World Cup Fever: We Present the FIFA Cup

First, a bit of FIFA World Cup history ...

The real WC trophy is NEVER permitted to leave the FIFA headquarters in Switzerland. It is 36 cm high, made of solid 18-carat gold , with a base containing 2 layers of semi-precious malachite. There are 2 official REPLICAS that are gold plated: the first is awarded temporarily to the winning team until the next tournament begins and the second is used for various events, interviews or photo shoots around the world.

In the fall of 2004, Arnie picked up one of these famous REPLICAS in Geneva at the FIFA Headquarters, for a long flight to Brazil where it was presented in one of his organised events. You could say it was the highlight of this occasion with a huge line up of participants waiting to have their photo taken with this spectacular trophy. Everywhere he went, he was accompanied by armed guards: to the event, in the hotel and at the airport until he boarded his flight. He even had an armed convoy that escorted him to and from the airport to ensure it was safely transported.

THESE pictures, in THIS posting are dedicated to the fine memory of a fun-filled weekend spent with this world famous trophy - it stood proudly in OUR living room for a solid weekend and we had great fun pretending it was ours. For all of you MAJOR World Cup fans out there, these are AUTHENTIC pictures of one of the two REPLICA World Cups ... the very same one that is kissed and hugged by football heroes from around the world.

The following pictures come to you live ... FROM OUR LIVING ROOM!!!!