World Cup Fever

[paris]

I bet if they came here and saw fans throwing octopus on the rink at a hockey game, they would think we are nuts!  We have some strange traditions too.  I find it fascinating to see what is popular in other countries. 

OMG, Spain LOST!  Oh, the Spanish must be crying into their sangria!  I can't believe it!  They were beaten by SWITZERLAND!  Chocolate for everyone!

MooseMom --- you are so funny!  Although Sangria and chocolate sound pretty good.  Eat, drink and blow on a vuvuzelas!!!!!!   Yea World Cup!!

[MooseMom]

How about the sausage races at Miller Park during Brewers' games?  They recently added a chorizo...how cosmopolitan and inclusive of them.  I love the sausage races!  It's so stupid that it makes me laugh whenever I see it.

And then there's Ozzy Osbourne singing "Take me out to the Ball Game" at Wrigley.  Give me vivizelas any day.

[Bill Peckham]

How about the sausage races at Miller Park during Brewers' games?  They recently added a chorizo...how cosmopolitan and inclusive of them.  I love the sausage races!  It's so stupid that it makes me laugh whenever I see it.

And then there's Ozzy Osbourne singing "Take me out to the Ball Game" at Wrigley.  Give me vivizelas any day.

If they had Sausage races the entire game that would be irritating too. The only thing that should go on the entire match is the football. The horns don't seem to be in response to the play, they're about the same loudness throughout, that's where they go from local color to obnoxious.

[Des]

Well,

 I have a fun park about 1km away from my house and can hear vuvuzelas blaring almost 24hours a  day so needless to say I am not a very big fan of the noize. This is where most games are shown free of charge on big screen TV's. The cold is keeping most people away.The excitement is all around and we saw some foreigners in the mall and movies. I am not too happy.. I don't think they are giving a good "picture" through of the SOUTH Africa but mostly AFRICAN culture. I did not "get" most of the opening ceremony myself and I live here. heheheh but it was entertaining to watch just a bit short.

I live 10km from Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport so let me know when you or family is visiting - I can meet them. 

I wasn't expecting Bafana-bafana (our SA team) to win as they were ranked 83rd on the list. They played like amatures....

[MooseMom]

Anyone here feel any sympathy for the French?  I happened to be in France in 2002 when they didn't get out of the group stage, and I couldn't help but giggle.

Big day for England and the USA!  Both teams really need a win.

[Zach]

Des, I am enjoying the World Cup being in South Africa.   I love the vuvuzelas and find all of it  very exciting.   My daughters friend is from Tunisia and he is very proud that the World Cup is in Africa for the first time.    Brings us all just a little closer and the world a little smaller.   The excitiment must be incredible there. 
 

I'm with you, Paris! 

New York Times Op-Ed columnist Roger Cohen had an interesting piece entitled, Freedom’s Blaring Horn, about the games and " ... patriotism, optimism and the sense of shared identity ..." 

About the vuvuzelas he writes:
"Let’s talk vuvuzela for a moment. Players have complained. Facebook pages are dedicated to banning it. Ear plugs are selling briskly among European fans. Intolerable horns!

I have news for the discomfited: This is actually Africa. The horn sounds to summon. From the kudu horn made from the spiral-horned antler to the plastic horn is not such a great distance.

The vuvuzela carries powerful symbolism. Rugby, the traditional sporting stronghold of the white Afrikaner, has shunned it. Soccer, dominated by blacks, has embraced it. Yet today Afrikaners flock into black Soweto to watch rugby and whites and blacks both carry their vuvuzelas into World Cup games.

I’m sorry, French players will have to suffer their headaches: these are not minor political miracles. As one comic here tweeted: “After one weekend Europe wants to ban the vuvuzela — if only they’d acted this fast when banning slavery!” ...

To read the entire Op-Ed:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/opinion/18iht-edcohen.html?ref=opinion

[Bill Peckham]

Anyone here feel any sympathy for the French?  I happened to be in France in 2002 when they didn't get out of the group stage, and I couldn't help but giggle.

Big day for England and the USA!  Both teams really need a win.

Huge comeback by the US for the tie but we were robbed in the 85th minute - they actually had the win.

[MooseMom]

I've been a sports fan all my life, and I have seen many, many bad calls over the years.  I've always felt that human error is part of the game, and that if your team is good enough, they will still win through.  But this call in the US game that disallowed their third goal, thus depriving them of a critical win, just may be a determining factor in who goes through and who goes home.  I still have not heard what the foul was; it seems to be a mystery.  None of the talking heads can figure it out, either.  I think it was simply a mistake by the official, and it is a shame.  The US is simply going to have to win its final match and accumulate as many goals as possible.  If they're good enough, they'll go through.

[paris]

 I think the opening ceremony was to include all of Africa, not just South Africa.  Beth's friend is from Tunisia and he is an African, but also does not relate to some of the opening ceremony. ( I think Tunisia and South Africa are at opposite ends of the continent!)    Kind of like Canada's ceremonies for the Olympics.  So many different cultures and customs to display in a short time.   I am still enjoying all of it and love watching and learning. 
I love all the big sport events.  Maybe that should be a goal -- to make it to one huge event anywhere.   

[Bill Peckham]

I've been a sports fan all my life, and I have seen many, many bad calls over the years.  I've always felt that human error is part of the game, and that if your team is good enough, they will still win through.  But this call in the US game that disallowed their third goal, thus depriving them of a critical win, just may be a determining factor in who goes through and who goes home.  I still have not heard what the foul was; it seems to be a mystery.  None of the talking heads can figure it out, either.  I think it was simply a mistake by the official, and it is a shame.  The US is simply going to have to win its final match and accumulate as many goals as possible.  If they're good enough, they'll go through.

So how does the tie breaker work? Is it net goals or the most goals scored or ... ? to see who goes on?

The call made no sense to this novice.

[MooseMom]

Bill, the call made no sense to anyone, novice or pro.  The really frustrating thing about it is that FIFA won't even comment.  I think the ref, in his first World Cup match, just made a mistake.  FIFA could at least say that much.

As for tiebreakers, they look at goal differentials.  You get 3 points for a win and one for a draw.  No points for a loss.  If, at the end of the first round, any teams have the same number of points, then they look at how many goals each team scored throughout all three matches; the team with the most goals scored has the advantage.  The top 2 teams in each group go through to the next round.

This is why it was important that the US scored two goals.  England, for instance, also drew (tied), but since they scored no goals, the US has the advantage (at the moment).

[Poppylicious]

England, for instance, also drew (tied), but since they scored no goals, the US has the advantage (at the moment).

England don't deserve to go through to the next round, even if we win on Wednesday.  We've played bluddy atrociously. The mood over here is very moany.

 

[aharris2]

(bzzz)
I'm with you both, Paris and Zach. This is the World Cup from South Africa. If vuvuzelas, is their thing, so be it. It adds to the international experience in my opinion. And given their context as presented by you, Zach, I too embrace them.
(bzzz)
MooseMom, thanks for the info. I am generally in the dark about soccer rules and World Cup structure. Yes, I will have it all figured out by July 11, but I will have forgotten it all by June of 2014!
(bzzz)
With England playing Slovenia and the US playing Algeria, I think it is more likely that the US will advance, putting the bad call behind us all.

(But NZ just scored against Italy, go figure. It appears that nothing is for sure in this World Cup!)

Nothing is for sure except:
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
 

[Zach]

Nothing is for sure except:
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
 

[Bill Peckham]

Bill, the call made no sense to anyone, novice or pro.  The really frustrating thing about it is that FIFA won't even comment.  I think the ref, in his first World Cup match, just made a mistake.  FIFA could at least say that much.

He made another bad call earlier in the game when he called Findley for a handball - an intentional handball - when the  ball ricocheted off Findley's face and maybe grazed his hand on the way down. I think this means Findley won't be able to play on Wednesday. That seems like something that could be reversed - how could it be called intentional? The ball had just hit him in the face.

[MooseMom]

He made another bad call earlier in the game when he called Findley for a handball - an intentional handball - when the  ball ricocheted off Findley's face and maybe grazed his hand on the way down. I think this means Findley won't be able to play on Wednesday. That seems like something that could be reversed - how could it be called intentional? The ball had just hit him in the face.

No, FIFA doesn't have instant reply nor the rules that could govern reversal of calls.  Bad calls like the one you mentioned happen all the time and are not usually reviled for very long.  I personally think it is unfair to the refs to expect them to make good calls yet have no recourse in amending bad ones since the rest of the world can see it all replayed again and again, but the ref cannot. 

I find myself feeling bad for the ref from Mali.  I have this mental picture of his family proudly watching him, huddled around the TV back in Mali, and then seeing that call.  Well, the fact remains that if the US loses to Algeria because we let them score in the first 4 minutes like we usually do, we don't deserve to advance.

[murf]

Is it just me or are the matches this world cup are so blessedly boring? No goals and so defensive. I don't remember it being like this at the last world cup. Helps the insomnia tho'.

[aharris2]

7-0 this morning, that was fun!

So sad that there are no more 7:30 am matches, no more World Cup McDonald's breakfasts at dialysis. I understand there's a history as to why the final matches in each group are played simultaneously. Can someone share it with me?

[Poppylicious]

I understand there's a history as to why the final matches in each group are played simultaneously. Can someone share it with me?

It preserves fairness, and stops match-fixing. In 1982 West Germany fixed their match ... I found this by Googling:

A more recent example occurred in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, West Germany played Austria in the last match of group B. A West German victory by 1 or 2 goals would result in both teams advancing; any less and Germany was out; any more and Austria was out (and replaced by Algeria, who had just beaten Chile). West Germany attacked hard and scored after 10 minutes. Afterwards, the players then proceeded to just kick the ball around aimlessly for the remainder of the match. Algerian supporters were so angered that they waved banknotes at the players, while a German fan burned his German flag in disgust. By the second half, the ARD commentator Eberhard Stanjek refused any further comment on the game, while the Austrian television commentator Robert Seeger advised viewers to switch off their sets.

Hope that helps!

 

[aharris2]

DID YOU ALL SEE THAT???
      

(Thanks for the info, Poppy, gotta love the historic and international context!)

[MooseMom]

OMG!  There are no words....only icons!

[Bill Peckham]

I thought we were doomed with the off side call, what a finish.

Now Ghana

[Poppylicious]

Darn you, USA!  Why did you have to come top of the group?  Now England have to play Germany and we'll never get through to the next round.  *sigh*

[YLGuy]

 

[billybags]

OK, so the bloody Germans  beat us, do you know what, they deserved to win, England played crap. To-night the street we live in, is having a flag burning. My flags will be with them as well.
To bad about the US losing as well. I think there will be a lot of surprises in this cup. Hark at me, I never used to like football but I am being really good, I have let my husband watch all the matches and I have not complained once I have even got into it.