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2018 World Cup


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I joked with my brother today, are the first games this WC just to give all the non-favorites hope until the actual teams from those countries show up?

I did like Alexi Lalas's comment at halftime of the game when asked what happened to the German methodical controlled play. "Mexico Happened!". And the other 2 guys just smiled and nodded along with him.

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I predict that FIFA will continue to be horrifically corrupt, players will feign life-threatening injuries that disappear when the penalty is decided or get carried off on stretchers then run back on the field unharmed within minutes, and that billions will be made from eager fans enjoying the game despite this.

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Yeah the big advantage of soccer is that all you need is a ball and a field.  And if you can run, you can play it.  I mean, it takes real skill and athletic ability to play it WELL but almost anyone can play.  I think most of its major appeal is not so much the game on the field as it is the community spirit, the rooting for a team, the crowd, the chants, etc.  Its like a big party

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34 minutes ago, death tribble said:

Belgium defeat Panama 3-0.

 

Belgium are one of the favourites to win.

 

31 minutes ago, L. Marcus said:

What a strange phrase. 

Not really. Part of the World Cup is that you re presenting your nation's best talent as opposed to the best talent in your domestic league. Belgium has a mediocre domestic league but prdocues great talent who can easily find themselves in the EPL or Bundesliga, the two premier European leagues. (La Liga has the two best teams in Europe, but they dominate the league with such an iron grip that few of the other teams get significant chances to reach the very top tier. I rate leagues in large part for competitiveness, and the EPL is the most internally competitive league in Europe and possibly beyond.)

 

That a substantial number of the players Panama produces end up playing in MLS in the US can be attributed to one basic fact: their checks clear, which is not always the case in Central and South America.

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2 hours ago, death tribble said:

People (outside America) like football. It's a lot easier to play in even simple versions than anything else. On playgrounds at lunchtimes in schools pupils can play it and do.

 

A lot of people in the US like soccer.  It has already become the most played school sport and that is translating rapidly in colleges.  In another few years, at its present rate, attendance will over take other existing leagues.

 

Everyone will naysay, but it is happening. 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Spence said:

 

A lot of people in the US like soccer.  It has already become the most played school sport and that is translating rapidly in colleges.  In another few years, at its present rate, attendance will over take other existing leagues.

 

Everyone will naysay, but it is happening. 

 

 

That is certainly the case in Portland. We are soccer-mad here, the Timbers sell out all their MLS matches (and is adding seats to the stadium to accommodation fans who can't get in now), and the fanbase redefines rabid and loyal. The NBA team. There have been some who criticize the choice of transforming the former Civic Stadium (which ia very old by now) to a mainly soccer stadium as opposed to an arena that can also host major league baseball, and there is now talk of building an arena in Northwest Portland, but there is little chance of baseball coming here (expansion is currently out of the question for the big leagues, and the chances of attracting an existing team are remote). The notion that all you have to do is build a stadium and you will attract success in baseball is belied by the experience of Tampa Bay, which has had good teams but never had adequate fan support, and built the worst stadium in baseball that stood empty for the first ten years or so of its existence.

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3 hours ago, death tribble said:

England have won 2 -1 so there is bound to be negative press coverage. But that is the British press.

 

On the good side the England organisation laid a wreath for the war dead. After all it is Stalingrad.

They need to tidy up their defense a bit if they want to get past Belgium. If they can't, they might get in anyway -- but Belgium is a message game for them (and vice versa).

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