So is everyone settled in well? Have you got your viewing plans sorted and wall charts up to date? I should hope so as these are minimum requirements for a good tournament. If you don't have a wallchart, or maybe just a spreadsheet even, you haven't entered into the spirit of the thing at all.
Let's get a few observations out of the way that may not win huge points for insight but make me feel better. Firstly, I am vuvuzelad out. Secondly, I hope it is the new ball that is responsible for the frightening number of over-hit crosses and wayward shots; Elliott Bennett must be viewing events so far with barely concealed horror.
Despite these petty concerns, I still love the early stages of the competition. Algeria v Slovenia, South Korea v Greece - these are the contests that I can't resist tuning into, just to see, who or what turns up.
I have to say its not been a great set of matches so far. You would never quite expect England to actually have provided the most intriguing contest to date. I did get one reward for sitting through Germany versus an awfully negative and apparently ageing Australia. Does anyone else think that, facially, there is a definite similarity between Miroslav Klose and Nicky Forster? Go to Google and judge.
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Meanwhile, we are only 24 hours away from the entry into of the last of the true unknowns, the mystery team. When you've seen most of the players in one form or other plying their trade in the Champions League - or perhaps scoring past typically eccentric Dutch goalkeepers in the late night Eredivisie round up somewhere on cable TV - then the element of mystery World Cups used to provide is lost - until you come to North Korea.
Not only do North Korea have this air of mysticism, they also have that magnificent World Cup history of 1966 - if the name Pak Doo-Ik does not resonate with you, this is a crying shame. Suffice to say his goal helped send Italy home to a shower of rotten fruit, and North Korea into the quarter finals.
The North Koreans have three players from outside of their uniquely, shall we say, reclusive, country. Two of those play in Japan's J.League, and one in Russia, the captain Hong Yong-Jo. For obvious reasons, they don't really do interviews and qualification suggests they are all about teamwork and a collective ethos. How appropriate.
They start tomorrow, gloriously, against Brazil, and will also play their 1966 conquerors Portugal.
Finally, on a serious note, the fact North Korea have qualified does also raise interest in their country. Hopefully an introduction to how North Korea functions, or even a refresher course, can only be a good thing for everyone to discover because you can't completely disassociate sport and politics.
The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Brighton & Hove Albion FC.
Read a different World Cup Blog every weekeday on seagulls.co.uk, with Ian Hart making his debut on Tuesday.
