Achtung! Sooooooooooo any of you guys interested in the international sawker cup?

Really digging that this WC has been a lot more entertaining so far than the South Africa one was. Loads of goals and some really good attacking play.

Switzerland-Ecuador now, think the Swiss may perhaps be the surprise team this time. They ridiculed us in the qualifying rounds. :embarrassed:
 
My family is pretty disappointed that there are no Scandinavian teams in the tournament. I can't recall the last time that happened.
 
bsman said:
My family is pretty disappointed that there are no Scandinavian teams in the tournament. I can't recall the last time that happened.
Click to expand...

Yup. That hasn't happened in decades. I've found myself sort of cheering for England, as they have lots of players from my favourite Premier League team.
We're (Norway) just not good enough to be there right now, but must say I'm a bit surprised Sweden didn't qualify - they do have some quality players, Zlatan in particular.
 
tiger roach said:
England. *shakes head*
Click to expand...

To be fair to them (minus Rooney) and Gerrard having a quiet game I think they played very well and it could have gone either way.

There's a good chance it would have if Rooney didn't start doing his schoolboy "I'm going to take every single spot kick for the last 20 minutes to try and be the hero" pish and let the team keep doing their thing.

I was heartened, I thought there'd either be a goal in it or 3 or 4 so for England to play so well (some of their younger players had brilliant games) against a decent Italy side was good to see.

On that form I'd expect them to beat Uruguay (on their form) and Costa Rica to go through with Italy.
 
jbj said:
To be fair to them (minus Rooney) and Gerrard having a quiet game I think they played very well and it could have gone either way.

There's a good chance it would have if Rooney didn't start doing his schoolboy "I'm going to take every single spot kick for the last 20 minutes to try and be the hero" pish and let the team keep doing their thing.

I was heartened, I thought there'd either be a goal in it or 3 or 4 so for England to play so well (some of their younger players had brilliant games) against a decent Italy side was good to see.

On that form I'd expect them to beat Uruguay (on their form) and Costa Rica to go through with Italy.
Click to expand...

Should be said that Pirlo is a monster of a midfielder, that bloke is special. England did actually play well.
 
Though my kids have all played soccer, and I love watching their games, though I love going to a Sounders game for the whole scene, it turns out I am not into it. (Referring to the thread title). I have buddies who are structuring their days to watch, but I just cannot go there.
 
Dexter Inferno said:
It is indeed quite weird.
Click to expand...
Well, I have no answer really, other than the market saturation enjoyed by the big American three, Football (american), Basketball, and Baseball. I enjoy playing when I have played, enjoy watching when I have a connection to a team, and love supporting my kids play. But for some reason, I cannot bring myself to watch world cup football (soccer) on tv much. Part of that is because I would have to pay through the nose to get stations that carry it. Much like cycling coverage that I do enjoy watching.

I was talking to some Dad friends about this the other night. One is really into it. The computer watching options freeze and stutter, and the coverage of the good games are in the middle of the day (at least for this tournament) on stations that I do not get. So I think the answer is the market saturation of the traditional american sports I mention, along with difficulty to get good coverage. This combines to prevent any even basic knowledge among the average viewer, and therefore, prevent any real connection with the sport. Ok, so that is my theory.
 
Honduras are pretty much the Central American equivalent of Stoke City. Dreadfully ugly football. Hopefully the French absolutely destroy them.
 
I doubt any of you are getting the UK / English commentary on this but one of the tajjers on the commentary team is really struggling with the concept that the goalline tech said that 1st incident (ball hitting the post) wasn't a goal but it was then knocked in. :facepalm:
 
jbj said:
I doubt any of you are getting the UK / English commentary on this but one of the tajjers on the commentary team is really struggling with the concept that the goalline tech said that 1st incident (ball hitting the post) wasn't a goal but it was then knocked in. :facepalm:
Click to expand...

Well done...
 
I missed the games today, but I saw the England Italy game. Good play from both teams. I wondered about Gerrard not getting the penalty call when he was knocked over in the area, but I figured it wasn't that clear of a call. Balotelli's header was unstoppable.
 
Also, I've been watching the games on Univision (Spanish language TV in the US), and they call out the players' full names, and the only ones I remember are Raheem Shaquile Sterling and Stephen George Gerrard.
 
For fuck's sake, did Rodney teach some of these guys how to act? :grin:
tumblr_lr4goexwqx1qewhjpo1_400.gif


Send them to women's MMA school and learn to take a punch, eh?
Kaitlin_Young__287-6-1_29_vs._Leslie_Smith__283-2-1_29.gif
 
Dexter Inferno said:
It is indeed quite weird.
Click to expand...
To be honest I think it's a pacing thing. It fairly boring if you aren't up on all of the stuff going on. Howie will argue with me but I also think that's why baseball is losing popularity here. It's still big on the coasts and a few cities with teams but most places people don't follow baseball to much. You never see it on TV around here.

Soccer is interesting because there has been a big push in the last twenty years to popularize it. Until recently it hasn't home anywhere. We all played it when we were little like (6-10) but most seem to forget about it once they are old enough to play football or basketball.

I watched my first soccer game in Costa Rica. I watched with a local who was into it so that helped. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure if sit through a whole game in the future. I might watch some games here and there to try to follow along.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
reverend1 said:
To be honest I think it's a pacing thing. It fairly boring if you aren't up on all of the stuff going on. Howie will argue with me but I also think that's why baseball is losing popularity here. It's still big on the coasts and a few cities with teams but most places people don't follow baseball to much. You never see it on TV around here.

Soccer is interesting because there has been a big push in the last twenty years to popularize it. Until recently it hasn't home anywhere. We all played it when we were little like (6-10) but most seem to forget about it once they are old enough to play football or basketball.

I watched my first soccer game in Costa Rica. I watched with a local who was into it so that helped. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure if sit through a whole game in the future. I might watch some games here and there to try to follow along.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

What I do find most weird about the US is you've had a fairly decent national team for over 60 years that routinely qualify for the World Cup.
One would think that your guys time and time again taking part in the world's biggest sports tournament (Olympics aside, obviously) would help attracting new followers of the game and help recruitment. If you could be bothered you could actually be a powerhouse in just a few years, with the right coaches/training - you already are in women's football.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top