2014 World Cup

touchdown. Celebration. Replay TD. Replay celebration. lets wait around a while while they review the touchdown for a few minutes. Celebration of the review of the TD. Replay of the refs looking under the hood to verify the TD. Extra point.

 

Can we just accept that soccer is different from World Cup soccer and move on?
Soccer is the league version and youth version people who love to hate it, will always hate. Orange slices. Minivans. Lots of passing back and forth, boring 0-0 games, lots of European douchebags on the pitch and lots of urine-throwing hooligans in the stands.
World Cup soccer is a completely different beast. It's a little more exciting, especially this year. It's played at the highest level, which even non-soccer fans ought to be able to appreciate. The fans alone are worth watching for. And the nationalistic element is something everyone -- even Ann Coulter -- should be able to enjoy.
It's like the Olympics in a lot of ways. It's a big event that happens occasionally, where you can root for your country even if you don't know jack-all about what's going on.

I am not a soccer fan at all. But I enjoy the hell out of the World Cup.

 

No doubt the nationalistic aspect of the World Cup --- like the Olympics --- add a positive dimension for some. Even when you don't have a dog in the fight, people seem to find someone to root for.

 

time zone is important too. No, plausibly live bullshit or delayed broadcast. No up close and personal and studio show that talks down to sports fans. ESPN TO NBC, UP YOURS

 

I'm with you up to a point but I don't think the World Cup is the highest version of the sport. Champions League is. World Cup rosters usually involve guys who are practicing together for a few weeks before the tournament. In league play you practice with those guys constantly. Defenses communicate better. Midfielders know where to put a cross or a through-ball for a striker. The team works like a unit.

 

The United States reached the Round of 16 today.

 

Yes, the Champions League is the best, and some of the marquee matchups in the EPL, La Liga and Bundesliga are nearly as good. But the World Cup has the added bonus of cheering on your country. Quality definitely would be better if the teams spent all their time playing together.
Glad to see this thread has devolved into the usual shitshow around here. Fact is, the Americans lost by the slimmest of margins to one of the best teams in the world, tied another highly-regarded team and beat a team that has given them fits. It hasn't always been pretty, and it can't be understated that Klinsmann had to switch his formation midway through the first game when Altidore went down. I am pretty happy with how it has gone, though the U.S. problems keeping control of the ball drives me crazy.
Bottom line: They weren't expected to advance, and they did so somewhat easily. If not for the killer goal against Portugal ... And if they can somehow beat Belgium, which is not out of the realm of possibility ...

 

And we should be disappointed.

 

Italy, England, Spain, Portugal did not reach the Round of 16.

 

Standings after the first stage:
1. Netherlands 9q (+7, 10-3)
2. Colombia 9q (+7, 9-2)
3. Argentina 9q (+3, 6-3)
4. Belgium 9q (+3, 4-1)
5. France 7q (+6)
6t. Brazil 7q (+5, 7-2)
6t. Germany 7q (+5, 7-2)
8t. Costa Rica 7q (+3, 4-1)
8t. Mexico 7q (+3, 4-1)
10. Chile 6q (+2)
11. Switzerland 6q (+1)
12. Uruguay 6q (0)
13. Algeria 4q (+1)
14. USA 4q (0, 4-4)
15. Nigeria 4q (0, 3-3)
16. Greece 4q (-2)
17. Ecuador 4 (0, 3-3)
18. Portugal 4 (-3)
19. Croatia 3 (0, 6-6)
20. Bosnia & Herzegovina 3 (0, 3-3)
21. Ivory Coast 3 (-1, 4-5)
22. Italy 3 (-1, 2-3)
23. Spain 3 (-3)
24. Russia 2
25. Ghana 1 (-2, 3-5)
26. England 1 (-2, 2-4)
27. South Korea 1 (-3, 3-6)
28. Iran 1 (-3, 1-4)
29. Japan 1 (-4)
30. Australia 0 (-6)
31. Honduras 0 (-7)
32. Cameroon 0 (-8)

 

For all the standing around you claim football has, they manage to "squeeze" 15 highlight plays into "10 minutes of action" while soccer packs maybe five into its 90-plus minutes of non-stop action.

 

THIS!!!!

And we need screenshots of the bikinis. Pics or, you know, GTFO.