Soccer World Cup

[LeRoux Strydom]

No thread yet on the SWC? Anyone here been watching some matches?

So what do y'all think about the USA holding England to a 1-1 draw last weekend? The England goalkeeper took a lot of flak for a silly mistake, but in the end, the scoreboard rules. Congratulations to the US team, and good luck for getting to the next round by beating Slovenia which should hopefuly be an easier game.

The German team also get kudos for taking those Aussies 4-0.

Other results here.


======<0 <-- anyone here know what a vuvuzela is? Useless piece of chinese plastic making an awful noise everywhere. I wish FIFA would ban those infernal things from the stadiums.

[ckissick]

I'm surprised there hasn't been a WC thread until now. Thanks.

I thought the US played very well against England, almost even with them, in fact. Yes, the goalie gave the US a gift, but it happens.

Chances are, the US will advance to the round of 16. Problem is, they are likely to play Germany. After watching what Germany did to Australia, I'm not confident. No one should be.

[URY914]

Whatz with the horns? Why don't they ban them?

[Paul_Heery]

I would love to be watching the World Cup. But, the constant drone from those horns killed it for me. I tried watching over the weekend and the buzzing drove me nuts. I tried turning off the sound, but I really missed having some of the commentary since I was not familiar with all of the players and teams.

I turned off the TV. They lost this viewer. I am sure I am not alone.

[JeremyD]

Finally -

and just to get the americans involved
Total Pro Sports - 60 Hot World Cup Soccer Fans (Pics)






Hard not to like brazil...


as far as the game goes - Mexico and Italy looked pretty flat - Germany dominated.

[Tim Hancock]

I watched Saturday. It reminded me how much I hated playing soccer as a kid.... too much running back and forth with too little scoring. I truly do not understand the attraction to the game by so many.

Of course as an American, I want the USA to good against the world no matter what the sport, but soccer ranks pretty low in my mind compared to American football, baseball, basketball and hockey.

[LeRoux Strydom]

Yes, those "horns" or vuvuzelas in the local lingo are a major bone of discontent for many locals and international viewers and the players alike. There are Facebook petitions and even some dedicated websites to protest. Add your vote here: Anti Vuvuzela.org
Problem is that are apparently many more supporters of the damn things than those who dislike them. Most local forums here have viral threads either supporting or condemning them. FIFA and the local organisers seem to like them though .

[Rikao4]

the World Cup & Soccer are like the P thing..
you either get it or no joy..
if you grew up with soccer..
it's in your blood..
like your 80 yr old Mom calls you overseas and screams goallllllllllllllll !
take the Super bowl X 100...and your not even close..
folks close shops,offices have TV's...
criminals stay home..streets are deserted..

Rika

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

I watched Saturday. It reminded me how much I hated playing soccer as a kid.... too much running back and forth with too little scoring. I truly do not understand the attraction to the game by so many.

Of course as an American, I want the USA to good against the world no matter what the sport, but soccer ranks pretty low in my mind compared to American football, baseball, basketball and hockey.

I loved playing soccer as a kid, and love to watch (and play) it now. The low scoring doesn't bother me at all. The almost-goals are almost as exciting as the real goals. I like baseball too, but how can you say baseball is any more exciting than soccer? And football has plenty of down-time, hardly more exciting than passing in the back field in a soccer game.

And lose the vuvuzelas.

[M.D. Holloway]

Soccer is like Jazz and Sex - more fun to do than to listen too...

[gassy]

My die-hard soccer friend doesn't like baseball--says it's boring. I told him that in baseball, the score of the game could change with every pitch. He conceded on that point at least. Like Rika said, you get it or you don't. I don't. I'd rather watch golf. I watched some of the USA game because I felt I had to for some reason. The horns got to me and I turned it off. The thing I don't get is it always looks like when a player goes down, it's a career ending injury. Writhing, wincing, mouth open, eyes closed tighter than a drum. Next minute they're hopping around like nothing happened. EVERY TIME.

[Joe Bob]

Yeah the horns a consatnt yammer. Gotta turn the volume down....

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by LeRoux Strydom

No thread yet on the SWC? Anyone here been watching some matches?

I've been too busy watching every single game to post. There was over 1000 people crammed in our local pub for the US-England game, it was mayhem.

How you doing out there? I assume you stayed home, are there any games in your area? I know a few people went on holiday rather than deal with the crowds.

It's gearing up to be a...well, a kinda boring opening round. Hopefully things kick up a bit in the knockout stages.


Ronaldo can still flop with the best of them

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by gassy

My die-hard soccer friend doesn't like baseball--says it's boring. I told him that in baseball, the score of the game could change with every pitch..

In baseball, the ONLY time the score can change is when there's a pitch. You can take a nap the rest of the game, and you can sleep through half of each inning knowing your team is 100% completely incapable of scoring during that time.

Oh boy. Such excitement

In soccer, a score can and will happen with less than 5 seconds warning. You have to actually watch the entire game, because you will miss the important play otherwise. It's closer to basketball and hockey, where a score can happen at any time by anyone.

[gassy]

We could go on all day Mike. I don't feel like it. I want to "get it", but I don't. Let's just agree that soccer is painful to watch and we'll call it even steven.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Paul_Heery

I would love to be watching the World Cup. But, the constant drone from those horns killed it for me. I tried watching over the weekend and the buzzing drove me nuts. I tried turning off the sound, but I really missed having some of the commentary since I was not familiar with all of the players and teams.

I turned off the TV. They lost this viewer. I am sure I am not alone.

Turn on your closed captioning option.

I've watched soccer before and not heard the drone. I thought it was the broadcast. Anyway, most boring game in the world except for the violence between players.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Paul_Heery

I would love to be watching the World Cup. But, the constant drone from those horns killed it for me. I tried watching over the weekend and the buzzing drove me nuts.

I tried watching and the hours of guys running around in shorts kicking a ball back and forth, ending in a 0-0 or 1-1 tie, killed it for me.

[Pazuzu]

Tell me, why exactly do people always feel the need to come into a soccer thread or story and explain how they "just can't get it" and it's "boring"?
Why? What's going on in your head that you think "hey, there's a specific thread about a very specific subject, likely filled with people who want to talk about that specific subject, so I'll wander in and explain to all of them that it's boring and I don't like it".

Really. Come on. It happens here. It happens on other forums. It happens in every blog that has written about soccer. It happens on soccer forums, where people like you are considered trolls. It happens in the comment sections of newspaper and magazine websites.

Why? I mean, really, what is wrong with you? Soccer fans don't go wandering into football or baseball forums and start acting like that, so why the hell do you do it to soccer stories?

Honestly, there's got to be a reason, lay it out for me. Make me understand. You guys aren't normally such jerks, why does the word "soccer" suddenly make you a flaming idiot?

[dd74]

Football (soccer, i.e. real football) is a great sport. Anyone can play it - within reason - and a participant doesn't need any additional equipment other than a ball.

The skill and fitness of the players is unreal. I once heard they easily run 20 kilometers a game, maybe more. And to kick a pass that spans almost the entire field as the keeper did in the opening host country's game, and have the striker score a goal after receiving the pass, was incredible.

By this time of the year, I'm so effin' sick of basketball, baseball and golf, that soccer is easily tuned into by me.

[Rikao4]

I tried watching and the hours of guys running a few feet in pads carrying a ball back and forth, ending in a 0-0 or 7-7 tie, killed it for me.

Rika