Cheers To The Cup: Kirk the World Cup statistician

Kirk is a real World Cup stats man. While taking in Spain's 1-0 win over Iran yesterday at Container Hotspot on Duke Street, Kingston, a patron asks about the defending champions being knocked out from the first round.

One man said Spain exited the competition in the first round at the last World Cup in 2014.

"No sah, a round a 16 dem lose," came the vociferous retort.

But Kirk was having none of it. He recalled accurately that the Spanish did exit the tournament at the group stage, even losing to the Netherlands 5-1 in the opening match. Nimble fingers immediately took to the smartphones in their grasp and sure enough, Kirk was right.

"Mi always a follow dem ting deh man," said Kirk, who said the first World Cup he watched was USA '94; and he has been studying tournaments ever since. Pretty soon another fact challenge came up as one patron said Cristiano Ronaldo would break the record for most goals in a single tournament. However, he incorrectly quoted the tally as nine goals.

However, Kirk (again accurately) pointed out that the record is 13, still held by Frenchman Just Fontaine. Once again, the smartphones came out but no matter how much the iPhones and Samsungs were utilised, they couldn't find a crack in Kirk's evidence.

"Mi all know bout World Cup me never see, enuh," he pointed out. "Mi did have a World Cup book, and me study it."

To further ensure he knows what he's talking about, Kirk keeps up with the happenings in world football, so that he has the latest statistics to call on. Though there were four viewing areas at Container Hotspot, the majority of the viewing party utilised the air-conditioned bar downstairs.

A few football-loving women came to watch the game, but chose the more cosy lounge next to the bar area. Though the match wasn't always a firecracker, patrons enjoyed bucket deals and $100 specials on white rum and Campari.