1982: I was already a Dino Zoff and Italy fan, having watched them beat Brazil 3-2 (the first ever soccer game I watched. I would later switch allegiances to Brazil after seeing they had the best World Cup record in the soccer cards that were popular back then). I knew they had defeated West Germany but I didn't get to see the game until days later with my cousin at their house, presumably the Friday after the match. For a good part of the match I wasn't even sure which team was which although I eventually identified Italy due to recognizing Zoff.

1986: I was 14 during this World Cup. For the final, which wasn't broadcast live (as were none of the games), my second cousin and I (both of whom were routing for Argentina) waited for the 10:30 news on channel 2, knowing that at the end they would be giving sports news and probably an update on the score. In fact that was the first piece of sports news that they gave and announced the score as 2-0 for Argentina. We started celebrating but before the newscaster even finished the news piece he announced there was an update and now the score was 2-1 for Argentina. He gradually got into other news but then suddenly broke away from it to announce that the score was now 2-2. We both felt so dejected and were thinking if it went to PKs West Germany would have the upper hand (due to Schumacher). But just as the news started winding down they had one more update and announced the score was now 3-2  - and following a pause by the newscaster clearly to create anxiety amongst the viewers - for Argentina. We again started celebrating knowing there wasn't much time left although my second cousin did comment "کاشکه مارادونا قرش بگیره و یگ کل دیگه هم آرژانتین بزنه".

1990: I watched this game in our home in Velenjak with one of my friends. It was just the two of us which was good because we could be as loud as we wanted to. He got there just as the game was about to start and in spite of the hot weather I brought some tea and pastries to eat. After the singing of the national anthems as the teams began getting ready for kickoff the crowd was chanting and when I asked him if he could tell what they were saying, he replied, Are they chanting Iran? to which we both laughed out loud. For some reason one of his nipples was lactating and had left a still wet stain on his shirt. We both knew Germany was gonna win and were surprised that it took as long as it did. It was a pretty boring match (and World Cup in general) and as we both went downstairs when he was leaving and chatted some more at our garage door, I summed up both of our feelings by stating: عجب جام جهانی بیخودی بود. (In reality the word I had used was k**i). He agreed.

1994: This was the World Cup I had been waiting for for 6 years. While my initial plan of participating as a player didn't quite pan out but I not only attended a few games but also became a volunteer driver for one of the teams (Nigeria). I was routing for Brazil and thought they would easily handle Italy in the final. The number of chances that they missed, particularly a side footed effort by Romario inside the 6 yard box that went wide, got me extremely nervous as I began having flashbacks to Brazil's game against France in the 1986 World Cup. Half way through the penalties I began considering if I would find Italy as the World champion acceptable and concluded it would be somewhat ok as it could have been worse. As soon as Baggio missed his PK I switched the channel to the Spanish channel to hear the commentator going crazy. As I was listening to him a sudden sadness overcame me as I realized the 1994 World Cup that had consumed most of my thoughts for the past 6 years was now over.

1998: I was in Norman, Oklahoma on the campus of the University of Oklahoma attending a coaching class. I was afraid we wouldn't get to see the match, clearly not thinking that it would be insane for a coaching class to deny us the opportunity to watch the World Cup final. The day of the match they lined us up from our dorm rooms and shuffled us into a conference room with a TV. As we were being lead there the song played during the Iranian TV televised warmups of the 1990 World Cup kept running through my head. When France scored the first goal I was surprised at the number of cheers as I thought most would be supporting Brazil. After the game we had a short session going over the final although hardly anyone paid attention as the French supporters were too giddy and the Brazil supporters were too upset to listen.

2002: I watched the final in my studio in Connecticut. I thought Brazil had the slight edge and would win although I wasn't ruling out a German win. It wasn't until late in the game when Ronaldo scored that my nerves somewhat calmed. After he scored the second goal I became very jumpy and that's when I noticed the celebration noises coming from outside. Remembering newspaper clippings from previous games about gatherings in main street in Danbury, immediately after the final whistle I put on my only Brazil related shirt (showing a soccer ball, Brazilian flag and some writing about their 1994 championship), raced towards there, encountering many Brazilians on the sidewalks celebrating. I had to park a few blocks away as traffic wouldn't allow me to get closer. The entire street was closed and was filled with yellow clad supporters marching up and down the street and chanting and I joined in with them. A few of them taught me the chants and gave me yellow balloons.

2006: I watched this also in Connecticut (although a different home) and for me it was really a matter of who I hated less which was clearly Italy as I was still mad about France winning it all in 1998. I spent portions of the match on the phone with a friend in Europe who was introduced to soccer as a result of sharing an apartment with me years earlier. We must have talked 3 or 4 times during the match, the longest call being after Zidane's headbutt. At the end of penalty kicks I was somewhat relieved that France had lost even though I wasn't exactly thrilled with Italy winning it all.

2010: I watched this final in New Jersey. Having lost 2 finals before I was sure Holland would get this one right. Given Holland's explosiveness in their attack I was confident they would win it. Even as the match stretched into overtime I was sure they would pull it off. Even as Iniesta wound up for his game winning shot, I thought either the defender or keeper would handle it. Spain's win completely caught my off guard and after the game as I watched the awarding of medals and the World Cup trophy I kept wondering if it made any sense for Spain to be called World Champions. I guess my opinion didn't really matter as they were in fact the champions.

2014: I half/watched this from our hotel down the shore in New Jersey with friends. The reason I say half/watched it is for some reason we got the time wrong and spent the first half going to the store, buying things and coming back and firing up the grill. At half time (which we though was the start of the match) we finally turned the TV on to see we had missed half of the game. We were both routing for Argentina and saw it going either way. When Germany scored in extra time I though for sure Argentina would equalize due to no European country being able to win the Cup in South America but clearly I was proven wrong. I was disappointed with the result (and the World Cup in general due to Brazil and Iran's poor results) and moved on quickly from it.

2018: I watched the 2018 final at home with my son and my hatred of France since the mid 1990s continued as I was actively routing for Croatia although my son was routing for France. When France went up 4-1 I lost interest in the match as I could see it was already over. It could have been worse though had England defeated Croatia and set up a final between two teams that I hated (much like 2006). On a side note I have never watched different World Cup finals from the same location. 

2022: This would be the first time I watched a World Cup final in the same place (same house as 2018). My son and I were both routing for Argentina for Messi's sake although for me there was also the hatred of France. It seemed like a done deal late in the game until France launched their comeback. During penalties I wasn't sure which way it would go although I was relieved to see Argentina win it. Altogether I wasn't thrilled about this World Cup as no team, including the champions, were perfect and they all stumbled along the way.