Re: World Cup Fever?
 

Just awful. You saw all the weaknesses of te US on display, especially in the defensive midfiled and on the left side. But what really bothered me is how flat and lsitless they looked. Sure, things can go badly, and the czech republic is a great team--but come on. Beasley especially looked like his heart wasnt in it, and they gave away SO many balls in midfield it was rediculous. I thought Eddie Johnson added some spark, and I would like to see him get the start against Italy. But if we allow top-flight players to walk in from 35 yards out, and if we can't control our defensive midfield, we are going to get smoked again.

Nothing Keller could do on any of the goals: he had no chance on any of them.

If Reyna's shot off the post goes in, it would have really helped our spirits and confidence. But that's shoulda coulda woulda. Now we have to BEAT Italy. Wow. The only hope is Italy fails to take us seriously (would't surprise me, given our play), and then we'll see. It's a tough group, no doubt. And to think Mexico only has to beat Iran and Angola to get to the next round! Ugh.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

Horrible defense from the US today...just terrible. Gooch and Pope looked so outmatched. Beasley, Convey and Donovan were non-existant. And there was simply no pressure on the Czech defense. Once they went up 1 nil, they got in defense mode and rode the game out. 2 nice long distance goals were just nails in the coffin.

Eddie Johnson definitely needs to start up front with McBride, and they need to put serious pressure on the Italians. If the Italians go up 1 nil, it'll be all over, as that defense is even tougher than the Czechs.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

haha...gooch

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

soccer in america?

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

All righty, then! The US pulls off a big 1-1 draw, DESPITE absolutely atrocious refereeing today. THey did it with 9 men to Italy's 10 for most of the second half. Great saves from Keller kept them going. And I for one have NEVER seen a goal disallowed like that! WTF? But they got the cruicial point, and now they have to beat Ghana, and get some help from Italy. Hope is alive!

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=JWsleep]All righty, then! The US pulls off a big 1-1 draw, DESPITE absolutely atrocious refereeing today. THey did it with 9 men to Italy's 10 for most of the second half. Great saves from Keller kept them going. And I for one have NEVER seen a goal disallowed like that! WTF? But they got the cruicial point, and now they have to beat Ghana, and get some help from Italy. Hope is alive![/quote]

let this thread die, there is another one

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[QUOTE=hooskins]let this thread die, there is another one[/QUOTE]

No need to let this thread die. This one can be about the entire World Cup, the other about the US team specifically

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

I've been lucky enough not to have missed more that about 2 hours of the entire WC. Spain and Argentina are looking really good to me.

BTW... love the new sig TAFKAS. I was big into the Domino Championship from this past weekend.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

My bad! Didn't see the other thread... I do have world cup fever though ;).

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

Beasley was clearly offsides...there have been other goals disallowed just like that in the tourney...

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[QUOTE=BDBohnzie]Beasley was clearly offsides...there have been other goals disallowed just like that in the tourney...[/QUOTE]


No, it was MCBRIDE who was offsides--though he didn't touch the ball on the play, they said he obstructed the keeper's vision. Maybe. But I have never seen that play called before. The linesman made the call from the side, which is a very tough angle to see what the goalie was seeing. It seemed dubious to me, but in keeping with one of the worst refed games I've ever witnessed.

But, on the topic of THIS thread--France may be out of it again. I can't help but smile at that. Also, Argentina looks great, though no doubt Brazil will peak at the right time. Wonder if England can get it together--they haven't lost but they do not look sharp. Maybe Rooney will help.

As for the REDICULOUS amount of cards--this really hurts the weaker teams in the tourney. Argentina, Italy, Brazil--they can handle losing a player becuase of their depth. But Togo, Ghana, The US, etc. are much more affected by the loss. What ever happened to warning players first? It's taking good players out of the game, which isn't good for the sport, IMO.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

yeah, i left the site, and came back to correct it...i was watching the game and Yahoo matchcast, and originally they had the call Beasley offsides...

well, I'm a French supporter (as I have family there), so I can't be any more displeased by their lack of enthusiasm. And with Zidane out for their match against Togo, Les Bleus will have to step it up a notch. a Nil-Nil draw between Suiss and Korea, and a 3 nil win over Togo, and the French squeek in.

Argentina did look good, and they could easily coast to the Final, as they'll beat Mexico (2D), and the winner of Ecuador/Germany (1A)/Sweden (2B) match. Then see maybe Italy (1E, beating the Aussies 2F) or Korea (1G, should beat Tunisia/Saudi/Ukraine 2H), 2 teams they should steamroll.

I don't see England doing much in the knockout round, especially if Germany finishes 2nd in their group, and England/Germany is in front of a hostile Munich crowd. The Dutch would probably come out of that bracket to see Brazil for a chance in the final against Argentina.

I dont see anyone beating Brazil either, and a Brazil/Argentina final would be just incredible.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

Ukriane bounced back with a big 4-0 win today. They'll take Tunisia, and can certainly beat Korea, IMO.

The best round one game is still to come: Argentina-Holland. We'll see if the Argentines can run ragged over the Orange.

Tough break about Zidane, BDB. But why can't that team score? Jeeze, Henry socres like every five minutes in the Primiership. I don't think France sent its best team (Barthez?). But they still might slip by, I guess.

Wonder how Spain will self-destruct this time?

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

I think this just about sums up soccer

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TTMDyJeqMo&search=simpsons%20soccer[/url]

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[QUOTE=Manusky91]I think this just about sums up soccer

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TTMDyJeqMo&search=simpsons%20soccer[/url][/QUOTE]


I love that Simpsons... but I don'tknow what to tell you if you don't like soccer. I guess the other 3 billion of us will have to get along without you. ;)

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=Manusky91]I think this just about sums up soccer

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TTMDyJeqMo&search=simpsons%20soccer"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TTMDyJeqMo&search=simpsons%20soccer[/URL][/quote]

we have a hater amongst the ranks...

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

I'm not a hater, just watching the USA vs Italy game end in 1-1 tie made me think of that Simpsons episode. That game also demonstrated why soccer will never fully catch on here. If a guy has to get taken off the field in a stretcher (after taking a dive without anyone hitting him), I don't want to see him jump up and go back in a minute later.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=Manusky91]I'm not a hater, just watching the USA vs Italy game end in 1-1 tie made me think of that Simpsons episode. That game also demonstrated why soccer will never fully catch on here. If a guy has to get taken off the field in a stretcher (after taking a dive without anyone hitting him), I don't want to see him jump up and go back in a minute later.[/quote]

That, and the 0-0 scoreless ties. If soccer is ever to catch on in tha USA, besides removing REAL football, they need to do something to make it less dull. Maybe the field is way too big or the goal is too small, it takes them forever to get into scoring range and then they can't score. The games are mostly watching people kick the ball way down the field only to have the other team return the kick down the to the other end of the field. It's an extremely boring game to watch. Hockey has similarly-low scores but the game is a LOT more exciting and fan-friendly.

I've always said, it's a great game for kids to play, but to make it a spectator sport... :Flush:

Besides, if the rest of the world had REAL football, they'd forget about soccer too. Even when we play exhibition games in foreign countries with the Arizona Cardinals and Detriot Lions, they go nuts over it. (with preseason games and our WORST teams)

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

any sport in the world besides football would be second rate to soccer. sure if they had football people are going to go and see it, but it would not trigger the amount of passion that soccer does for them. also it doesn't really help that we only have the MLS league. sure it has come a long way, but in comparison to the english premier and italian leagues there not even close. if you ask anyone who you'd rather watch dc united or manchester united...man u would win big time. its just there soccer is so much more interesting. one more thing, when a european team comes to the us to play we go nuts over it too. man u playing 3 times in the us this year by the way.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=Buster]That, and the 0-0 scoreless ties. If soccer is ever to catch on in tha USA, besides removing REAL football, they need to do something to make it less dull. Maybe the field is way too big or the goal is too small, it takes them forever to get into scoring range and then they can't score. The games are mostly watching people kick the ball way down the field only to have the other team return the kick down the to the other end of the field. It's an extremely boring game to watch. Hockey has similarly-low scores but the game is a LOT more exciting and fan-friendly.

I've always said, it's a great game for kids to play, but to make it a spectator sport... :Flush:

Besides, if the rest of the world had REAL football, they'd forget about soccer too. Even when we play exhibition games in foreign countries with the Arizona Cardinals and Detriot Lions, they go nuts over it. (with preseason games and our WORST teams)[/quote]

I thought it was cards and 49ers (no TDs, only field GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!s)




Here's an idea on how to improve soccer (stolen from Sports Night):

>instead of making the goal bigger, why not make it much smaller and just remove the goalie entirely?
>>Oh, that sounds like a great idea.
> Yeah, I know. It's called basketball.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[QUOTE=Buster]That, and the 0-0 scoreless ties. If soccer is ever to catch on in tha USA, besides removing REAL football, they need to do something to make it less dull. Maybe the field is way too big or the goal is too small, it takes them forever to get into scoring range and then they can't score. The games are mostly watching people kick the ball way down the field only to have the other team return the kick down the to the other end of the field. It's an extremely boring game to watch. Hockey has similarly-low scores but the game is a LOT more exciting and fan-friendly.

I've always said, it's a great game for kids to play, but to make it a spectator sport... :Flush:

Besides, if the rest of the world had REAL football, they'd forget about soccer too. Even when we play exhibition games in foreign countries with the Arizona Cardinals and Detriot Lions, they go nuts over it. (with preseason games and our WORST teams)[/QUOTE]


The rest of the world gets to see American football if they want--it's just that they don't want to. The Suprebowl is shown all over the world. Soccer is by far the most popualr sport in world, and it has nothing to do with high or low scoring games. This has always struck me as a silly claim--the reason Soccer isn't big in the US is that we grow up watching other sports as kids (or most of us do). I grew up watching soccer and I love it--0-0 draws can be far more exciting than a high-scoring game. If you understand the game, you watch play all over the field, watch the flow of play and individual skill, good tackling, etc.

But whatever. If you don't like it, probably the only thing to do is to go to England, Italy, Brazil, etc. and watch a crucial regular season match in the top leagues at the stadium. It is by far the world's most popular SPECTATOR sport for a reason--it's exciting to watch.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=JWsleep]
But whatever. If you don't like it, probably the only thing to do is to go to England, Italy, Brazil, etc. and watch a crucial regular season match in the top leagues at the stadium. It is by far the world's most popular SPECTATOR sport for a reason--it's exciting to watch.[/quote]

if by spectator sport, you mean excuse to get drunk and engage in a 200+ person organized brawl, then yeah, sure.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=That Guy]if by spectator sport, you mean excuse to get drunk and engage in a 200+ person organized brawl, then yeah, sure.[/quote]

You don't have to wait 4 years to do that however...just go to Philly on any day of the week. There doesn't even have to be a sporting event going on for them either. :)

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[QUOTE=JWsleep]Tough break about Zidane, BDB. But why can't that team score? Jeeze, Henry socres like every five minutes in the Primiership. I don't think France sent its best team (Barthez?). But they still might slip by, I guess.[/QUOTE]

Barthez is still a top rate keeper, and they have Coupet on the bench, so it's not that they're hurting...and it's not goalkeeping that is bothering them. They aren't creating enough scoring chances. Henry scored within the first 10 mins against Korea, and really didn't have much after that. Not sure if the defense is slacking, or the midfield isn't getting the ball up enough. it's a must win against Togo, which can't decide whether to play or not because of money disputes...

I was watching this thing on the travel channel with Drew Carey (US Soccer Fan #1). He travelled to Spain to see Real Madrid play Barcelona...he was talking to the TV producers and directors. On top of the 100k+ fans that pile into Camp Nou in Barcelona, the match on TV gets a 62 share...for a regular season match, not a Cup final, not a tourney final. On average, the Super Bowl gets between a 40 and 60 share. I couldn't imagine a Skins/Cowboys game getting a 62 share, or having over 150 million people watching it.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=BDBohnzie]Barthez is still a top rate keeper, and they have Coupet on the bench, so it's not that they're hurting...and it's not goalkeeping that is bothering them. They aren't creating enough scoring chances. Henry scored within the first 10 mins against Korea, and really didn't have much after that. Not sure if the defense is slacking, or the midfield isn't getting the ball up enough. it's a must win against Togo, which can't decide whether to play or not because of money disputes...[/quote]

How bitter are you about that non-goal in (I think) the first half? That ball was clearly over the line.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

definitely bitter...but shit like that happens all the time. where's the instant replay?!?!

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[url]http://worldcup.bulletinboardforum.com/[/url]

NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection][URL="http://worldcup.bulletinboardforum.com/"]http://worldcup.bulletinboardforum.com/[/URL]

NOT SAFE FOR WORK.[/quote]body paint is awesome.

i like the girl in white shorts, whoever painted that paid great attention to detail.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

im sure. im sure they took their time just as i would. body paint is a very exacting science.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection][URL="http://worldcup.bulletinboardforum.com/"]http://worldcup.bulletinboardforum.com/[/URL]

NOT SAFE FOR WORK.[/quote]

only this time instead of models, they hired pornstars.

Re: World Cup Fever?
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection][URL="http://worldcup.bulletinboardforum.com/"]http://worldcup.bulletinboardforum.com/[/URL]

NOT SAFE FOR WORK.[/quote]

i like the one where she is by the goal, showing the 'goal' wide open...