Aaron Stroot | stroot.org

The European Championships are upon us once again, and it’s time that I made a bracket prediction. I’m really excited that Steven Gerrard is once again captaining England at a major tournament. Things did not go all that well for England at the World Cup in South Africa, but with the lower expectations this year I think they can make it to the semi-final. Everyone is writing off Spain, but I still don’t see a great reason to not include them in the final. My major surprise pick is the Netherlands not making it out of their group. In recent games they just have not looked like they are playing their best and I think they are in for some trouble. Maybe I’ll look stupid, as usual.

Ah, the glorious hamburger. A staple of American cuisine. For a product so simple, it’s amazing how different two places can make a hamburger taste. My standard burger is a double cheeseburger, with bacon, ketchup, and pickles. All of the burgers ranked below will be based on that combo, unless otherwise noted.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve visited quite a few “renowned” hamburger locations, so I feel like I am now well-qualified to rank American hamburgers. My friend Matt has really broadened my horizons and taken me to places that I probably would not have visited otherwise, mainly due to location. Hopefully over the coming years I can check out additional places.

My rankings, in descending order:

5. Shake Shack — New York City. I had some high hopes for this place. Word on the street was that this place was legit. It was pretty good, but just didn’t live up to expectations. Too much hype, not enough substance to deliver. Of course, that won’t stop me from visiting again.
4. Burger King. I know, seriously, Burger King? No joke, though. Of the “low-end” fast food chains, Burger King is my favorite. I look at McDonald’s as almost an imitation hamburger, at this point.
3. Spangles — Wichita. A local delight found in Kansas. I don’t know what it is about this burger that makes it so good, but it really hits the spot.
2. So Long Saloon — Manhattan, KS. Another local place, but it’s impossible to leave their burger off of any list. I literally feel bad for people who don’t live here and can’t experience this place. Plus the small, intimate atmosphere and typical long wait just seems to make the experience that much better. Their burgers come with one patty.
1. Five Guys Burgers & Fries. No doubt about it, the best burger in the land. What is it about this burger? It’s not hard to explain… the burger is just damn good. Plus, I love how minimalistic the ordering process is. You pick the number of patties, you pick your toppings, they make the burger, end of story.

Honorable mention to some burgers that narrowly missed the cut: Wendy’s is not far off from Burger King in terms of fast food, a local place named Big D’s has a quality burger that upon first taste was quite high on my list but hasn’t held up as well upon repeat visits, and 8oz. Burger Bar in Los Angeles makes a fine burger. You really can’t go wrong with any of these.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup starts this Friday, June 11, with the host country of South Africa playing Mexico and ends on Sunday, July 11 with the final. Of course my most anticipated game is the June 12 game between the United States and England. When the US is not playing, I am usually rooting for England, so this will be a fun game for me to watch. Even better, my favorite player, Steven Gerrard, will be captaining England for the World Cup. The long four year wait is almost over, and below are my predictions for the latter stages of the tournament. The Dutch team was really strong in qualifying and have a top team, so I think they can get past Spain and win the tournament. I’m looking for Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, and Wesley Sneijder to have a big tournament and give the Dutch their first World Cup win.

Update June 27, 2010:

We are now through the group stages and halfway through the round of 16, so now is a good time to take a look at how my predictions are coming. First of all, France and Italy were terrible picks. How did I not see that coming? The Italians are so old that it should have been obvious that they wouldn’t make it to the quarterfinals. And France is terrible without Zinedine Zidane. That fact was proven in the 2002 World Cup as well as in Euro 2008.

However, those errors notwithstanding, I’m feeling pretty good about my Netherlands pick. I still think they can get past Brazil and go all the way to the final. Argentina and Germany are also looking strong. Looking forward to how it all plays out.

Update July 12, 2010:

Bummer, my pick didn’t quite work out, but at least I picked the Final matchup correctly. See you in Brazil in 2014!