Sad addiction, or acceptance of reality?

The country of Brazil is shutting down in preparation for its first game in the 2006 World Cup.

To understand the extent of the madness, consider that the Senate and House of Deputies will go out of session beginning at 2 PM. Most shops in Brasília will close 30 minutes prior to and won't reopen until after the game. And in São Paulo, the BOVESPA (stock exchange) is closing 2 hours early. And this is just Brazil's first game of the tournament.

Poor, poor Croatia.