The World Cup Thread
- Thread starter shoeless
- Start date
bsman
b00b
I've participated in quite a few international matches, including all of the Women's World Cup 1999 Bay Area matches, Gold Cups, Copa Libertadores, etc. as a member of the field and locker room crew, most often as referee liaison, which allowed me tgreat access to pretty much everything and everyone and allowed me to watch the games from the fourth officials table at the halfway line,
I have to say I was very impressed with the staging of the final - all of the pageantry seemed very crisp and well done. The pitch looked good and the stands were full. Very professional job. However, I can't believe they went full spectacle. Halftime was an insane length and I know - as a player and coach and referee that more time between halves ≠ a good thing. The only people who really benefit are the stars, FIFA, and Fox. The whole point is the match. This isn't some fucking "super" bowl that is played every goddamn year, it's the WORLD CUP and means a hell of a lot more than Madonna, or Justin fucking Bieber, or even Shakira (though I still love her). It only happens every four years and should be treated more seriously, I think. If you want pageantry, you may have the Olympics but leave the World Cup alone.
BTW - I was very pleased with the outcome. Spain - though not exactly the most dynamic team throughout the tournament - were certainly the most efficient. Their style almost seemed to me to be a melding of the 2010s "tiki-taka" Spanish with something more akin to the Dutch "Clockwork Orange" of the 70s or perhaps some of the West German "Die Mannschaft" back when I was watching Toby Charles on "Soccer Made in Germany" in black and white!
I have to say I was very impressed with the staging of the final - all of the pageantry seemed very crisp and well done. The pitch looked good and the stands were full. Very professional job. However, I can't believe they went full spectacle. Halftime was an insane length and I know - as a player and coach and referee that more time between halves ≠ a good thing. The only people who really benefit are the stars, FIFA, and Fox. The whole point is the match. This isn't some fucking "super" bowl that is played every goddamn year, it's the WORLD CUP and means a hell of a lot more than Madonna, or Justin fucking Bieber, or even Shakira (though I still love her). It only happens every four years and should be treated more seriously, I think. If you want pageantry, you may have the Olympics but leave the World Cup alone.
BTW - I was very pleased with the outcome. Spain - though not exactly the most dynamic team throughout the tournament - were certainly the most efficient. Their style almost seemed to me to be a melding of the 2010s "tiki-taka" Spanish with something more akin to the Dutch "Clockwork Orange" of the 70s or perhaps some of the West German "Die Mannschaft" back when I was watching Toby Charles on "Soccer Made in Germany" in black and white!
Acadiafall
Kiss Me Hardy
I see no anti American hate. What did I miss?
ColourofFire
Kick Henry Jackassowski
Yeah especially a good part of the show being in the catacombs where none of the actual audience could see it was bizarre.
Glad that Spain won, Argentina played and behaved like absolute bottomfeeders. This Spain is extremely boring, but damn, they're good at what they do.
Acadiafall
Kiss Me Hardy
Couldnt agree more. Argentinas attitude was a disgrace. They all turned their backs on the Spanish team too when they were presented with the cup.
Childish, ridiculous behaviour.
Childish, ridiculous behaviour.
ColourofFire
Kick Henry Jackassowski
Yeah, it's not like they lost the game through some crazy ref decision or Spanish players misbehaving, then at least there would have been some excuse for their behaviour. But they just got completely outplayed for 110 minutes, should've ended with 9 or 8 players on the pitch, and got a goal against disallowed for extremely dubious reasons. It's simply pathetic to behave like that afterwards.
They've been pretty nasty all tournament. FIFA should really look at their behaviour and put some consequences on it if they continue acting like this. Their drive and will to win is commendable, but they really take it way, way, way too far.
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bsman
b00b
To an extent, Argentina are all soul and Spain are all head. I don't deny Messi is an amazing goal scorer and assist-machine, but he seems to only have two modes - standing still and full speed. I think that rather than become Leo's team Argies became a team of 11 Emi Martinezes. Remember his antics at the last World Cup? The back-turning was shameful. I'm glad I didn't stay to watch all the post-game stuff and see that live.
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shoeless
Riffin'
2 questions for our American friends re:: the final
- why is it customary for singers to go OTT for the US national anthem at big sporting events? As an outsider it sounds ridiculous and verges on ripping the piss just to show off your chops. As Mrs jbj observed - how are you meant to sing along to that?
- that stadium is a monster and clearly has parking for 10,000+ vehicles. What's it like getting in and out of a venue like that for a gig or sporting event?
Of FFS they've now rolled out tom cruise and a Luis Vuitton case for the trophy.
I'll share this American's thoughts on these issues...I have several.
Like so many things, it comes down to concept vs implementation. I like the concept of singing the national anthem before games. It's traditional and is done everywhere from little league games to the Super Bowl. In most cases, it's either a pre-recorded version of the anthem, or a local talent singing the anthem, and folks tend to sing along. However, at these mega-events, the singer is typically some "well known recording artist" and they feel they have to "make it their own". It hasn't always been this way. I think it started back in the late 80s with Whitney Houston and folks have been following her lead ever since. Like you, I'm not a fan of this. I'd prefer they keep it simple, sing the anthem as written instead of all the vocal runs and show boating.
Regarding stadium parking, it all comes down to the venue and how good they are at traffic management. I've been to games with huge lots and been out in minutes. Others can take hours (I'm looking at you FedEx field). It's not uncommon to see folks fire up their grills and do a post-game tailgate while the traffic dies down.
Tom Cruise...yeah...go figure. Why the organizers wheel out folks like that is beyond me. He intro'd a Super Bowl last year (or maybe year before) too...and coincidentally had another Mission Impossible movie being released at the same time. Coincidence? I think not.
As far as the half time show goes, Americans love a good spectacle. We may be second only to ancient Rome in that regard. I like the concept, but the implementation often fails. Super Bowl halftime shows are often big on spectacle but lack substance. Yesterday's show was hit-and-miss IMO. Madonna was lame. I liked the muppets, although wish Jack White would have joined them for 7 Nation Army. I really liked Bieber's performance and think he was the only one that actually sang live, although I'm not sure how well his song fit into a high energy halftime show. Shakira still has it at 49. I don't know if Europeans or South Americans got the Ted Lasso reference.
I'll share this American's thoughts on these issues...I have several.
Like so many things, it comes down to concept vs implementation. I like the concept of singing the national anthem before games. It's traditional and is done everywhere from little league games to the Super Bowl. In most cases, it's either a pre-recorded version of the anthem, or a local talent singing the anthem, and folks tend to sing along. However, at these mega-events, the singer is typically some "well known recording artist" and they feel they have to "make it their own". It hasn't always been this way. I think it started back in the late 80s with Whitney Houston and folks have been following her lead ever since. Like you, I'm not a fan of this. I'd prefer they keep it simple, sing the anthem as written instead of all the vocal runs and show boating.
Regarding stadium parking, it all comes down to the venue and how good they are at traffic management. I've been to games with huge lots and been out in minutes. Others can take hours (I'm looking at you FedEx field). It's not uncommon to see folks fire up their grills and do a post-game tailgate while the traffic dies down.
Tom Cruise...yeah...go figure. Why the organizers wheel out folks like that is beyond me. He intro'd a Super Bowl last year (or maybe year before) too...and coincidentally had another Mission Impossible movie being released at the same time. Coincidence? I think not.
As far as the half time show goes, Americans love a good spectacle. We may be second only to ancient Rome in that regard. I like the concept, but the implementation often fails. Super Bowl halftime shows are often big on spectacle but lack substance. Yesterday's show was hit-and-miss IMO. Madonna was lame. I liked the muppets, although wish Jack White would have joined them for 7 Nation Army. I really liked Bieber's performance and think he was the only one that actually sang live, although I'm not sure how well his song fit into a high energy halftime show. Shakira still has it at 49. I don't know if Europeans or South Americans got the Ted Lasso reference.
Think we're both in full agreement about the halftime show. Biebers bit would have been really good at a music awards show but the world cup final not so much. Re: the lip syncing, one of the BTS guys forgot he had a mic and had it down by his side for a couple of bars before realising