On a lighter World Cup note. Here's a decision tree to help you decide who to root for. http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4556077/worldcupflowchartfinal-watermark.png
Loved the description for Spain: "How long can you pass? Infinitely, only ceasing for the sad formality of scoring"...
Cheering for Italia and USA but I think it will be Brazil's to lose after watching Brazil run Spain off the field in last year's Confed cup.
Indeed! Brazil?.... The 'easy' choice!.... While I'm (obviously!) rooting for England, I, and my boys, who are much more in touch, seriously doubt they're getting out of the group. Would love to see it, hope springs eternal, and in the knockout stage anything can happen etc, but they're just not very good these days. Hopefully they'll prove me wrong..... 'This is why we watch'. +1 While I'll never, ever, forgive Maradona's hand of God BS, I'd love to see them do well this time. Should they go all the way it would pretty much cement Messi as the GOAT, which I happen to think he would deserve. About the only argument the naysayers have left is that he hasn't led them to the big one. Opening game in a few hours!... Got my VPN to the UK all set and ready to go! Can barely wait! A *true* test to find the best in the world, unlike the MLB 'world series' and the NFL 'world champions'..... Should probably also start a 'spoilers' thread just in case..... Cheers, Ian
Brazil is the easy pick...I'm not sure they can handle the pressure. Great team, but there are some rugged teams here - Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay, Netherlands, and the aforementioned Spain. There are some teams that most people aren't even considering - Switzerland or England, for example - that can cause problems. Then there are teams that you always worry about - Italy...probably in no shape to win it, but do you want to play them? Croatia? I'm picking Spain or Germany. Dark Horse is Italy (ok, a little biased since I've rooted for the Azzurri since I'm a kid). Of course, I'm rooting for our boys from the USA. Slim chance of getting out of group play, but I wouldn't be surprised IF they did (but I can't see it happening). Should be fun - I'm excited for this one!!!
Germany is a great tournament team. I have a feeling they will repeat as champions and get their 5th world title this year. It’s a real world title by the way, and not the fake world title that US basketball and baseball teams use.... Kai
It's hard to say 'intently' when so many games are played each day, but I enjoy it. There's virtually no info about it this year, apparently because no US involvement.
Narrowed my pre t-ment picks to 6 for now. France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Belgium That’s the best I can do Nobody standing out this time, many countries have a crack at the trophy in my opinion.
Directly? No. But, science is a very international business. So, it's fun to see my friends get amped about it. T
I'm that guy. First WC was Spain 82, and I could only watch it because we happened to be traveling in Europe at the time. From 1986 to 2002, you could only really watch it state-side on the Spanish channels, because US networks could not figure out how to broadcast games. From 2002 to 2008 there was decent English coverage, but the announcers were mostly 3rd rate. IMHO It really wasn't until 2010, when ESPN went all-in with their coverage, and hired the best from England to announce the games, that WC coverage in the US came of age. Thank about that - that's only 8 years ago. The 2014 broadcasts were even better, and the local bars began to swell with fans. Since then, we've taken a step back in 2018 with Fox Sports, but even they are spending big bucks with several hours a day worth of studio shows in addition to the games, regrettably hosted by people who appear to have no real understanding of the nuances that make the game great. The good news is that Andres Cantor is back doing games for Telemundo, so I'll relive my youth and go back to watching the games in the Spanish channel. GOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL!
My ONE ISSUE with soccer players... They need to grow a pair. Every contact is like drama queen rolling around the grass. Baseball players get SPIKED on their shins -- blood running out. No rolling around. They won't even show they are hurt. They get hit with a 100mph fastball in the ribs. Shake it off and go to first base. Two outfielders run flat out into each other without seeing the other person there trying to catch the ball-- get right up. I saw just a few weeks ago a hockey player catch a slap shot straight into his jaw cutting him across the face. Blood all over the ice. He goes back into the locker room, misses one shift, and is back on the ice with stitches across his face ready to keep playing Two soccer players touch each other in the shin and it's like they had their leg cut off with a machete.
Penalty reviews? Wow FIFA is getting out of 1965! This is a bad idea. Everything looks different in slo motion and 3 camera angles. I'm fine with seeing if the ball went into the net or or someone was offside and it wasn't called. But penalties are judgement calls. These should not be reviewed. If you did that in the NFL, every single play could be reviewed and called a penalty somewhere.
Fantastic result for Iceland. They are quickly establishing themselves as the underdog no one should look forward to playing. Anyone else catch Maradona at half time dealing with a tingle in his nose? Classic!