WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FINALS : Spotlight : LOOK FOR A SALE

Many of the really important parts of the World Cup are economic.

First, the organizers were hit with the failure of teams with huge fan bases to qualify--England, France and Japan. Then, teams with relatively shallow pockets advanced.

Bulgaria, for one.

World Cup chairman Alan Rothenberg joked about Bulgaria’s economic impact.

“Bulgaria cost us a lot of money,” he said. “They kept France out in the first place (during qualifying), and then they knocked out Argentina and Mexico. Do you know how many T-shirts and novelties Bulgarians buy?”