Eärendil The Mariner Slick Joined: Jul 02, 2005 Posts: 16187 Threads: 145 Located: Ankh-Morpork Post Office
Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 2:50 pm Post subject:
_________________ Wandering the empty road,
In twilight's silver shade,
Following the hidden paths
Alone and unafraid.
Let the sunlight free the heart,
Forever bound to roam,
And let the waking morning find
The weary traveller returning home.
Primogeniture Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16027 Threads: 107
Upcoming matches - Quarter-finals:
Netherlands vs. Brazil - 2 Jul 10:00am (ET) on ESPN
Uruguay vs. Ghana - 2 Jul 2:30pm (ET) on ESPN
Argentina vs. Germany - 3 Jul 10:00am (ET) on ABC
Paraguay vs. Spain - 3 Jul 2:30pm (ET) on ABC
What can anyone tell me about these match-ups?
_________________ "If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the "Fuck you" signs in the world. It's impossible."
Betterdayz Joined: Oct 03, 2006 Posts: 25467 Threads: 145 Located: Serving the food.
Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 5:11 pm Post subject:
If the Dutch win against Brazil they will win it all.
Primogeniture Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16027 Threads: 107
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:09 am Post subject:
Netherlands v Brazil and Argentina v Germany are huge. Spain ought to handle Paraguay and it doesn't matter too much who wins between Uruguay and Ghana. Still makes me sick that the US couldn't progress through this cupcake of a walk to the semis. We'll show up four years from now with a better team and in superior form only to meet a top 5 team in the round of 16. The blown opportunity is what hurts most of all.
Isabelle M Joined: Mar 05, 2008 Posts: 1947 Threads: 63 Located: Frowny face
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:04 am Post subject:
Paraguay ought to be an easy walkover for Spain.
Uruguay vs. Ghana is merely a sideshow.
Argentina vs. Germany I expect to be the game with the more spectacular football and the most goals. Both have been playing very attractively. It's anyone's guess who will be the victor, but Germany's offence will seriously rattle Argentina's shaky defence.
Netherlands vs. Brazil will probably be decided with a one goal difference. Both play with a solid defensive block of 6 players with 4 creative attackers up front. Neither has been truly tested all out. On the Dutch side, Sneijder is in better form than Kaka and there seems to be no defence with an adequate answer to Arjen Robben. On Brazil's side, Luis Fabiano is in better form than Robin van Persie. It's gonna be 50/50.
Didier Drogba - out after the group phase
Fabio Cannavaro - out after the group phase
Frank Ribery - out after the group phase
Wayne Rooney - out after the round of 16
Cristiano Ronaldo - out after the round of 16
Roger Federer - eliminated at Wimbledon
This doesn't bode wel for Spain (Cesc Fabregas is one of the players laughing at Rooney's misfortune) or Brazil (while Ronaldinho wasn't selected, he's still shown in their national colours).
There must be some Nike ad execs shaking their heads by now. Eh?
Primogeniture Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16027 Threads: 107
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 5:09 pm Post subject:
Isabelle M wrote:
So...
Didier Drogba - out after the group phase
Fabio Cannavaro - out after the group phase
Frank Ribery - out after the group phase
Wayne Rooney - out after the round of 16
Cristiano Ronaldo - out after the round of 16
Roger Federer - eliminated at Wimbledon
Heh, I had thought about most of the players in that ad not doing so well, but hadn't counted them up yet. The Rooney bit in particular. Rooney didn't score a single goal in the entire competition, and got into a spat with the fans, I'm sure the papers back home had headlines very similar to those in his "nightmare." I kind of liked the Rooney section of the ad though (and I'm not a Rooney fan).
Quote:
This doesn't bode wel for Spain (Cesc Fabregas is one of the players laughing at Rooney's misfortune) or Brazil (while Ronaldinho wasn't selected, he's still shown in their national colours).
Actually I believe it was Donovan and Howard smirking at Rooney's misfortune (both out in round of 16), while Cesc alongside Iniesta and Pique are frustrated with Rooney's success in the "dream" take. And poor Theo Walcott, who makes a cameo, didn't even get selected.
Quote:
There must be some Nike ad execs shaking their heads by now. Eh?
Indeed.
I can't stand the Ronaldo section (aside from the Simpsons gag). That's pretty much what I picture his life actually being like.
Didier Drogba - out after the group phase
Fabio Cannavaro - out after the group phase
Frank Ribery - out after the group phase
Wayne Rooney - out after the round of 16
Cristiano Ronaldo - out after the round of 16
Roger Federer - eliminated at Wimbledon
This doesn't bode wel for Spain (Cesc Fabregas is one of the players laughing at Rooney's misfortune) or Brazil (while Ronaldinho wasn't selected, he's still shown in their national colours).
There must be some Nike ad execs shaking their heads by now. Eh?
But Kobe won a title so nyah.
_________________ hi there
Primogeniture Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16027 Threads: 107
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 7:28 pm Post subject:
I wish Kobe had decided to play soccer instead.
amberlita Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16931 Threads: 284
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:13 pm Post subject:
Primogeniture wrote:
I wish Kobe had decided to play soccer instead.
Actually, me and some friends were talking about how awesome it would be to have a celebrity soccer match. They have lame golf tournaments and televise them but sorry I just don't care about watching Michael Jordan, Matt Cassell, and Taylor Hicks shank balls into the rough. But oooooh what I wouldn't pay to watch Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Ray Romano, and a host of other fish out of water celebrities try to make through 90 minutes of a soccer match.
amberlita Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16931 Threads: 284
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:40 pm Post subject:
K, I went googling and found this bit of awesomeness. Soccer Aid 2010, England v. The Rest Of The World:
Primogeniture Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16027 Threads: 107
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:20 am Post subject:
Haha, that's awesome! I might watch some more of that. Even if I hadn't heard of nearly half of those guys.
Spoiler:
Surprised Gordon Ramsay missed his, I remembered reading that he almost became a footballer. Expected to see Michael Sheen before he appeared, apparently he was in the youth system at Arsenal back in the day. They are all pretty damn good though. Happy to see an American win it for the ROW.
Noticed David Seaman (woo), Harry Redknapp (boo), and Ryan Giggs (boo).
Primogeniture Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16027 Threads: 107
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:44 am Post subject:
Watched some of the match itself, these guys are really good. And they've got Crazy Jens Lehmann in the goal opposite Seaman. Awesome. And there's something special about seeing Mike Meyers and Zinedine Zidane passing to each other.
Eärendil The Mariner Slick Joined: Jul 02, 2005 Posts: 16187 Threads: 145 Located: Ankh-Morpork Post Office
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:26 am Post subject:
amberlita wrote:
Primogeniture wrote:
I wish Kobe had decided to play soccer instead.
Actually, me and some friends were talking about how awesome it would be to have a celebrity soccer match. They have lame golf tournaments and televise them but sorry I just don't care about watching Michael Jordan, Matt Cassell, and Taylor Hicks shank balls into the rough. But oooooh what I wouldn't pay to watch Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Ray Romano, and a host of other fish out of water celebrities try to make through 90 minutes of a soccer match.
They do this in Italy, all the time. TV presenters vs. racing drivers, that sort of thing. Always a laugh.
_________________ Wandering the empty road,
In twilight's silver shade,
Following the hidden paths
Alone and unafraid.
Let the sunlight free the heart,
Forever bound to roam,
And let the waking morning find
The weary traveller returning home.
amberlita Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16931 Threads: 284
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:29 am Post subject:
Perhaps my Euro friends can answer this for me. Seeing the title of those videos and knowing they named the main stadium in Johanesburg Soccer City, is it common for people outside of America to refer to it as "soccer"? I thought that was just our thing, because we have our own version of football (a name which is becoming exceedingly annoying to me as I don't want to sound like an ignorant American when talking to my international friends by calling it soccer but don't want to sound like a poser by calling it football when I know damn well we reserve that name for another sport).
Or am I wrong? Is it mostly referred to as football but sometimes called soccer outside of America too? Or are they purely trying to appease Americans? Seems silly to do something like that since we make up such a small percentage of the World Cup audience and for the Soccer Aid, we had all of 2 celebrities in the entire thing.
_________________ "You were always the level-headed one." -my delusional sister in a rare complimentary moment
Eärendil The Mariner Slick Joined: Jul 02, 2005 Posts: 16187 Threads: 145 Located: Ankh-Morpork Post Office
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:24 pm Post subject:
I actually have no idea where the term came from. I know Aussies use it too.
This is what Wkipedia says:
"The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford "-er" abbreviation of the word "association",[5] often credited to former England captain Charles Wreford-Brown.[6]
Today the sport is known as football in English-speaking countries in which it is the most popular football code; where other codes are more popular, the sport is more commonly referred to as soccer. Non-English-speaking countries predominantly use a variation of football, such as French le football, Spanish fútbol, Portuguese futebol or German Fußball."
_________________ Wandering the empty road,
In twilight's silver shade,
Following the hidden paths
Alone and unafraid.
Let the sunlight free the heart,
Forever bound to roam,
And let the waking morning find
The weary traveller returning home.
Primogeniture Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16027 Threads: 107
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:25 pm Post subject:
I wondered about that too. Not sure why they called it "Soccer Aid." I believe the term "soccer" was invented in England (Oxford blokes apparently enjoy abbreviations), but I've heard that's it in use in a few countries, like America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Someone with knowledge of those places can speak to that further. The Australian national team is at least nicknamed the "socceroos." I watched "Invictus" last night and they used the term "soccer" a good bit (in South Africa), but that may have been for the benefit of American audiences. It appears though that "football" is simply used for whatever football game is most popular in any area. If it is Association Football (soccer) than that is called football, if it is American Football (gridiron) than that is called football. Rugby and other various versions of football (Canadian Football, Australian rules Football, etc) might also apply.
I actually use both terms. I say soccer when talking about the USMNT or MLS. I go play soccer. If I'm talking to someone unfamiliar with the foreign leagues I say soccer. But when I'm talking about the EPL or Champion's League (which is most of the time) I tend to use "football." My friends that I talk about those subjects with can tell the difference as easily as I can, so there is usually no problem.
Primogeniture Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16027 Threads: 107
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:28 pm Post subject:
Eärendil The Mariner wrote:
I actually have no idea where the term came from. I know Aussies use it too.
This is what Wkipedia says:
"The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford "-er" abbreviation of the word "association",[5] often credited to former England captain Charles Wreford-Brown.[6]
Today the sport is known as football in English-speaking countries in which it is the most popular football code; where other codes are more popular, the sport is more commonly referred to as soccer. Non-English-speaking countries predominantly use a variation of football, such as French le football, Spanish fútbol, Portuguese futebol or German Fußball."
Well there ya go. All hail Wikipedia. May its future reign over humanity be both prosperous and benevolent.
I don't know about you guys, but I'm rooting for Paraguay.
Quote:
Cell Phone-Bosomed Paraguay Girl: 'I'll run naked if we win World Cup'
She's now known throughout the world as Cell Phone-Bosomed Paraguay Girl, thanks to this photo that some guy took and posted to his Twitter account during Paraguay's 1-1 tie with Italy. Although her real name is Larissa Riquelme, a lingerie model who is wearing far less on other spots on the Internets (I'm sure you can find her without my help). But that's not the big news. From USA Today:
Now Paraguay's most celebrated fan, lingerie model Larissa Riquelme, has promised to bare all in the capital city of Asuncion if her team wins.
One catch, though. She told Globoesporte she'd do it but added, "Of course, but with my body painted with the colors of Paraguay."
The model has been a hit with photographers in part because of where she carries her cell phone. (Check the photo.) She has joked that's also where she'll put the World Cup, if Paraguay wins.
I do believe it would fit. But then where would she keep her phone?
Eärendil The Mariner Slick Joined: Jul 02, 2005 Posts: 16187 Threads: 145 Located: Ankh-Morpork Post Office
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:58 pm Post subject:
When she really gets into a game, things start to... pop up:
Spoiler:
_________________ Wandering the empty road,
In twilight's silver shade,
Following the hidden paths
Alone and unafraid.
Let the sunlight free the heart,
Forever bound to roam,
And let the waking morning find
The weary traveller returning home.
Isabelle M Joined: Mar 05, 2008 Posts: 1947 Threads: 63 Located: Frowny face
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:03 pm Post subject:
Primogeniture wrote:
Heh, I had thought about most of the players in that ad not doing so well, but hadn't counted them up yet. The Rooney bit in particular. Rooney didn't score a single goal in the entire competition, and got into a spat with the fans, I'm sure the papers back home had headlines very similar to those in his "nightmare." I kind of liked the Rooney section of the ad though (and I'm not a Rooney fan).
Quote:
This doesn't bode wel for Spain (Cesc Fabregas is one of the players laughing at Rooney's misfortune) or Brazil (while Ronaldinho wasn't selected, he's still shown in their national colours).
Actually I believe it was Donovan and Howard smirking at Rooney's misfortune (both out in round of 16), while Cesc alongside Iniesta and Pique are frustrated with Rooney's success in the "dream" take. And poor Theo Walcott, who makes a cameo, didn't even get selected.
Ah, my bad. Should have rewatched the video before posting. I just remembered Fabregas as one of the paper boys and assumed him to be the same as the one from the previous segment.
Quote:
I can't stand the Ronaldo section (aside from the Simpsons gag). That's pretty much what I picture his life actually being like.
Me neither, but I have always been of the opinion that Ronaldo is one of the most overrated players currently playing. He is NOT a team player. Doesn't matter where or when he plays or for which side, Ronaldo only plays for the greater glory of Ronaldo.
TAS wrote:
But Kobe won a title so nyah.
And the fact that a basketball player is the most successful player in a Football-commercial negates the Nike ad-curse how?
Isabelle M Joined: Mar 05, 2008 Posts: 1947 Threads: 63 Located: Frowny face
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:16 pm Post subject:
@Amber: What ETM said. Association Football.
The Australian national team is nicknamed The Socceroos, so USA isn't alone in adopting the soccer monicker among English speaking nations. Then again they have their own brand of played-primarily-with-the-hands Football...
I'm perfectly fine, when discussing with Americans/foreigners, with their use of the term Soccer. I'm already glad they show an interest. Won't stop me from calling it Football though. (in Dutch, for those of you wondering, it's called voetbal).
Also:
@Otis and ETM, FUCK Paraguay. I'll take a Dutch win over a random pair of tits, although they do seem to be epic.
Eärendil The Mariner Slick Joined: Jul 02, 2005 Posts: 16187 Threads: 145 Located: Ankh-Morpork Post Office
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:59 pm Post subject:
Isabelle M wrote:
@Otis and ETM, FUCK Paraguay. I'll take a Dutch win over a random pair of tits, although they do seem to be epic.
I'm not a fan of the fake boobage at all. I still haven't seen a hotter fan than this Aussie girl:
I mean what an absolutely GORGEOUS creature. I can't stop looking at her.
_________________ Wandering the empty road,
In twilight's silver shade,
Following the hidden paths
Alone and unafraid.
Let the sunlight free the heart,
Forever bound to roam,
And let the waking morning find
The weary traveller returning home.
Isabelle M Joined: Mar 05, 2008 Posts: 1947 Threads: 63 Located: Frowny face
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:20 pm Post subject:
I've seen a few that drew my eye...
The Bavaria babes, the usual continent of WAGs, random fan shots. The best aspect about so many South-American teams advancing is, IMO, the fact that their female supporters so often confirm to my type.
I'd still trade them all for a Dutch victory run.
I'm so nervous. I can't sleep. It's almost 1.30 am and I can't stay in bed. And I know I'll be up by 6.30, even if I do manage to fall asleep. I'm obsessively searching the net for game prognoses.
I love his point about wanting to invade Ghana because of the guy who got carried off on a stretcher at the end of the match and then just hopped right off on the sideline. I wasn't thinking about war, but I was certainly thinking about killing that man.
I don't necessarily agree about soccer taking off in America. I think this is just like all the other times that Simmons mentions everyone thought it was going to get huge. This is the only time that Americans care about soccer for two reasons: 1. it's on the international stage and America always wants to be better than the rest of the world, and 2. it's the only time our play is at a high enough quality to garner interest. If the World Cup was every year it might become popular. It would draw young athletes into the sport that way too, upping the quality of the players and the coaching knowing it's a yearly payoff with high audience dividends. But everyone forgets about the sport for 4 whole years so it's impossible to maintain the level of interest that the drama of the World Cup this year has sparked in the American populace. Everyone wants to watch America try to beat England. Noboday wants to watch LA try to beat Kansas City.
Primogeniture Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 16027 Threads: 107
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:07 pm Post subject:
I actually do think soccer is "taking off" in America. Of course I'm biased by my hope that it will take off, but a few important things that we have now that we didn't have in the 80s or the 90s.
1. Easy access to lots of games. There is an EPL game on ESPN every week now. I think they might air a La Liga game too. For five bucks a month, you can get FSC and half a dozen EPL games a week plus all Champion's League games. Then there is the internet. With the forums and the blogs and sports sites. Even in the middle of nowhere, Americans have constant access to all of the soccer they could want. I'm an Arsenal fan and it's as easy to follow the Gunners as it would be the Dallas Cowboys. Just like I'm too far away from the Cowboys to ever attend games in person I can't swing over to N5 to catch a FA Cup match up, but I can watch both on television with the same ease. If it doesn't come on tv there are streams, gamecasts, and all the sites and blogs etc. It doesn't get pumped into homes during primetime like NFL or NBA, but if you want it, it's there. And I don't think that existed even ten years ago. It would have been impossible twenty years ago to be an Arsenal fan in the Deep South of America.
2. MLS is a decent league. - It's not a great league. Americans do want to watch the best of the best and MLS is not near that. But the league is stable and improving and growing. They have games on regularly on ESPN in HD. I don't remember there ever being any soccer on television when I was growing up. For many Americans there is a hometown team now, and that's big in winning converts.
3. The make-up of America is changing. - Young people are more open to soccer than ever. When I was a kid there was no soccer in my hometown, now they have a kids league and the high school fields a team. Each generation seems a little bit more open to it. Perhaps even bigger, immigration. Especially from football-mad South and Central American countries. The Southwest and the South are gaining large numbers of Latinos who are playing lots of futbol. A few decades from now whites won't be the majority in America anymore and those that are in the increasing demographics are already soccer fans.
It's not going to happen over night, but in time, the US is going to begin to embrace soccer more and more and more. I don't think it will ever be the #1 sport here, but who's to say it won't be a solid #4 (if it's not already). It might even overtake baseball. And fifty years ago no one would have thought that football would have easily surpassed baseball as America's Pastime. Now baseball has fallen behind even basketball and has soccer in it's rearview mirror. Who knows what America's sport landscape will look like in another fifty years.
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Won't stop me from calling it Football though. 
(in Dutch, for those of you wondering, it's called voetbal).
