The Economist reports that over half of humanity will watch at least part of the World Cup. You might disagree with soccer's designation as "the beautiful game," but you can't argue with the fact that it's the world's most popular sport. It's also the world's deadliest sport—for the fans, that is. For instance, in 1964 a tense game between Argentina and Peru spilled over into violence when a late goal by Peru tied the score but then was disallowed by the referee. In a span of ten seconds, thousands of Peruvian fans went from joy to fury. The outraged fans stormed onto the field, the violence leading to 328 deaths.

A 2001 match between two of Ghana's most prominent teams led to another outbreak of violence. After the game, 127 lay dead from asphyxiation as 40,000 fans rushed for the exits. Apparently, Brazil has invested nearly one billion dollars on "high-tech vehicles and surveillance equipment for this year's World Cup and plans to have 'one police officer for every 50 match attendees.'" It's a reminder that "the beautiful game," played and watched by fallen human beings, can quickly turn very ugly.