“It is astonishing how many of my friends, agnostics as they are, suddenly start praying the moment a World Cup match is before them. One of them texted me just before the opening game between Brazil and Croatia. ‘OMG. You know Im never in church. But today Im a believer.’ He then phoned me. He said the focus of his prayer was not any of the teams on the field. He was really rooting for the Japanese referee.” New Republic