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

Messi: "They're not here to hurt me."

 

Nice work by Jeff Carlisle:

From Mead to Macario, why knee injuries are dashing players' World Cup dreams

 

I remember reading an article in the NYT Magazine about female ACL injuries. One of the factors noted was the angle from a woman's hip to her knee isn't straight, putting more pressure on the knee relative to men.

 

I like how the thread title still applies to the Women's World Cup down under.

 

How can they blame this on George Soros?

 

So, I’m in Wellington, New Zealand, for work, and I just bought a ticket to the Sweden-South Africa match Sunday. This will be the first soccer game I’ve attended, other than watching my older kid’s few failed attempts to play the game 20-some years ago. Looking for any hints on how to best watch a soccer game in person.

 

Two of my nieces were hot shit high school lacrosse players. Each had ACL surgeries by their sophomore years in college. That was like 25 years ago. Even then it was a known thing in sports medicine.

 

Have a beer - if that’s your thing - then hit the bathroom before kickoff. Don’t leave your seat until halftime. Much like watching football, don’t ball watch. You can see the plays develop away from the ball.

 

Sit as close to a supporter’s group as you can and try to pick up on the songs/chants.

 

“Melbourne Rectangular Stadium” might be the most boringly honest venue name in World Cup history.