What are you noticing about the buzz in your home town?

Dunno about you, but everywhere I go, there is World Cup buzz. I'm in France this week, and when I got a cab from Charles de Gaulle airport, my driver, who drove with more switches of direction than the greatest midfielders, was from Senegal, but for this World Cup, was all about neighboring Ivory Coast. He assured me that the final was going to be Germany v Ivory Coast -- the first ever final with African representation.

As he dropped me off, we agreed to a joint expression of football futility: "Alley la Cote d'Ivoire, et allez Australie!"

Not likely, to say the least.

Last week, I had a little business to do at the immigration office of Homeland Security, which perhaps should be the catchcry for the US backline at the Cup. Well, I was, as only appropriate, a little apprehensive as I proceeded through the several stages of entry into the hallowed halls of Homeland Security office – this was in Tukwila, Wa., so perhaps "hallowed" overstates the case. Finally, after the usual two hours of bureaucratic delays, I made it to my biometrics appointment, and was having my fingerprints taken when the technician, a young bloke originally from Vietnam, called over his supervisor, also 20-something, and originally from Mexico. For some reason, a World Cup reference was made, and it was on for young and old. The Mexican-American's loyalties were divided, but he didn't, in any case, think much of either team's chances, and suggested that their high FIFA rankings are a joke. We spent the next 20 minutes jawing about this team and that, and this run-up game and that.

Needless to say, I passed my biometrics process with flying colors, am being allowed to stay in the US for at least another while, and report these events not from Gitmo.

Do report your experiences of World Cup buzz, on the comments page.

- Soccernut