World Cup starts tomorrow!

[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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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!

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..

[mh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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!

the current uniform is a modern version of the 1950? usa uniforms
where the USA beat England in a world cup game. hence the "sash"
stripe. it's meant as a little tribute to the 1950 oldtimers

[neihn]

mh thanks for the explanation. Still it is ugly :-) I like the simple uniform of most of the team in the world. Ie the Belgium team always red and has been known as the "red devel" , Germany white shirt with black short, Holland with orange, Brazil is yellow shirt and blue short, Italy blue shirt and white short....

The USA team uniform this year remind me of the disaster uniform of us team in 1994.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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

Guau!! (Spanish for wow!) Those Chilean ladies sure must have some cojones!

Uh, .. wait!..... that can't be right!!

LOL!

[OhSoClose]

Quote:

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

I think this is the way we all feel when we are watching an activity that we are ignorant of.

Sometimes I will see cricket as I am channel surfing on TV, or eating at the local Indian restaurant. I will watch for a moment, but not understanding what constitutes a great moment of individual or team skill, or a great offensive or defensive move, I might as well be watching paint dry. I watch for a moment, maybe say "wow, that was athletic!," and then move on.

Fortunately, I learned a bit about soccer when stationed in Germany back during the Cold War. I had to go cold turkey on American football, ‘cause only the occasional game came up on AFN, and the live games were always on very late at night. But I made some German friends who introduced me to the intracacies of soccer, taking me to games and explaining what was going on. And so, in the throes of football (American) withdrawal, I became enamored with football (as the rest of the world knows it). The game is all about patterns – and one can sense a pattern developing, and anticipate it. Sometimes there will be a great offensive combination, which may them be met with a great defensive play, and no one scores -- but it is still fascinating. But, of course, only if you understand what you are looking at.

But I feel compelled to mention that odd American activity known as “baseball.” Like 90 percent of Americans of my generation, I grew up on it. I played little league for many years, and I understand the rules and the tactics and lingo. But I also remember some games where, as a player, I would be in the outfield the whole game and not one ball would come my way!! Literally, I would be standing in one spot, or moving slightly from side to side, while doing nothing that even remotely smacked of exercise. So while some spectators, particularly those foreign to the game, might also liken watching baseball to watching paint dry, I learned to understand what it was like to be the paint!

I will be watching many of the World Cup games over the next few weeks, and rooting on the United States team. But if the U.S. falls by wayside, then I will be rooting for my second choice: Deutschland!

OhSoClose

[audreyh1]

I think what frustrates some watchers is that soccer can be a very low scoring game when the teams are well matched. I played soccer for many years and it was a blast of a game to play. But I'd rather watch tennis, and that is the only sport I watch other than olympics.

Audrey

[OhSoClose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I think what frustrates some watchers is that soccer can be a very low scoring game when the teams are well matched. I played soccer for many years and it was a blast of a game to play. But I'd rather watch tennis, and that is the only sport I watch other than olympics. Audrey

I hear you Audrey. But, of course, soccer blows away all other world sports, both in terms of the numbers of people who participate and the numbers who watch. At least, among male viewers. Perhaps not female.

OhSoClose

[mickeyd]

When I watch the WC on TV I am reminded of my chronic tinnitus. What's with the constant buzzing? ( I know, I read about those horns)


Today we saw the beginning of the FIFA World Cup 2010, and something that caught the attention of millions of viewers is the buzzing sound you hear throughout the games. This sound is made by a trumpet called the Vuvuzela.

[neihn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I think what frustrates some watchers is that soccer can be a very low scoring game when the teams are well matched. I played soccer for many years and it was a blast of a game to play. But I'd rather watch tennis, and that is the only sport I watch other than olympics. Audrey

You have to go outside of the USA to have the feel how people around the world celebrate/watch the world cup. I remember staying up all night (and many nights) with friends to watch live matches.

For some reason, this game never caught on in the US. If it were, the US would win the Cup long ago - with all the resource available.

[clifp]

I am not a fan for all the normal American reasons. At least part of the reason is the silly talk of that USA tie is just a like a win. Ok I understand strategically why this is true, but even low scoring hockey instituted overtime for playoff games.

[neihn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp ... but even low scoring hockey instituted overtime for playoff games.

This round is not quite a playoff yet - starting next round, when you have only 16 teams left, there will be no tie.

FIFA.com - The matches of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

If the USA team advances to the next round as second place in the group - they will face Germany - I watched Germany vs Australia yesterday. We don't want to face them yet next round.
To avoid that, USA team must come out of the group in first place.

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neihn For some reason, this game never caught on in the US. If it were, the US would win the Cup long ago - with all the resource available.

Three reasons I can see:

1) The best U.S. athletes tend to go where the money is (baseball, football, basketball).

2) U.S. sports fans want more scoring.

3) U.S. sports fans can't stand to see games end in a tie.

There's almost nothing that's anathema to a typical U.S. sports fan more than watching something go on for two hours ending in a 0-0 or 1-1 tie.

[neihn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 Three reasons I can see: 1) The best U.S. athletes tend to go where the money is (baseball, football, basketball).

European soccer leagues offer salary comparable to NBA. Since they have the market over there. So it comes down that we don't have the market here to get soccer going.

And the biggest reason in my opinion is - the game is a continuous game - no timeout - therefore, there is no commercial breaks = no money for the networks.

[vicente solano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Guau!! (Spanish for wow!) Those Chilean ladies sure must have some cojones! Uh, .. wait!..... that can't be right!! LOL!

Audrey, with all due respect- No Spaniard worth his salt would say "Guau" meaningyour "Wow".... We would most likely say something like "joder". But not in the sense of an exclamatory "Fu**!" but rather along the "Holy S***!" lines

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neihn European soccer leagues offer salary comparable to NBA. Since they have the market over there. So it comes down that we don't have the market here to get soccer going.

Yes, but opportunities for Americans there are probably limited, and a lot of people don't want to play half way around the world.

[mh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neihn European soccer leagues offer salary comparable to NBA. Since they have the market over there. So it comes down that we don't have the market here to get soccer going. And the biggest reason in my opinion is - the game is a continuous game - no timeout - therefore, there is no commercial breaks = no money for the networks.

Actually MLS is doing pretty well it seems. Teams are building their own
stadiums and ticket sales are decent. People even compare it to
the english championship league (the 2nd level league in england)
in terms of number of fans , quality , etc. That says a lot really.
Lots of countries would love to have a league that good.

We've got two MLS teams here in L.A. in a nice soccer specific stadium
and no american football team. So things are looking up