2010 World Cup Running Thread.

That's okay, I can't imagine a soccer game where it takes 15 minutes to get through the last 60 seconds of actual playing time.

 

Watched that game and it was in stark contrast to the Jays/Sox game my son & I went to that afternoon. It took a half hour r to play the first damn inning and the highlight of the game was a single three up, three out inning.

ays won 9-5 in a three hour forty five minute exhibition of slugging and incompetend pitching

Loved that Red/Phillies game. Gripping stuff.

 

The ESPN radio guys were just KILLING the performance in the second half. (?? and Tommy Smythe)

 

J.P. Dellacamera.

 

Going to offer the opposing perspective of a relative soccer neophyte. I don't pay attention to the game outside of every few years, and I played football in college, so I was raised on a steady diet of the big American sports. But I'm getting more and more sucked in. I loved this World Cup. I'm disappointed I couldn't watch more of it. Yeah, the final was a bit of a clunker, but to be honest, I didn't mind. I sort of like that Spain had to prove their toughness against a physical team like the Dutch. To be honest, I thought Germany went out like whimps in their semifinal. They never had a rough challenge, never tried to dictate the game's action, and just let Spain play hot potato for 90 minutes. Soccer is about finesse, obviously, but there is a definite physicality to some teams and I think the fact that made Spain a deserving champion is they were able to grind and fight and not get rattled by a team that tried to push them around and intimidate them. They fought back. They were tested. They remained relatively composed and won. I was rooting for the Dutch because I'm Dutch, but Spain is a worthy champion. It wasn't pretty, but as Game 7 of this year's NBA Finals proved, sometimes desperation is really ugly.

I think one thing that's been a bit of an adjustment for me as a red-meat eating American is accepting the fact that a guy who is 5-foot-7 like Messi or Villa really can be the best player on the field. That's still amazing to me. I think as Americans, we like size and strength, and we are used to considering little guys to be plucky overachievers. Most non-soccer followers, especially if you never get any exposure to the game outside the World Cup, can't quite wrap our brains around the idea that someone like Messi could be the Albert Pujols or LeBron James of his sport.

The diving still bothers me. I know it's all part of the game, and on teams who do it often, it's considered "clever" instead of disgraceful. That's just something that I'm going to have to learn to accept, I think, because it's never going away. I think the frustrations over it are much worse at the World Cup because there is an obvious xenophobic projection involved. I dislike divers, and Italy dives a lot, thus my frustrations become about all Italians instead of just Daniele de Rossi, whose diving was embarrassing at times. (I know they're your boys, Piotr, and that other teams dive too. But the smarm with which the Azzuri dive is infuriating.) The same is probably true of Ghana's nonsense in the U.S. game. It just seems like it's dishonorable to consistently "pretend" you're hurt to gain an advantage. No amount of lecturing about soccer culture or talk of NBA flopping will convince me otherwise. But it's a small part of the game and I'm just going to have to live with it.

I hate the idea of changing the rules to interest more Americans. Hate it. And I think it's funny that some Americans get so ANGRY at the suggestion that soccer doesn't need American fans in any way shape or form. It really doesn't though. It already has their corporate money. And for American companies like Nike, business is booming in Europe and South America. I was interviewing one of the Nike higher ups a few months ago for a story and he said a lot of their efforts right now are focused in Europe because it's a huge growth market for them. The fact that American fans would rather watch American football is sort of irrelevant. They're making just as much profit in Europe right now selling soccer shoes as the are selling football cleats.

I'm convinced now that I'd love to cover a World Cup. I love the spectacle, the tradition, the excitement and the heartbreak of it all. Watching reaction shots of Donovan's goal was just awesome. It doesn't mean I'll watch EPL games, because I wouldn't have the first damn clue who to cheer for or how to pick a team, but I'm fascinated by the act of playing for your country. It's such a bummer to see NBA players grumble -- at least prior to 2008 -- about playing for the Olympic team, and show so little passion if they do decide to play. It honestly took a cutthroat competitor like Kobe Bryant to whip everyone's ass into shape to get the players to actually care again about Olympic hoops. I love the fact that, for the most part, soccer players relish the chance to play for their national team. They live for it. Yeah, maybe England and France proved this year that selfish, talented players take it for granted or can't figure out how to work together, but for the most part, when teams lost, they were devastated. Maradona said Argentina's loss this year was one of the worst days of his life. He's a crazy bastard -- a liar, a crook, a drunk, an addict and a dickhead -- but I'll watch any sport that has someone who CARES as much as El Diego. I can't wait for Brazil in 2014. I only hope I can figure out a way to see it in person.

 

For what it's worth, Double Down, all soccer fans would love to see the diving and time-wasting completely eliminated from the game.

But that would require accountability from the officials, and that's not happening any time soon. Thanks for not writing off the entire game just because of a few incidents.

As for attending a World Cup overseas: I have vowed to make each of the last three (and came thisclose in Japan eight years ago, alas). Hoping to make it to Brazil in 2014 or Europe in 2018 (more likely).

The games in the summer of 1994 helped convince me to go into sports journalism. Not being able to allot the time or money to attend 2006 convinced me to get out of sports journalism.

 

I have watched more soccer in last month than I have my entire life. Really enjoyed the event and being able to watch live games first thing in a.m. Watched most of games on Telemundo. Soccer sounds much better in Spanish.

Really enjoyed the varying styles of play from the elite teams. It seemed like each brought something different to the table.

I can't say that I've become a soccer fan but can say that I've become a World Cup fan.

I will watch a few Premier league games but doubt I'll be drawn into the MLS.

To me soccer is like the girl you keep trying to convince yourself to like because she has some nice qualities but in the end there is just not enough there.

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-world-cup-jones-20100713,0,2401803.column

Excellent column by Grahame Jones of the LA Times. He opines the European Champions League and the European Championships have become the sport's premier event.

And FIFA's chief agrees with many, that Sunday's game sucked.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-world-cup-notes-20100713,0,2790428.story

 

This whole thing is beautiful, DD.
But I've got an easy answer about which team you should follow in the Premier League.
Liverpool.
All the cool dudes follow Liverpool.

 

Actually, getting rid of diving wouldn't be that hard.
Just tell the players that Big Brother is watching.
A moment like Sergio Busquets produced in the Champions League semis vs. Bayern?
That's a 1-game suspension.
Faking like Ghana did at the end of the US game? A 1 game suspension.
Post-game video monitoring, just like we have in many sports. If you get caught, you pay.
If you're caught more than once, it's three games. More than twice, it's half the season.
Bingo.
No more fake injuries. Just real ones.

 

Back on the mainland and am just now catching up to the reaction to the match. I'm glad Kruff said what I was thinking of the Netherland's approach. They should be ashamed.

But I'm glad so many viewers tuned in. I watched in bar packed with actual Spanish people. They were singing and dancing and dying with every miss. It was heaven.

Glad Iniesta got the goal. I love watching him play.