The Soccer Thread (Version 13) — Winter World Cup Edition

So the kiddo had a speaking role in today’s church service. We left home when it was 2-0 ARG. I just finished watching the match via DVR. And holy crap I don’t think I can sports for the rest of the day - anything else will be a letdown.

 

Only was able to see it in bits and pieces, but considering my NFL options in the afternoon window, gonna do something I do rarely and watch the replay.

 

Nah don’t do THAT Emi

 

Emiliano: "What? It's where I'll put the World Cup trophy."

 

From a person who does not live and die with the sport, but wanted to see a great sporting event, this game gave me that.

I wanted to see the great players be great. I did not want to see players failure or official calls determine the outcome of the game. I also did not want to see PKs, but the game has to eventually end.

Man, the great players were great today.

 

The only thing that would have made it better was the US announcers. Wish a) I knew Spanish better to watch Cantor or b) lived in the UK to watch their coverage.

Mbappe is otherworldly but his team wasn’t.

Messi had a helluva swan song and a team that rose to the occasion (even if it stumbled a couple of times and nearly ran out of gas).

The extra time was riveting. Just a classic match.

 

Brings a new meaning to cup check.

 

Shoulda watched Dallas-Jacksonville. Or KC-Houston.

 

Heads up to anyone who cares, the replays are done Notre Dame Football Highlghts style (without the late Lindsey Nelson moving the game along to further action), but it captures the spirit of the thing.

Man, what a game.

 

As a Villa fan, let me just say how proud I am that Emi had the presence of mind to do a dick joke on stage at the World Cup final in front of multiple heads of state and a global TV audience of over a billion.

Meanwhile, in New York, Jack Grealish stopped by and was apparently touring sights that appeared in Home Alone 2. Got himself a New York slice, though I am told he has the fold wrong. Also he's wearing white, so good luck with that.



My friend and I have workshopped a Jack Grealish reality show. Next offseason, we drop him in a random location, probably in the US, and he has to figure out how to get from there to London, New York or Vegas. Along the way he earnestly participates in things tourists do all the time, like going to a rodeo, seeing the Grand Canyon or whitewater rafting (which actually happened when Villa came to Minnesota for a friendly in the summer of 2019) and parties until 3 a.m. My friend called it "like Anthony Bourdain, but for dumbasses."

 

Regular season games in any sport don't have 1 millionth of the drama - or pressure - of a World Cup Final.

 

They were just as entertaining. And had better finishes.