A Brief History of the World Cup

Morbid Silence
Brazil hosted the 1950 competition and were widely expected to defeat Uruguay in the final. They were so confident that gold medals were made and a victory anthem composed. Surely the rumored 210,000-person crowd (still a record sporting attendance) wouldn't leave unhappy? As it turned out, some never even made it home. Brazil's shocking 2-1 loss resulted in a silent stadium (then FIFA president Jules Rimet said, "The silence was morbid, sometimes too difficult to bear"). And then, tragically, some fans committed suicide by jumping from the stands.

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