Sporting universe shaken as Rihanna wins World Cup
It's a shame the World Cup doesn't have a separate trophy for the biggest celebrity fan.
Rihanna would have won it no problem, despite fierce competition from the likes of Brazilian living legend Pele, English footie hero David Beckham and his sons, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen and even Shakira, who crooned the official anthem for Sunday’s final.
Pop superstar Rihanna added a whole lot of fun and joy to the tournament with her live tweets throughout. She showed a previously unknown football-crazy side right to the bittersweet end – and beyond, while Maracana Stadium was going nuts after Germany flattened Argentina. She had fellow fans laughing once again. “Super mario baby,” she tweeted in praise of Germany’s Mario Gotze, and then “Goooooooaaaaallllllll” when he scored the winner in extra time.
“Ri-Ri” had warmed up on Twitter beforehand, doing some “stretching exercises” by posting three selfies with her face painted up in the Brazilian colours. Was it the Bahamian’s way of demonstrating her continuing neutrality and flattering the host country, knocked out in an earlier round? Nope, because she soon followed those pictures up with a shot of her in a swimsuit in the hues of the German flag, kneeling on the actual football pitch. The caption was “For my German boys.”
The fans watched Rihanna’s frequently shifting allegiances with amusement. Had she ever claimed to be a serious student of football, she would have been branded “plastic” or a mere glory hunter. But most followers just giggled along with her. “Girl is changing her nationality more than her ratchet underwear,” tweeted someone called SlapMeLow.
Rihanna’s variation on football commentary continued to flow like crazy. She actually tweeted more during the final than any of the established analysts like Gary Lineker and Stan Collymore. Of course she had the advantage of not having to be politically correct. Plus, she was right in there with the masses at the stadium for the final, as keen observers noticed when Gotze scored the match’s only goal – the championship goal – and she pulled up her shirt just like the strikers do to celebrate. (Nice bra!)
At the final whistle Ri-Ri tweeted, “Congrats to my German boyz! This was the most epic experience of my entire life! You guys made me so proud to be here.”
Then came the after-party, and naturally she was invited. “I touched the cup, held the cup, kissed the cup, took a selfie with the cup!! I meaaaan….what is YO bucket list looking like bruh?” she shrieked on Twitter. It seemed as though she got pictures with every single member of the German squad, plus the coaches, water boys, groundskeepers, locker-room janitors – you name it. Some of the fans picked on her for going overboard. These fans were suffering from acute envy. One of them, tagged @Ashh_As9, saw the photo of her with three German players, holding the cup, and commented, “The most fake football fan out there!”
Well, @Ashh_As9 is missing the point. This is the social media. This is fame. It’s the World Cup. She’s a major pop star. That’s why there are now more pictures online of Rihanna with the German team than there are of the German players holding the cup. Girl knows how to have a good time!
