The literary community is just as jazzed about the World Cup as everyone else, spawning everything from a World Cup of Literature to mini-essays pondering the eerie physical resemblance between Argentinian winger Angel Di Maria and Franz Kafka.
Not to be left out, Penguin Books has launched a Penguin Cup featuring 16 teams, all boasting canonical writers from their respective countries. Manning the goal for Russia, for example, is Vladimir Nabokov, who gets a rating of 96 out of 100 for technique and a 94 for synaesthesia. France features Marcel Proust on the wing, while Chinua Achebe occupies the number 10 position for Nigeria.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But the most formidable team, by far, is Greece, which is stacked with the likes of Sophocles, Aristotle, and Homer. Who can compete? Which brings us, inevitably, to the best soccer-intellectual mash-up of all time, Monty Python's sketch "The Philosophers' Football Match." Happy World Cup Friday. --Ryu Spaeth
-
Out of office: microretirement is trending in the workplaceThe explainer Long vacations are the new way to beat burnout
-
Will California tax its billionaires?Talking Points Proposed one-time levy would shore up education, Medicaid
-
Blue Origin launches Mars probes in NASA debutSpeed Read The New Glenn rocket is carrying small twin spacecraft toward Mars as part of NASA’s Escapade mission
-
2 MLB pitchers charged with rigging throws for betsSpeed Read Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted
-
FBI nabs dozens in alleged NBA gambling ringSpeed Read Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are among 34 people indicted in connection with federal gambling investigations
-
Trump orders NFL team to change name, or elseSpeed Read The president wants the Washington Commanders to change its name back to the 'Redskins'
-
Thunder beat Pacers to clinch NBA FinalsSpeed Read Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals
-
MLB lifts ban on Pete Rose, other dead playersspeed read 16 deceased players banned for gambling and other scandals can now be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
-
Canada beats US in charged 4 Nations hockey finalSpeed Read 'You can't take our country — and you can't take our game,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted after the game
-
Eagles trounce Chiefs in Super Bowl LIXspeed read The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22
-
Indian teen is youngest world chess championSpeed Read Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, unseated China's Ding Liren
