Qatar and the World Cup - the Day the US Stood Still

Honest to god - my first thought when I heard Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup was, "Gort! Qatar barada nikto!"

The correct pronunciation of Qatar falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar. Their oil and natural gas revenues have enabled Qatar to attain the second-highest per capita income in the world - only Luxembourg is higher. You can bet that some of that revenue went to "buying" the 2022 World Cup. Then throw into the mix that Qatar is slightly smaller than Connecticut.

So in short you have the 2022 World Cup going to a place that is smaller than Connecticut, is 95% sand, where a monarchic despot rules with a religious ban on alcohol and is a place that nobody is really sure how to pronounce.

Perfect!

On a serious note - it is probably a good thing the US didn't get the nod. These things are often more trouble then they are worth.