for me it's the participation of the crowds from the different countries which makes everything so vivid and more to the point why we love this game so much. Granted, the awarding of the tournament to Qatar probably didn't hit all the right spots and we know why. However, the feedback from many of the fans has been incredible, due in part to the accessibility of the stadiums, and the orderly nature of the games-- i.e. no trouble etc. As for the games, do we really expect all the games to be ripped with excitement? Probably not but, I doubt that any world cup has been 100 percent end-to-end theatre, or PC, or just the dream finals, they've all been kind of 50-50 in terms of quality. At least now we're seeing genuine on and off the field drama, which is more you can say for other sports.