World Cup starts tomorrow!

[MichaelB]

Friday morning, 9:30 AM on ESPN - Mexico vs South Africa - the opening game of the 2010 World Cup.

Just to keep things interesting, Chilean TV newscaster Claudia Conserva has promised to do her show naked if the Chilean squad wins the cup. TalCualDigital.com :: También se desnudará

I was rooting for Brazil but I'm open for a Chilean win as well

 

[neihn]

Yeah. I plan to watch the opening on espn360.com.

 

[ziggy29]

I think it's really cool that we arrive in England for a few days on July 9th and the final is on the 11th. It will be really interesting to see how the experience is different than it is here in the States.

 

[Gumby]

Forza Italia! Gli Azzurri vinceranno di nuovo.

 

[Htown Harry]

Same schedule for me, Ziggy, except France is the destination. I plan to watch the final on a big screen set up in a park near the Eiffel Tower.

I normally wouldn't root for the French to make the final, but idea of being at that spot if they are playing is irresistible. Allez Les Bleus!

Four years ago, I had a small taste of the experience while watching Italy win on a big screen set up in San Diego's Little Italy. Great fun.

In 1970, I was a kid on vacation in England during the World Cup. I knew a little bit about the game, having played a couple of years in a then-new league of kiddie soccer. England played W. Germany in a rematch of the 1966 final, but Beckenbauer and the Germans prevailed. The Brits were despondent.

I still remember Brazil's winning performance in the final. Even the brits cheered the amazing play of Pele. Watch his blind pass to the scorer in the "magic" goal, often ranked as the greatest in cup history (8 Brazilian players were involved):
YouTube - carlos alberto

 

[vicente solano]

Forza Italia! Gli Azzurri vinceranno di nuovo.

Sorry pal, but I think you have us to reckon with! And England and Holland and Brazil and......

 

[bruce1]

I am returning to my roots for world cup as usual. England. CBC will be carrying all games. Live on TV and internet and on demand on internet. Also they will be having prime time game replays.

CBC.ca Sports - 2010 FIFA World Cup

 

[neihn]

In 1970, I was a kid on vacation in England during the World Cup. I knew a little bit about the game, having played a couple of years in a then-new league of kiddie soccer. England played W. Germany in a rematch of the 1966 final, but Beckenbauer and the Germans prevailed. The Brits were despondent.

Wow, I watched the 1974 final match between Germany and Holland in Vietnam. Every would think Holland would win the cup. A show down between Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff - what's a game.

 

[FIREd]

Same schedule for me, Ziggy, except France is the destination. I plan to watch the final on a big screen set up in a park near the Eiffel Tower.

I normally wouldn't root for the French to make the final, but idea of being at that spot if they are playing is irresistible. Allez Les Bleus!

If the men in blue win it all, get ready to go party with a couple million people on the Champs-Elysees til the wee hours of the morning! Allez les Bleus!

 

[FinanceDude]

Gotta be honest, while I appreciate the athleticism, watching a World Cup match is like watching paint dry...........

I was at Soldier Field in 1994 for the opening match. I think Bolivia played Germany. Diana Ross sang the National Anthem and it was a beautiful. I sat in the Bolivian contingent, and they chanted BO-LEE-VIA!!!! every second of the entire match..........

 

[vicente solano]

Anyone of you wanna bet on which team´ll be the winner?

 

[neihn]

Holland has a very good team this year. Go Holland.

 

[mh]

Gotta be honest, while I appreciate the athleticism, watching a World Cup match is like watching paint dry...........

I was at Soldier Field in 1994 for the opening match. I think Bolivia played Germany. Diana Ross sang the National Anthem and it was a beautiful. I sat in the Bolivian contingent, and they chanted BO-LEE-VIA!!!! every second of the entire match..........

I've noticed over the years, this well worn complaint (in the US) is
becoming more of rarity. A good indicator the sport is gaining real
traction in the U.S.

It's great ESPN/ABC is showing every game
and have got some good announcers in place during the match.

 

[mh]

oh.. also... a long shot ... but go USA !

 

[vicente solano]

oh.. also... a long shot ... but go USA !

You´ll need more than Washington for that LONG LONG LONG shot

 

[bruce1]

I will be glued to the England/USA game this afternoon. Last world cup a Croatian friend and I skipped w@rk and went over to the local pub every time there was a game involving England or Croatia. He retired three months later and I escaped the following June.

 

[BTravlin]

Gotta be honest, while I appreciate the athleticism, watching a World Cup match is like watching paint dry...........

Honestly, you found it that exciting?

 

[MichaelB]

Gotta be honest, while I appreciate the athleticism, watching a World Cup match is like watching paint dry...........

We saw Brazil - England QF in '02 and it was incredible - the game, the fans, and crowd interaction before and after the game. The Brazilian guy (the bald one) told everyone he was the team's good luck charm. Must have had over 100 pictures taken with him before the game.

I was at Soldier Field in 1994 for the opening match. I think Bolivia played Germany. Diana Ross sang the National Anthem and it was a beautiful. I sat in the Bolivian contingent, and they chanted BO-LEE-VIA!!!! every second of the entire match..........

Were you expecting them to chant "GER-MA-NEE!!!"?

 

[WanderALot]

Wow the US got lucky! I was so upset when England scored so early in the game. Great goal keeping by Tim Howard. Altidore came so close to giving the US another goal. Here's hoping Slovenia/Algeria ends in a draw tomorrow!

 

[samclem]

I have a big problem with any sporting event that can end in a tie. If the purpose of the game is to determine which team is better, and if that question isn't answered by the end of the match, isn't it fair to judge the whole thing to have been a failure?

I don't care if they determine the winner by playing "closest to the line" in a final two-player kick, or if they settle it by a measurement of maximum urination range--no ties!

 

[neihn]

I watched South Korea vs Greed this morning. What's an exciting game. Loved it.

 

[Dawg52]

I know very little about soccer. But from what little I watched, it was easy to see that England had the better team. USA looked like they were playing for a draw.

 

[bruce1]

Add my congratulations to Tim Howard. The US came up with several critical plays that overcame England's chances of going ahead for a second time. A Slovenia/Algeria draw tomorrow would leave both the US and England open to advance as long as they both win over Slovenia and Algeria.

 

[neihn]

The US team's uniform was so ugly. I just hate the white stripe goes across, looks very weird. Can we have just a simple blue navy uniform!

 

[mh]

I have a big problem with any sporting event that can end in a tie. If the purpose of the game is to determine which team is better, and if that question isn't answered by the end of the match, isn't it fair to judge the whole thing to have been a failure?

I don't care if they determine the winner by playing "closest to the line" in a final two-player kick, or if they settle it by a measurement of maximum urination range--no ties!

it's a round robin phase for a set of team groups at this point
so the purpose of the first three games for a team at this stage
is to see which two teams in a group do the best overall in the round robin
of their group. the two best proceed to the next phase of the tourney.

at this point in the competition it's much more "fair" to not have dumb
deciders for a tie, just give each team that ties 1 point.
teams that win their match get two points. losers get 0 points.

ok you don't like ties, but it's a pretty decent way to weed out half the teams fairly.
and the fans appreciate the logic behind it..