World Cup!!!

Doubtful though this scenario is, it is one that we on all sides would love to see.I can only imagine the total and utter BBC frenzy: the 1966 game would be played in full in the days beforehand - at least 4 times. Computer graphics would be exhibited to show us that 'that' goal was in fact a goal ( Me? I go by the old fashioned notion: if the ref says it was a goal then it was a goal) That old B/W film, "Battle of Britain" would somehow find its way into the pre-match TV schedules. There would very likely be pre-match interviews with 100 year old Cockneys talking about "us wot wun the war"And on the Emerald Isle? We'd all be rooting for our former conquerors. And genuinely so. War is hell - but it make for lasting friendships.

Doubtful though this scenario is, it is one that we on all sides would love to see.I can only imagine the total and utter BBC frenzy: the 1966 game would be played in full in the days beforehand - at least 4 times. Computer graphics would be exhibited to show us that 'that' goal was in fact a goal ( Me? I go by the old fashioned notion: if the ref says it was a goal then it was a goal) That old B/W film, "Battle of Britain" would somehow find its way into the pre-match TV schedules. There would very likely be pre-match interviews with 100 year old Cockneys talking about "us wot wun the war"And on the Emerald Isle? We'd all be rooting for our former conquerors. And genuinely so. War is hell - but it make for lasting friendships.

I mean - even allowing for the fact Serbia and Montenegro weren't really trying - that performance was just ridiculous.Still, hopefully they've peaked too soon

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Never put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after

What kind of sport do you like then?

fallacycop writes

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What kind of sport do you like then?

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I'd imagine crashfrog, like so many Americans, gets a good kick out of golf. I mean, seriously, if all the espn channels were showing golf a couple years ago when the USA was against Mexico (was not world cup) and made my friend and I running around trying to find someone with some kind of miracle channel to watch the game, how can crashfrog not like golf?My friend and I finally tuned to some obscure mexican channel to watch the game... and static.

You mean, like to watch? I find that watching sports is sort of contrary to the purpose. Honestly, I simply couldn't be bothered.

Three games, five sendings off (three in one game), first win by an African team......and did you see that elbow by the Italian who got sent off!?Not to mention the great goal by Deco of Portugal and the schoolboy own goal by Zaccardo of Italy.Now all I have to do is hope England start getting their act together on Tuesday against Sweden.

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Never put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after

Sweden will beat England, that's my prediction. Keep in mind, last time I played soccer (as we americans call football, 'cause the other "football" is played with a pigskin, and we have to be different) was roughly ten years ago. I'm a swede, so I root for them. Don't ask me how I ended up in Southwest virginia.And hey, wouldn't you know it, the US actually played a good game--tying against Italy. I get the impression that's the best we've done, ever. SO that's cool. Now if we can just win the cup and shock everyone to hell.

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All a man's knowledge comes from his experiences

OK, I've tried to watch a couple of the games, but I can longer stand it. For the love of God...kick the friggen ball towards the friggen net!! Look, I'm not one of the "those people" that need high scoring sports (real football, basketball, etc) so don't go there. As a matter of fact, my favorite sport to watch is bicycle racing (and I also love to watch Curling), so believe me when I say that I've heard it all about a sport that your typical American could care less about. Soccer (or should I say football?) probably ranks substantially higher on most Americans scales than does bike racing. Having said that, let me add that soccer could increase it's appeal (slightly I would imagine...but still it would be an increase) if they'd just kick the damned ball towards the net more than 3-6 times during an entire 90 friggen minute game.But my biggest complaint against soccer though? Personally, I think all soccer players should be required to wear pink panties. Holy shit, I have never seen such a bunch of pantywaiste sissy boys in my life! Honestly, despite their obvious fitness, they fall down and cry like babies at the drop of a hat. Talk about diving. Christ, your average soccer player dives more in one game than Greg Louganis did during his entire career. Poor sportsmanship to the nth degree, if you ask me .

Falling over has become a tactical element in the game. Things like corners, free kicks near the goal and penaltys were always advantageous set pieces. The relatively recent injection of copius amounts of money into the game (for tv-rights) means winning has becoming a financial necessity rather than the reward for good competing.This has resulted in a desire to obtain the opportunity provided by more set pieces - for set pieces can be practiced and increase the chances of a goal more than open play can. From certain positions, a well-taken free kick is nigh on impossible to stop - and relies only on the person taking it (and they practice and practice and practice). Similarily, you might get a tall defender getting substituted for whatever reason, in which case free kicks won from further afield can be lobbed onto the head of a the now-unmarked tall striker - something which would otherwise be headed by the defender out of danger.There is also applied psychology:"No impression in the refs mind about my rough play": I can play rough on an opponant when the need really arises to offset a clear danger/"Ref has the impression I have fouled a few times:" I'm likely to get a yellow card which will seriously curtail my freedom to take serious measures"I have a yellow card": I now have to be very circumspect - red means I miss future games too.Reasons to fall over when tackled reflect the desire to neutralise the opponant.Football has lost its heart - I don't watch it anymore.(having said all that, bar for a bit of light shin protection, a players is completely unpadded. Raking a fleet-of-foot player down the back of his ankle with your spurs is agonising (for the rakee) and tends to knock the pace off his game.)

FliesOnly writes

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Holy shit, I have never seen such a bunch of pantywaiste sissy boys in my life!

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You obviously have never played real soccer before. Trust me, when the bottom of a soccer shoe scrape against the back of your leg, the pain at the time can be described as "FUCK ME!"Your problem is you are too used to watching American football where each player is more armored and padded than a foot soldier. Just about ever part of his body is protected.I've played soccer all my life. Yes, some of those painful expressions are probably fake. But trust me, some of those remind me of some rather painful experiences.

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the love of God...kick the friggen ball towards the friggen net!!

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I don't know. I like it the way it is.ABEPresident Bush should be addressing the nation, informing us of countries who have recently joined the "axis of evil" group. These countries are Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana. Italy is seeking to possess nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction for purposes all too obvious: the return of the Roman Empire. Czech Republic just wants to possess WMD for purposes of revenge. Guana now harbors terrorists.Edited by rgb, : No reason given.

Correct, I have never played soccer, and I do not doubt that being "scraped" by cleats can be painful (hey, before metal cleats were disallowed I was once cleated on the back of my hand by a man sliding into second base during a slow-pitch softball game. He broke one of my metatarsals. Ya know what...I kept playing and didn't roll around on the ground like a two-year old throwing a hissy fit. Hell, I even played in the next three or four games, until the pain got so bad that I went to the doctor, only then finding out that the bone was broken). And after watching many of the replays on the T.V., often times the player that you would think had just had his femur, tibia, and fibula broken (as well as serious damage done to his leg muscles), in reality was barely even touched... if at all. It's amazing...nothing short of a miracle how after the red or yellow card is administered, they just hop right up and run off as if nothing happened...hmmmmmm.I once watched a bicycle racer crash during a sprint finish. I won't go into the details other than to say he hit a barrier, flew about 30 feet in the air, slid about 80-100 feet on the cement, got run over by two other bikes, received a severe concussion, a broken clavicle, numerous cuts and abrasions, lost a great deal of skin, and was knock unconscious...but upon regaining consciousness, he actually got on what was left of his bike and, with assistance, finished the damned race. Now that’s being tough! Nope...sorry...I despise American football. Very little actual talent needed, and they are all way over paid. Trust me, I also think that many American football players and pretty much pantywaist sissy boys as well. I do not doubt this at all. However, when it is obvious that no real foul was committed and the fake writhing in pain as if they're hovering on the verge of death has subsided, perhaps it is they who should be awarded the red card for unsportsmanlike conduct (similar to what Hockey is finally starting to do). That would end that sorta crap pretty quickly I would think. As I said before, I truly love watching Curling, so fast-paced, high scoring action is not a necessary component of what I consider to be an exciting sport. It's strategy and the attempt to at least score points by which I judge a sport. In curling, they are figuring out the best strategy for scoring points. In soccer, they run around doing virtually nothing and then occasionally kick the damned ball towards the goal. Ya know what...ya can't friggen score if you don't kick the ball towards the goal. Is there some sort of universal unwritten law that soccer must be a low scoring game for fear that it will lose it's appeal if too many goals are scored? Maybe they're afraid that if the scores are too high, people will start to think that soccer is, in reality, not that difficult and that the players are not really all that special after all. This is not meant to diminish the skill required to handle the ball they way they do. Quite the contrary. By watching some of the amazing things they can do with the ball, I fail to see why kicking the friggen ball towards the goal suddenly becomes so damned difficult.

Hello Flies. I can understand where you are coming from. Sometimes, yes, the players dramatize the extent of their pain. However, it is required of referees to hand out the yellow card for someone believed to have taken a dive. And, of course, this is subjective depending upon what the referee believes to have been a dive. I disagree. Soccer is played on, I believe, the largest fields of any team sport. It often takes time to exploit a team's weaknesses, a possible mismatch, and the like.True, the shortest distance between the two goals is a straight line, but if it were truly that easy, to drive straight toward the goal all the time, don't you think professional athletes would have picked up on that?

FliesOnly writes

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In soccer, they run around doing virtually nothing and then occasionally kick the damned ball towards the goal.

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The other team doesn't just stand there and let your team go straight from one point to another and then make the shot. I have heard many criticisms when I played soccer semi-professionally, but this is probably the one that got to me the most. It's always look easier when you just sit on your butt and watch. People in the audience often times fail to consider how hard it is to maneuver (sp?) the ball around the other player, who is just as good if not better a player than you.Soccer is a light sport, meaning kicking each other on the face is not suppose to be part of the game. Players aren't trained to take the punch!But consider this. Imagine that you are running as fast as you can while struggling to control a ball. Suddenly, someone sticks out his foot and you trip and fall. Everyone can relate to tripping and falling, but most can't relate to tripping and falling while running at full speed.And as has been pointed out, a soccer field is freakin' huge. To get to the goal, you don't just run in a straight line from one end to the other.

Nah, Australian Rules football has a much bigger pitch. Although not really comparable sports so do cricket and polo.If ESPN or somesuch channel ever shows an Aussie Rules game you and Flies should watch it - no pantywaist sissy boys in that sport!

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Never put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after