Strange World Cup

[scotttswan]

For the benefit of soccer fans:

http://i.imgur.com/4abSY89.jpg

The brit football fans have all player rounders before.

 

[toongeorges]

Team USA has nothing to worry about. Belgium can barely claim to be a country in the first place. It should be split - with half going to France and the other to Holland. This would also have the advantage that they would learn how to speak the proper French and Dutch languages.

Sounds a bit like the article of the Onion about the discovery of civilisation between the East and West Coast.

http://www.theonion....st-coasts,1356/

 

[French jurist]

Wonder why France is not in anyone's pick?

France is never as good as when you don't expect it (Rugby WC final against NZ, etc.). Until now, the team can say thanks to Platini though (they didn't play a single game at 1pm and none in Manaus).

 

[camberiu]

Ajo's newest ally on the anti-soccer crusade: Ann Coulter.


[background=rgb(248, 248, 248)]Ann Coulter says Americans who care about the World Cup are 'a sign of the nation's moral decay'[/background]

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Ajo's newest ally on the anti-soccer crusade: Ann Coulter.


[background=rgb(248, 248, 248)]Ann Coulter says Americans who care about the World Cup are 'a sign of the nation's moral decay'[/background]

Coulter, in reality, is a schlock novelist's daughter who lives off her Social Security checks in a fortified compound on the outskirts of Bahía Blanca. The only thing Mom got right was her atheism; the daughter, for her parts, comprehends the concept of opposable thumbs in sports, but everything else she writes is even worse fiction than her mother's.

 

[Napoleon]

The sooner they catch the plane home, the better, so we don't hear anything more about them for another four years.

I am happy to be the one to “break the bad news” to you. You will be hearing about the United States Men’s National Team every year from now until 2018.

In addition to National Team friendlies and World Cup Qualifying matches, you will have the follow:

2015: The CONMEBOL “Copa America” & CONCACAF “Gold Cup”/”Copa de Oro”
-The winner of these two competitions will qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.
-Should Argentina and/or the USMNT win their respective tournaments, you will heard about the teams for the following 2 years.
-You will also have to “endure”* threads asking “Where can I watch the USMNT play their Gold Cup matches?”
*Why you click on these threads, no one has a clue.


2016 part A: To commemorate the 100[sup]th[/sup] Anniversary of the Copa America, a special Centennial Copa America is being held in the United States of America.
-All 10 CONMEBOL teams will take part in this event.
-CONCACAF will send The United States, Mexico, plus 4 other teams from its region.
-There will be game watching events and several threads on the event.

2016 part B: The Olympics will feature soccer in their tournament as well. (This is happening right next door in Brazil… in case you hadn’t heard.)
-Argentina won the Olympic Gold 6 years ago and has a history of success in youth tournaments.
-The United States didn’t qualify last time, but Coach Klinsmann has made a point of qualifying for this and it was a key selling point when recruiting John Brooks & Julian Green to play for the US, rather than Germany (who doesn’t put much of an emphasis on qualifying for the Olympics.)
-The hope that Gedion Zelalem gains citizenship before his 18[sup]th[/sup] birthday and then declares for the US is more than just a pipe dream, but a very distinct possibility.
-If the US qualifies, not only will there be threads of “Where can I watch the US matches?”, but “Who’s going to Brazil to see the US soccer matches?”


2017 part A: The Confederations Cup in Russia
-Even if the US and/or Argentina do not qualify for this, there will be discussions galore as to how their respective teams measure up against the champions from their confederations.
-If the US does qualify, there will be discussions as to WHERE to watch the games and how far does it look like they can go in 2018.

2017 part B: The World Cup Draw
-Should the US be a top 8 seed? If not, then why not?
-Who is in the “Group of Death”?
-Who will make the final cut? (This topic will continue until the start of June 2018.)
-Can ?????? recover from his injury in time to make the team? (This topic will continue until the start of June 2018.)


2018 part A: Where can we watch the USMNT friendlies in English?

2018 part B: The 2018 World Cup in Russia… It’s all happening!!!


So basically... your F&%$ed if you think that you'll be done with this for 4 years. So EABOD.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I am happy to be the one to “break the bad news” to you. You will be hearing about the United States Men’s National Team every year from now until 2018.

In addition to National Team friendlies and World Cup Qualifying matches, you will have the follow:

2015: The CONMEBOL “Copa America” & CONCACAF “Gold Cup”/”Copa de Oro”
-The winner of these two competitions will qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.
-Should Argentina and/or the USMNT win their respective tournaments, you will heard about the teams for the following 2 years.
-You will also have to “endure”* threads asking “Where can I watch the USMNT play their Gold Cup matches?”
*Why you click on these threads, no one has a clue.


2016 part A: To commemorate the 100[sup]th[/sup] Anniversary of the Copa America, a special Centennial Copa America is being held in the United States of America.
-All 10 CONMEBOL teams will take part in this event.
-CONCACAF will send The United States, Mexico, plus 4 other teams from its region.
-There will be game watching events and several threads on the event.

2016 part B: The Olympics will feature soccer in their tournament as well. (This is happening right next door in Brazil… in case you hadn’t heard.)
-Argentina won the Olympic Gold 6 years ago and has a history of success in youth tournaments.
-The United States didn’t qualify last time, but Coach Klinsmann has made a point of qualifying for this and it was a key selling point when recruiting John Brooks & Julian Green to play for the US, rather than Germany (who doesn’t put much of an emphasis on qualifying for the Olympics.)
-The hope that Gedion Zelalem gains citizenship before his 18[sup]th[/sup] birthday and then declares for the US is more than just a pipe dream, but a very distinct possibility.
-If the US qualifies, not only will there be threads of “Where can I watch the US matches?”, but “Who’s going to Brazil to see the US soccer matches?”


2017 part A: The Confederations Cup in Russia
-Even if the US and/or Argentina do not qualify for this, there will be discussions galore as to how their respective teams measure up against the champions from their confederations.
-If the US does qualify, there will be discussions as to WHERE to watch the games and how far does it look like they can go in 2018.

2017 part B: The World Cup Draw
-Should the US be a top 8 seed? If not, then why not?
-Who is in the “Group of Death”?
-Who will make the final cut? (This topic will continue until the start of June 2018.)
-Can ?????? recover from his injury in time to make the team? (This topic will continue until the start of June 2018.)


2018 part A: Where can we watch the USMNT friendlies in English?

2018 part B: The 2018 World Cup in Russia… It’s all happening!!!


So basically... your F&%$ed if you think that you'll be done with this for 4 years. So EABOD.

As usual, the evangelists will continue to preach to the converted.

 

[internationalguy]

As usual, the evangelists will continue to preach to the converted.

Do you actually believe you are the holder of the ABSOLUTE truth about everything?

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Do you actually believe you are the holder of the ABSOLUTE truth about everything?

In the US, soccer is the sport of the future, and it always will be. It must be true; they've been telling us so for many decades now.

 

[Napoleon]

In the US, soccer is the sport of the future, and it always will be. It must be true; they've been telling us so for many decades now.

It's also the sport of the past. In the 1920s it was bigger than any other sport except for Baseball. Then FIFA rose to power and 'Muricans didn't want to be told how they could do things by a group our of Europe, so they ditched the sport for other sports that they had adapted from British sports (American football from Rugby to go with baseball from Cricket). The numbers of people playing a sport invented by a Canadian (Basketball) gradually began to build. Then in the '90s an exodus of teams from the northern midwest and Canada playing a Canadian sport followed others from around the great lakes and headed for the Bible Belt & the Southwest (ice hockey).

Around the same time the United States hosted the FIFA World Cup, and even though there were only 24 teams at the time (vs the current 32), up until this year, it was/is the most heavily attended World Cup ever. Soon after a soccer league started in the US, but to guard against going into heavy debt, the teams are all technically owned by the league itself and a salary cap was put in place. In an effort to attract international high profile players, the Beckham Rule was put into effect to help build the international profile of the league.

Now, every summer, top teams from Europe play exhibition matches in the US regularly drawing over 60,000 fans. Major League Soccer now outdraws the NHL. With cable and the internet, Americans are finally able to follow the tops leagues in Europe. So after being the #1 youth sport in America for 40 years, the numbers of youth players being exposed to better instructions, strategy, and skills has exploded. FIFA's own video game has also served as an introduction to how soccer/football works on a global scale. Also, the production value of a sport that greatly benefits from replays and multiple camera angles has skyrocketed as well. (As boring as baseball already is, can you imagine if they only used 1 or 2 cameras to broadcast the entire 3+ hour game that really only involves about 5 minutes of action? Suicide would be the #1 cause of death among sports fans.)

Soccer isn't the sport of "tomorrow". It's the sport of "Today".

That doesn't mean that you have to like it. Or even follow it. But it's funny to look on Facebook and see a group of females in the 30s discussing the World Cup, what has happened in matches, what teams need to work on, and which players they love/can't stand.

This past year, NBC broadcast every single English Premiere League match in the US on their various networks. EVERY ONE! And several of them were on their actual NBC network, not cable affiliates. Soccer is the sport of TODAY. (As is American Football, blah-blah-blah...) The Men's US Open Golf Championship was two weeks ago and I don't know if anyone even noticed. The Women's US Open was the following weekend and a handful of people noticed. But millions and millions were following the World Cup every day.

I'm in a NCAA Basketball Bracket-like pool with 40 people. I've never been in a Hoops pools with more than 15 people.

Enjoy. It will continue to get more and more annoying each and every year.