During the 2010 World Cup I happened to be touring Spain and Italy with my family. I was in Spain for a week during the early rounds before anyone had any idea that Spain would emerge as the eventual winner. I watched one of the games at a Spanish family's house (who were personal friends in Barcelona) while we were visiting for dinner. By the time I got to Italy the Italian team was on the verge of elimination and the locals I talked to were quite deflated about that development.