messi looked to have won it again only for an errant handball gave France a 3-3 tie heading into the penalty shootout. It had it all. Congratulations Argentina.

What a great match, it also showed why football is the king of all sports, popularity wise.

Well, Im happy for this World cup, because it means some happiness in a country were good news are rare. On the other hand is a slap in Mbappes face, for saying that football from Europe was way more advanced than south american football. I guess this is a very expensive lesson for him. Dont get me wrong, the guy is a beast, is young and has a great carrer ahead, but in this one he talked too much and karma was delivered

For people that follow it closely, in the pre-tournament poll, where was Argentina ranked in the power rankings?

I'm not much a fan of the sport (since it's just not really a thing in America) but I do watch the WC every four years because it's a ton of fun. I didn't watch this year for all of the moral reasons that most people who didn't watch cited. But I'm not here to preach.

But I will say, back in 1998, my third grade teacher decided to use the World Cup as the basis for a geography lesson, and assigned each kid in the class a random country that was playing to do a report on it. I was randomly assigned Argentina, and I decided way back when I was 7 or 8 years old that that was now set in stone and I would become a die hard Argentina supporter for a few weeks every four years. I've stuck to it ever since then and even though I didn't watch this edition of the tournament, I've gotta say it feels pretty great to be a fake fan right now. Is this how Patriots fans felt for like twenty straight years?

I don't watch this sport, but I do enjoy it when I do. Americans who don't think there is enough action, scoring, or whatever probably also don't like hockey. I don't understand their deal. Anyway...I didn't watch any this year, like Bastardhead. I am curious about the flopping and the history of flopping. Has it always been part of this sport? If not, when did it become so constant? In the early 2000s, the NHL used to send out tapes to all the general managers to show their teams of people/instances of someone flopping, as a way to embarrass them and discourage it. That stopped, and now it is all over hockey. This is the one way that I can't stand football and now hockey. Some of the best athletes on the planet, in the best condition, tattooed to the hilt, presenting the Alpha, and someone brushes their shoulder or taps their leg, and they flop around like a child at morning recess. I don't care how it serves or about the strategy. I can't deal. And the longer they try to sell it, the more removed I am from any enjoyment watching the game. But that's my deal, and I tend to not watch either of these sports, in part due to the flopping. So, if anyone wants to give me a quick lesson, I'm curious.

Diving has been in the sport as long as the sport has been codified. It started to become prevalent in the 1970s, though the players that were known for it were demonised, at least in the UK. One player well known for it was Manchester City striker Franny Lee.

The first real incident of international note was also the first red card in a World Cup Final. Jurgen Klinsman, a name that might be known to American fans, was playing for West Germany in the 1990 World Cup Final, and commited an atrocious dive that directly lead to the sending off of Pedro Monzon.

Another famous incident at a World Cup was Rivaldo against Turkey. At the time, his reputation was as one of the best players in the world, indeed he was the 1999 Ball'On Dor winner. In injury time of Brazil's first match against Turkey, a Turkey player, Hasan Sas, kicked the ball toward Rivaldo. It struck Rivaldo around the knee, and he went down holding his face like he had been hit with a cricket bat. The Sas was given a second yellow card, and as a result, was sent off. Rivaldo's reputation never recovered from that incident, and to this day, is probably best remembered for that incident.

The practice has become more prevalent since then, as the game has attracted more money. The 90s really saw the beginning of the wide spread use of diving to win penalties. Italy and Spain were the nations where it was most prevalent in the 1990s, but towards the second half of the 90s it became worse in leagues like the Premier League, and elsewhere both in Europe and internationally.

There has been some efforts by footballing authorities to clamp down in diving. Over the years, UEFA, the EPL and other footballing governing bodies have made various attempts to punish footballers beyond a simple yellow card. Currently in Australia, players are automatcially banned for one match if they have been found to have dived, and this can be implemented retroactively.

Yeah, the diving aspect of the game is the biggest dark spot within the sport for me. But, if it's not too prevalent, I can overlook it.

Thanks for the facts there, Terri. Most of that I didn't know.