The elevator landed on the suite level of Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, and emptied out into a miniature CES full of soccer's latest and greatest technological achievements. On July 24 and 25, as a sort of VIPs-only sideshow to the Major League Soccer All-Star Game, the MLS held this expo to demonstrate what's next for the sport, a commercial for what the league says soccer will soon be. That future, it seems, is rich with data--more than you can appreciate. Every slight movement and every split-second reaction is converted into data and then informs some other system: on-field reviews, advanced statistics, generative A.I. chatbots, and virtual reality experiences. The promise is that it'll unlock plenty of new, custom experiences on the field and for viewers at home.

Sports fans know that watching their team win releases a feeling of joy, but seeing them lose has the opposite effect - and these'feelings' can be seen in our brains. Researchers at the Clínica Alemana de Santiago in Chile scanned soccer fans' brains, finding the sight of their team scoring lit up the region associated with reward. When their team lost, a network of brain areas involved in mentalization became more active - signaling that they were trying to make sense of what just happened. In other words, we feel good when we watch our team score. And when we see our team's rivals score on them, we attempt to rationalize.

With the kickoff of the 2018 FIFA World Cup fast approaching, every soccer fan in the world is dying to know: Who will capture the coveted trophy? If you're not just a soccer fan but also a techie, I guess you have realized that Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are presently buzzwords too. Let us combine these two to predict which country will win the FIFA World Cup. Disclaimer: This should in no way be used for betting or any financial decision. Should you choose to, who am I to stop you.(just