Well football fans, the time has finally come. With the opening matches of Germany 2006 underway, our four year wait for the return of World Cup football is over. The long road to qualification, the anxious anticipation of the group draw, the last few friendly matches to dial in world class form… it has all led to this moment. So now I find myself asking, “How the heck am I going to manage to watch all of these games?”

For a fanatic such as myself, missing matches is not an option. And for those of you in the same boat as me (rabid American football fans with a day job that were not lucky/smart enough to make Germany 2006 their summer vacation), catching every all-important match will be a real challenge. It will require dedication, ingenuity, and in the case of some, a few white lies.

With the time difference between the US and Germany, most games will be falling into the morning and afternoon time slots for American viewers. So how will Joe Football be both behind his desk and in front of the tube for these precious quadrennial events? Here are a few World Cup viewing strategies.

• Earmuffs and a VCR – Tape it and try everything humanly possible to avoid media outlets and the rest of humanity until you make it home to your TV. If you have Tivo or a DVR, brilliant!
• The 2 hour lunch – So what if you have to have lunch at 10:00 a.m., a well-timed and discreetly executed lunch hour at the local football-friendly pub can buy you a match here and there.
• Vacation time and personal days – The kids don’t need to go to Disney this year. Use that company vacation policy to the fullest and take advantage of the precious personal day.
• Lie, Cheat and Steal – Call in sick, your grandmother died, cite an obscure religion… it is acceptable to sacrifice your morals for the beautiful game.

My recent experience showed how risky the recording option is in today’s connected world when I only narrowly pulled it off for the Champions League Final. I avoided all websites, television and radio throughout the day, anything that might mention the game. Then, my own girlfriend (a player, coach and fan in her own right) almost blew the whole shebang for me when she called during the match to inform me of her newly formed crush on Thierry Henri. Bad enough that my girlfriend wants to leave me for the French Phenom, she nearly added insult to injury by giving away the status of the game. So, point of advice with this plan, turn off your cell. A well intentioned friend might just blow your strategy out of the water. After this near fiasco, I myself plan to employ a four pronged attack, utilizing each of the afore-mentioned strategies when and where they are most convenient.

So tell me football fans, how will you get your fix?