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World Cup 2010


alexgaddis
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I deal a lot with our UK offices and datacenter folk. Good people there. And by good people I mean simply good hearted, enjoyable people to talk to. This one account manager over there, Kenny, and I always talk 'football' every time we chat. They really do love this sh1t over there, no doubt. So, when they announced the schedule we, naturally, had a go at it. A couple of weeks go, while listening to him explain just how bad the UK was going to whoop up on the US, I bought the FIFA USA super fan pack (It came with an official FIFA USA jersey, 4ft USA scarf, red USA hat, and a pennant) and had it shipped to him at the office. Didn't tell him it was coming either. I got pictures in an email with him wearing everything and the rest of the office mockingly laughing.

 

I can't wait to talk to him on monday now......

 

La Bock'

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:lol:

 

couldn't agree more- just a lame sport

 

le'ts get real 99% of Americans only like it because they get to slam drinks down their hole while they watch a game

:wacko: And you continue to check in and post in this thread? :tup:

 

Tim Howard was outstanding. :tup:

One of the best goaltenders in the world. Period.

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:wacko:

 

couldn't agree more- just a lame sport

 

le'ts get real 99% of Americans only like it because they get to slam drinks down their hole while they watch a game

 

My brother-in-law is British and feels the same about watching football here. To each his own. The good news of course is you have the right to shut it off, quit talking about it, and not return to this "lame" thread. I recommend you exercise all three to please yourself. I bet it will feel righteous.

 

 

I thought the game was a midfield disaster for both teams, especially USA. Ball control and touch was terrible on our side, and much of the game was played within 18 of either goal. Made for an exciting but frustrating match. The goal was junk, but to USA's credit, they were putting a lot of stuff near goal for much of that first half. It's not always pretty, but that much pressure tends to lead to something and it did.

 

Overall, they won't get far if they continue to make erroneous passes and lose the ball in the midfield. Terrible game all around by Clark who's marking allowed the England goal and spotty passing caused a few near misses. Good game from Howard with all the pressure he was under.

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:wacko: And you continue to check in and post in this thread? :tup:

 

 

One of the best goaltenders in the world. Period.

 

I think Howard did a great job, and I saw a couple of his club matches ithis season in which he was TREMENDOUS, on the other hand I guess I agree with your statement that he is a top caliber keeper only in so much that he is a top 10-15 keeper, which is pretty much in keeping with the US's standing in the world. Definetly not in the top 5, arguably top 10. Certainly the closest player on the US squad to the #1 spot in the world at his position.

 

BTW cliaz, found your story hilarious. Good on ya.

 

Wasn't able to see the whole match, as my parents were hosting a dinner party that I was helping out at, but I felt that though britain was the better team, the score was largely merited. Sort of like the way I thought of the france-uruguay match.

The US is definitely closing in on a berth in the next round>

 

So far, some really good matches.

 

Anyone see South Korea S-P-A-N-K greece? I was gobsmacked. Score could have easily been 4-0 and it is the first match with two really bad blown calls. Since both were against Korea, and they still won, no biggie, but Korea should have gotten a penalty, and at one point a greek tripped in his own penaly area and it was called against the korean who was about to get a shot on goal with only the keeper to beat.

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I thought the game was a midfield disaster for both teams, especially USA. Ball control and touch was terrible on our side, and much of the game was played within 18 of either goal. Made for an exciting but frustrating match. The goal was junk, but to USA's credit, they were putting a lot of stuff near goal for much of that first half. It's not always pretty, but that much pressure tends to lead to something and it did.

 

Overall, they won't get far if they continue to make erroneous passes and lose the ball in the midfield. Terrible game all around by Clark who's marking allowed the England goal and spotty passing caused a few near misses. Good game from Howard with all the pressure he was under.

Good summary. As I said in an earlier post, a draw isn't a disaster for either side. Even England won't be concerned about only getting one point.

 

but I felt that though britain was the better team, the score was largely merited.

England, not Britain. Such an error would have you executed on the spot in Scotland. :wacko:

Edited by Ursa Majoris
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le'ts get real 99% of Americans only like it because they get to slam drinks down their hole while they watch a game

 

And this is different from the NFL, how?

 

I can;t say i pay attention to soccer, but I enjoy watching the world cup games. When else do you get to watch sport without commercials?

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Good summary. As I said in an earlier post, a draw isn't a disaster for either side. Even England won't be concerned about only getting one point.

 

 

England, not Britain. Such an error would have you executed on the spot in Scotland. :tup:

 

 

good point. Not one of my better posts. No idea why I made that mistake, other than perhaps listening to a lot of English shows in podcasts that dealt with the recent elections in Britain. GUess I had Britain on the brain :wacko:

After thinking about it, I also decided that Howard is definitely in the top 10 world wide (though not top 5)

Edited by Dr. Sacrebleu
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After thinking about it, I also decided that Howard is definitely in the top 10 world wide (though not top 5)

Over in the Euro leagues, Americans have generally done very well for years so it's not like they are all coming from some rubbish domestic league and are totally out of their depth. Only four of the squad are US-based, the rest all play in Europe or elsewhere. All three keepers play in England.

 

Howard has played top-class soccer in England for years for Manchester United and Everton. He is definitely very high on the excellence list and thoroughly deserved his man-of-the-match award yesterday. He showed both courage and skill, plus he had zero chance with England's goal.

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There've been 8 goals in 6 1/2 games and half the games have been ties.

 

 

Not trying to pee in the pool here as my earlier posts were just fishing attempts but this is why your average sports fan in America cant sink their teeth into soccer.

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Not trying to pee in the pool here as my earlier posts were just fishing attempts but this is why your average sports fan in America cant sink their teeth into soccer.

That, and the fact there are no commercial breaks for companies to make money. It's all about money. We all know this.

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There've been 8 goals in 6 1/2 games and half the games have been ties.

This will sound silly but it's not all about goals. For soccer fans, it's a different mindset altogether. 0-0 draws can be totally entertaining.

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Not trying to pee in the pool here as my earlier posts were just fishing attempts but this is why your average sports fan in America cant sink their teeth into soccer.

There is a lot more than just the low scoring. I have tried and tried to get into watching soccer but it is very difficult.

 

Why the faking of injuries? Why does the goalie have to try to make every save look incredible - they jump to make a save and purposely flop so it looks like they made this incredible save.

 

The announcers are now making Tim Howard sound like a stud because he is going to play with his injury.

 

I am thinking if they just played and did not go out of the way to try and make these guys look tough it would be eaiser to watch.

 

Is there any way this sport could really catch on in the states?

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There is a lot more than just the low scoring. I have tried and tried to get into watching soccer but it is very difficult.

 

Why the faking of injuries? Why does the goalie have to try to make every save look incredible - they jump to make a save and purposely flop so it looks like they made this incredible save.

 

The announcers are now making Tim Howard sound like a stud because he is going to play with his injury.

 

I am thinking if they just played and did not go out of the way to try and make these guys look tough it would be eaiser to watch.

 

Is there any way this sport could really catch on in the states?

No, the attention span just isn't there. TV hates the sport because it doesn't allow for endless commercials. Neither does rugby. All three top American sports lend themselves to almost infinite commercial breaks, each infinitely long. There's a reason NFL Network's Gameday is so popular.

 

Consider this though....... in soccer, out of the 90 minutes (actually 95+ once injury time is taken into account), how many minutes is the ball in play (in other words moving around the field)? Answer: About 45-60 minutes, IIRC, on average. Now ask the same question about football.........

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No, the attention span just isn't there. TV hates the sport because it doesn't allow for endless commercials. Neither does rugby. All three top American sports lend themselves to almost infinite commercial breaks, each infinitely long. There's a reason NFL Network's Gameday is so popular.

 

Consider this though....... in soccer, out of the 90 minutes (actually 95+ once injury time is taken into account), how many minutes is the ball in play (in other words moving around the field)? Answer: About 45-60 minutes, IIRC, on average. Now ask the same question about football.........

Dude, you're fighting an unwinnable battle here; I'm sure you know. There is zero chance of comparing American football to soccer - at least in the eyes of 99.9% of the American public.

 

---

 

I'm interested to see how Germany plays without Michael Ballack. He's no spring chicken but is an integral part of the German "machine". Klose is going to have to figure out a way to score without Ballack's playmaking. Klose has had enough trouble scoring even with Ballack on the field. No way Germany loses to the Socceroos, but I don't think Germany does much in this Cup. :wacko:

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Dude, you're fighting an unwinnable battle here; I'm sure you know. There is zero chance of comparing American football to soccer - at least in the eyes of 99.9% of the American public.

Yeah, I know. Kinda apples to oranges anyway but people generally don't realize how much football clock is burned with literally nothing happening.

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There is a lot more than just the low scoring. I have tried and tried to get into watching soccer but it is very difficult.

 

Why the faking of injuries? Why does the goalie have to try to make every save look incredible - they jump to make a save and purposely flop so it looks like they made this incredible save.

 

The announcers are now making Tim Howard sound like a stud because he is going to play with his injury.

 

I am thinking if they just played and did not go out of the way to try and make these guys look tough it would be eaiser to watch.

 

Is there any way this sport could really catch on in the states?

 

so don't watch. :wacko:

 

i don't know why people here feel like they HAVE to like soccer. the sport has got along just fine without having to be popular here. i enjoy watching the world cup because it's easy to follow, the u.s. is much stronger than in the past and these are the world's best players. aside from a little olympic soccer, i don't watch any other soccer.

 

i can barely watch the nba. i think it caters too much to superstars and i don't enjoy the same teams winning every year. i watch the finals because there's nothing else on, but i couldn't care less who wins. it's one of this country's most popular sports, it's played all over the world, and yet i don't think i've watched a full regular-season nba game in years. maybe i should follow others' lead and go to the non-football forum and lament why i hate watching nba games while bashing those who do. or maybe i could just continue not caring.

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Consider this though....... in soccer, out of the 90 minutes (actually 95+ once injury time is taken into account), how many minutes is the ball in play (in other words moving around the field)? Answer: About 45-60 minutes, IIRC, on average. Now ask the same question about football.........

 

 

Right, but of the time the ball is "in play" how much of that is watching a team run the length of an enormous field only to not have a shot opportunity or shot on goal at the end of the running down the length of an enormous field.

Edited by whomper
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Yeah, I know. Kinda apples to oranges anyway but people generally don't realize how much football clock is burned with literally nothing happening.

 

Some would argue that nothing happens during an entire soccer game...

 

I think soccer's a great sport and the world cup is not matched by any other sporting event for a number of reasons, but I still don't have a lot of interest in watching it. For me, the lack of scoring is a contributing factor. I guess people in other countries don't seem to care about that and maybe it's partly an American thing to need to see scoring to be entertained.

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Right, but of the time the ball is "in play" how much of that is watching a team run the length of an enormous field only to not have a shot opportunity or shot on goal at the end of the running down the length of an enormous field.

It's necessary to understand and appreciate a couple things:

 

The defenders are as world class as the attackers, thus most attacks end in "failure".

It is much, much harder than it looks to score a goal. The goal is 192 square feet and therefore you'd think it was easy but it just isn't. Maybe you have to have played the game competitively to appreciate just how difficult it is to get that ball into that big ol' net.

 

There really is nothing wrong with liking or disliking a sport. I happen to think golf is a stupid way to spoil a nice walk and hockey has no interest for me. NASCAR is just cars going endlessly round and round and round. There are millions of people who would take issue with that and want to explain the finer nuances of all three sports because they like them and I don't.

 

It's all good.

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Sooo, Germany looks pretty darn good. Don't look like they miss Ballack much at all - although I'll admit I'd rather have him out there. They may catch fire and could compete with the Brazils, Portugals, Spains and the Netherlands of this tournament.

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