World Cup 2006

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 8:20 am

Serbia & Montenegro (or S&M for short) is gonna go down soooo hard, I'll be surprised if we pass our group. What pisses me off is idiotically optimistic predictions of local "footbal experts". Heck the other day, some smartass on tv said that we are better than Netherlands but that Argentina is "a little" stronger than us. "A little". Hah. A little number of light years.

Footbal is damn popular here. We are good at basketball, waterpool, walleyball, yet not many people pay attention of that. We can win European cup in walleyball, people will notice that we're playing at all only when we get to quarter-finale or something. But with footbal, there's always a lot of fame. We like 16th place is footbal more than 1st place in any other sport.

Faceless · Post by **Faceless** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 9:22 am

England won their first match. Because of an own goal.

RPin · Post by **RPin** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:59 am

Faceless wrote:
ahaugen wrote:how is soccer exciting? the games are always won by one goal margins, and the players take a dive if you breathe on them. at least in hockey, when you get hit, you get right back up.
That is because they where tonnes of protection.

There is another reason for that. In soccer you can't block players with your body, hit them or push them. You have to aim for the ball. Some soccer games can get pretty violent, but different from the popular american games it's not something allowed by rules. If you hit a player too hard or on a place absolutely forbidden (like aiming for his kneecap) means you're out of the game. And unlike hockey, once a player leaves the field he's out of the game for good (and out of the next one or two games as well, depending on the rules of the country). Another reason why you see them falling even for the slightest touch is because experient players try to make a collision look worse than it is in order to fool the referee into penalizing the other player.

Soccer is a game won with speedy, technique and strategy, not by brute force and broken arms and teeth.

Tynan · Post by **Tynan** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:24 am

All I'm saying is watch out for Inzaghi.

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:31 pm

WooHoo!! Australian kicks its first ever World Cup goal!

And wins 3-1!! Debut win!

But we've got Brazil next...

Faceless · Post by **Faceless** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:50 pm

Dutch! wrote:We've got Brazil next...

You're so god-damned screwed.

Tynan · Post by **Tynan** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 1:39 am

I'm hoping for a Brazil V Italy match. Aslong as they play Totti, Inzaghi and Del Piero it should make for a good match.

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 2:37 am

Apparently we just need a draw in one of our last two games to make certain we're going through...that's as unbelievable as it gets.

Although we did beat Brazil two years ago in some other competition.

But this is real now. We're gonna get taught a lesson.

KittyKatBlack · Post by **KittyKatBlack** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 9:06 am

Vorticus wrote:I feel sorry for the US team, even if they win most of the sports fans in their country won't care.

Yeah. It's the same thing that happened with Lance Armstrong. I mean he won the Tour de France 7 times in a row. Something no one else has ever done. And while we have respect for how difficult it was, and how much of a feat it is, really, as a whole we could care less about the Tour de France. I mean, he HAD to win it 6 times in a row just to get us to pay attention to the 7th...

So yeah, in a way I feel bad for the US teams that play non-US sports, because as the rest of the world probably already knows, the US is in it's own little world and if you're not here, it's not important.

(I don't really mean that, but it just seems that way sometimes. -_-)

Tynan · Post by **Tynan** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:10 am

KittyKatBlack wrote:
Vorticus wrote:I feel sorry for the US team, even if they win most of the sports fans in their country won't care.
Yeah. It's the same thing that happened with Lance Armstrong. I mean he won the Tour de France 7 times in a row. Something no one else has ever done. And while we have respect for how difficult it was, and how much of a feat it is, really, as a whole we could care less about the Tour de France. I mean, he HAD to win it 6 times in a row just to get us to pay attention to the 7th...

So yeah, in a way I feel bad for the US teams that play non-US sports, because as the rest of the world probably already knows, the US is in it's own little world and if you're not here, it's not important.

(I don't really mean that, but it just seems that way sometimes. -_-)

(She actually does mean that...she wants to be a Canadian sooooooo badly!)

[AlmightyPyro] · Post by **[AlmightyPyro]** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:24 am

Faceless wrote:England won their first match. Because of an own goal.

Yeah I was in London when that happened. People were running through the streets cheering for hours afterwards.

*clap clap clapclapclap clap clap clapclap "ENGLAND!"*

Ahaugen · Post by **Ahaugen** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 3:16 am

KittyKatBlack wrote:
Vorticus wrote:I feel sorry for the US team, even if they win most of the sports fans in their country won't care.
Yeah. It's the same thing that happened with Lance Armstrong. I mean he won the Tour de France 7 times in a row. Something no one else has ever done. And while we have respect for how difficult it was, and how much of a feat it is, really, as a whole we could care less about the Tour de France. I mean, he HAD to win it 6 times in a row just to get us to pay attention to the 7th...

So yeah, in a way I feel bad for the US teams that play non-US sports, because as the rest of the world probably already knows, the US is in it's own little world and if you're not here, it's not important.

(I don't really mean that, but it just seems that way sometimes. -_-)

but during the 94 World Cup here in the States, we set the records for total attendance (3,587,538) and average attendance (68,991). then again, i never knew we hosted the 94 World Cup until this year (and I remember the Lilihammer Olympics)

KittyKatBlack · Post by **KittyKatBlack** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:12 am

ahaugen wrote:
KittyKatBlack wrote:
Vorticus wrote:I feel sorry for the US team, even if they win most of the sports fans in their country won't care.
Yeah. It's the same thing that happened with Lance Armstrong. I mean he won the Tour de France 7 times in a row. Something no one else has ever done. And while we have respect for how difficult it was, and how much of a feat it is, really, as a whole we could care less about the Tour de France. I mean, he HAD to win it 6 times in a row just to get us to pay attention to the 7th...

So yeah, in a way I feel bad for the US teams that play non-US sports, because as the rest of the world probably already knows, the US is in it's own little world and if you're not here, it's not important.

(I don't really mean that, but it just seems that way sometimes. -_-)
but during the 94 World Cup here in the States, we set the records for total attendance (3,587,538) and average attendance (68,991). then again, i never knew we hosted the 94 World Cup until this year (and I remember the Lilihammer Olympics)

We hosted a World Cup? ...Why?

The US is probably the one place where soccer is only popular with mothers who have nothing better for their children to do on weekends.

That's like holding the Super Bowl in like.... France.

Ahaugen · Post by **Ahaugen** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:13 am

there is NFL Europe

KittyKatBlack · Post by **KittyKatBlack** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:20 am

ahaugen wrote:there is NFL Europe

In France?

Ahaugen · Post by **Ahaugen** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:22 am

http://inside99.net/Helmet_Project/nfle.htm

well, five teams in Germany and one in Holland

Czar · Post by **Czar** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:26 am

ahaugen wrote:there is NFL Europe

I admit not following any particular sport very well, but that's the first I hear of that. Ever.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:32 pm

KittyKatBlack wrote:We hosted a World Cup? ...Why?
The US is probably the one place where soccer is only popular with mothers who have nothing better for their children to do on weekends.

That's like holding the Super Bowl in like.... France.

Because they wanted to popularise footbal (pardon me, soccer) in USA. No doubt, Football is the sport where most of money is and the most popular sport nearly everywhere except in USA, and noone likes to skip on either of those. Seeing how Africa and Asia are rapidly entering the field with their rather good teams, I can see why USA wanted to join the fun too. Hosting a cup seemed to be a failed attempt to make it an American sport. And football federation didn't seem to mind, they knew that USA would make a proper organization (although as I heard, playing in various timezones was killing players).

Nicotine · Post by **Nicotine** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:43 am

mcDuffies wrote:Serbia & Montenegro (or S&M for short)

*ahem*
*waiting for the England to play today*

I didn't see their last game but I heard Paraguay made a goal on themselves. So saaaad...

Faceless wrote:
Dutch! wrote:We've got Brazil next...
You're so god-damned screwed.

Hmmm, not really...
From what I see, Brazil is playing pretty sloppy, or worse then they usually do. Don't expect to see much Ronaldo-action either. He doesn't look very goo.

Anyway, I'd like the US to get knocked out. *is rooting for Italy on Saturday*.

Garasade · Post by **Garasade** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 5:43 pm

All I can say is...

Gus Hiddink is a genius.

Good luck to Austrailia and their 'Socceroo' (sp?) faithfuls!