World Cup Death Watch

I love soccer. I hate death.

So what to do when World Cup rolls around and the two get entwined in a month-long headlock?

Answer: The World Cup Death Watch.

Here's how it works: Guess how many people will perish worldwide in World Cup-related violence between June 9th and July 9th. Get your guess in by 11:59pm on June 19th, EST. Whoever comes closest wins a WFMU Messenger bag filled with CDs, T-shirts and other sundry WFMU crapola. Bear in mind, we're not talking just about deaths in Germany! We're counting arson in Australia, deadly bar brawls in Brazil, homicidal hooliganism in Helsinki, just as long as the World Cup is implicated in a news report of said incident. More rules below, but first a wrap-up of World Cup weirdness to get you started:

Sex slaves being smuggled in to Germany to populate giant World Cup Brothel in Berlin.

Brits seize passports from 3,500 known soccer hooligans to prevent them from going to Germany.

Incessant flag-waving likely to be deadly.

Domestic violence sites worldwide gear up for increase in World Cup related battered women crimes.

Germans say: It will all be the fault of Polish hooligans!

German police will hum loudly when British hooligans sing their silly songs.

Nine million extra pints of beer to be consumed in UK during Wolrd Cup: no relation to forthcoming "summer of violence."

British World Cup video at youtube, via Moritz from Sound Scavengers

And dont forget this amazing Russian soccer brawl video.

Now get your guesses in. You can follow the official count with this link here. Follow the jump for the fine print.

World Cup Death Watch Rules:

• Only one guess per IP number.
• No pre- or post- World Cup deaths count. Death must occur between 12:01am on June 9th and 11:59pm on July 9th, Berlin time.
• In case of a tie, the earlier guess wins, and in case of an over-under tie, the lower guess wins.
• If you really want to win, leave a valid e-mail address. If your e-mail address is invalid, I'll go to the next closest guess. Feel free to put a fake address in the required field and then spell out your real e-mail address in the body of the comment if you're concerned about spam-bots.
• Deaths must be violence or mayhem related, eg: plane crashes don't count unless marauding hooligans have stormed the cabin, causing the plane to crash.
• Work the word "hooligan" and its many variations into your guess for extra credit.
• More rules to be devised as the need arises.

Comments

[Dominic "'Who'll Again' enter a contest" Maze]

For the hooligan death-watch, I can only speculate that the hooligan death count will be 63 worldwide hooligan perpetrated deaths. Hooligan. By the way, keep up the great work you guys.
Dom

[Big Queenie]

I'm shooting low. Put me down for a death count of 25.

[David]

Put me down for 45

[Ajax]

12 deaths. Hopefully they are all hooligans, because I am no fan of hooliganism. Though I will take vigilantes if I have to.

[\_escarpment]

The amount of deaths will equal 42 or what is commonly referred to as a "hoogle".

[GemilePower]

I guess 76, a number of almost divine completness, deaths of hooligan origin.
The original rapscallion, Satan the Devil is busy at work this year.

[Brandon]

I think that people here are really underestimating how much the world enjoys the beautiful sport of Football; 150 will be the amount of the dead.

[simon kvalheim]

I think there will be at least 85 hooligan related deaths around this world cup.........By the way ..Hooligan,Hooligan,Hooligan.

[toober]

37 is my number. Hooligans, start you angers...

[Elliot Harmon]

49 Hooligans

elliotharmon at gmail dot.com

[Baz]

Hooligans x Death = 108

[poesboes]

I'm all for world peace... Hooligans, Snooligans. Put me down for zero Ken!

[Chad Vandemark]

There is no doubt in my mind that 196 people will perish in WC related mayhem.

On a side note I also predict 362 world cup related groin kickings.

[Isil]

VAMOS ARGENTINA CARAJO!

Hopefully therell be no goal against their own side`s murders.

[Luke]

I'll say 18.

R.I.P. future dead hooligans......

[Bart]

129 hooliganical deaths as a result of hooliganocity.

[Metropolitan Police operation against soccer violence]

30. i also predict this will be the number of daily searches for "world cup death" done by whomever has the task of keeping track of this.

confusedmuse at sbcglobal dot net

[kevin]

17 people will die as a result of excessive outbursts of hooliganistic behavior.

[Don]

79 hooligan or hooligan-related deaths including one Richard MacGruder who will, for the first time in his 39 years, completely forget the World Cup is going on. Upon realizing his error his head, a la Scanners, will explode.

[william]

23 is my power number, so I say 'ooligans will off 23 souls this cup...by the way, thanks for pointing me to "Life among the Thugs," it was awesome.

[A. Keegan]

60. I just have a feeling.

[cxa]

173

hooligans
ostensibly
overreacting
like
immature
gits
are
nefariously
snuffed

marshallstacks at yahoo

[M. Hughes]

31 Happy Hooligans pushin' up daisies.

mobilesworking at gmail.com

[Voxmeow]

4 Hooligans will never hear gooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal again.

[krebstar01]

My Number? >>> 32. <<<

I'm optimistic, and also to say that the tickets in Germany are so well regulated in order to prevent 'hooliganism', like one per person (so you can't buy a bunch and then bring all your 10 buddies after your've all gotten hopped up on Jever and corn liquor).

Plus the sex trade in most western European countries is almost regulated, so no deaths from smuggling says I -- if anything the world cup will perhaps inspire a proper sex workers union (start writing your sex worker union anthems now).

Remember, once a match is underway, folks are glued to the screen and won't move.

I say the deaths will be rare and incidental, heart attacks and yes bar brawls here and there (world wide).

Maybe a lone suicide when a team brings shame to ones home country team.