There are exactly two weeks left until I become a soccer widow.

While J and I share enthusiasm for basketball and football, there is one sport where we do not stand on common ground: soccer.

Having grown up in Hong Kong and attended boarding school in England, J is a HUGE soccer — ahem, football — fan. His team of choice is Manchester United and he will be avidly cheering for England in two weeks. He even had a friend in Hong Kong find, and ship over a vintage England jersey for the event!

Me? I can care less about soccer. (According to J, I am too “Americanized” to appreciate the sport.)

Since the FIFA World Cup only takes place every four years, I am fully prepared to take the back seat to soccer for a month and let J enjoy his favorite sport. He will be hosting and attending parties, staying up late to catch games that are playing live, and partake in the drunken debauchery that usually accompanies the most popular organized team sport in the world.

Is anyone else looking forward to the 2010 World Cup?

While it is clear that I am not a big soccer fan, I will try my best to root for my home country, South Korea. I may be an American citizen but I will always have pride for my native country. And besides, S. Korea has had the most success and holds the most promise of all the Asian teams.

My favoritism (and bias) for Korea has already reared its ugly head. Earlier this week, J and I noticed the new 2010 World Cup murals posted on the side of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Times Square. J let out a chuckle as soon as he located the England one.

“Why is that funny?”

“The three people on the poster, the number 66…nevermind, you won’t understand. You need to know the history of the England team.”

I shrugged off his answer, and my eyes started roaming for the Korean mural…

…and there it was. It was easily the most striking and powerful mural of the collection. At least in my eyes.

Take a look at the rest of the 32 murals, commissioned by ESPN and illustrated by the South African design studio AM I Collective.

Algeria	Argentina	Australia	Brazil
Cameroon	Chile	Denmark	England
France	Germany	Ghana	Greece
Honduras	Denmark	Ivory Coast	Japan
Mexico	Netherlands	New Zealand	Nigeria
North Korea	Paraguay	Portugal	Serbia
Slovakia	Slovenia	South Africa	South Korea
Spain	Switzerland	Uruguay	USA

Which mural is your favorite?

Which team will YOU be rooting for in two weeks?