Matthias Blume was helping the clean-up after the Dec. 9th World Cup draw in Leipzig, when he came across the 32 orange tags that were inside the balls used to determine the first-round groupings at next June's tournament.
Blume went home and typed "www.ebay.com" on his computer. Bidding for the
Germany tag alone has topped $1000, and Blume figures to make a fair amount from the sale of the other 31 as well.
Unless of course, FIFA has it's way.
Soccer’s world governing body is threatening to sue, claiming it is "in violation of FIFA's name rights and that the auction should be halted." Blume is pressing forward. "I don't really have much of an idea of what it will bring in or how much money I will make," he said. "I hope it will be able to pay for my lawyer's bills."
