After one glorious month, the World Cup in Brazil ends today. On the field, it is either Germany or Argentina that’ll be lifting the trophy. But one constant truth of the tournament is being told definitively who the “real winners” of the World Cup are—no matter how tenuous the impact or connection may be.
Here’s a list of companies, products, types of media, hook-up apps, and chicken restaurants that have been said to have come out on top in 2014 edition of the world’s biggest sporting event. Notice one media outlet that seems to like the format?
- Nike (The Motley Fool)
- Adidas (Quartz)
- Inventors (The Independent)
- ESPN, Facebook, and Twitter (CNBC)
- Tinder (The Week)
- US soccer (New York Times)
- Buffalo Wild Wings and BJ’s Restaurants (The Motley Fool)
- The BBC and/or ITV (The Guardian)
- Social media (Bikini Marketing)
- Electronic Arts (The Motley Fool)
- Merchandise (Imperial Valley Press)
- Six US start-ups (Forbes)
Of course, we’ll find out who the real winners of the World Cup are today. It’ll be the team that scores the most goals.