- Thread starter Larry
- Start date
Anyone think USA will beat Germany?
Absotively
Germany is good, but getting a bit old - or so I read. They've got a hot goalie too, it works in Hockey, may as well here.
Good article in boston globe today.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/170/sports/This_event_separates_the_fans_from_the_fraudsP.shtml
Germany is good, but getting a bit old - or so I read. They've got a hot goalie too, it works in Hockey, may as well here.
Good article in boston globe today.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/170/sports/This_event_separates_the_fans_from_the_fraudsP.shtml
Nothing will surprise me.
After all, 3 of the "sure bets" are back home (Italy, Argentina and France, the champion). Some of the supposedly underdogs have got this far, so anyone could win IMHO.
Which one would I like to win? Spain, Brazil is my second choice.
After all, 3 of the "sure bets" are back home (Italy, Argentina and France, the champion). Some of the supposedly underdogs have got this far, so anyone could win IMHO.
Which one would I like to win? Spain, Brazil is my second choice.
Sorry if I've hijacked this, but I thought it a good read
This event separates the fans from the frauds
By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist, 6/19/2002
Either you're a sports fan, or you're not.
I didn't say baseball, basketball, football, hockey, or Tiger Woods fan. I said sports fan. If you think you are, this is the time for you to put up or shut up. Get behind our soccer guys, or don't ever bother to claim being a sports fan again, because you will have exposed yourself as a myopic fraud.
Do I love soccer? No. Do I think it's flawed? Yes (but which of our games isn't?). But do I love spectacle, pageantry, drama, and passion in sport? Yes. Do I love the idea that, even if this game does not happen to be our favorite sporting enterprise, a couple of billion people in the world are captivated by it, and therefore our participation in the World Cup makes us partners in a fascinating tale of global intrigue? Oh, absolutely.
A true sports fan is not limited to one or two games. A true sports fan loves competition and loves seeing things in context. A true sports fan wants as many varied experiences as he or she can find. Sometimes, once is enough. I fulfilled my curling obligation in Japan four years ago. I did the belt-notch thing. And if I ever found myself in Canada or Norway or even Wisconsin on some cold winter night, and I hear there is a big grudge match about to take place, I would have no trouble dropping in for one more evening of curling.
The Olympics are the best example of what being a true sports fan is all about. It's all about context. Who among us mainstream American writers knows from Greco-Roman wrestling or cross-country skiing? But six years ago I came under the spell of an extraordinary Russian wrestler named Alexandr Karelin and the summer before last I was there when our own Rulon Gardner became the first man to beat the Siberian marvel in 13 years. I will never know the ins and outs of Greco-Roman wrestling, but I rank that match as one of the great thrills of my 34-year career. And unless you've got an hour or two on your hands, don't ever make the mistake of asking me about the last three Norwegian-Italian 40K cross-country skiing relay epics. It's, like, one of my favorite topics right up there with Mickey vs. Willie or why Bill Walton is still the greatest player of all-time.
You simply do not know what true sports fandom is all about until you've gotten yourself involved in some international rivalries. You can enjoy them without knowing anything about the sport itself. All you need is a feel for sport and a little humanity in your soul.
As far as this World Cup business is concerned, I say that if you were a true sports fan, you'd have some kind of a handle on what's been going on, and just how long and tedious the road has been for an American soccer team to get to this Friday morning match with Germany. You'd know a little something about the structure and history of the soccer world, how it has long been dominated by haughty Europeans and passionate South Americans and how the United States of America has been forever regarded as a bit player in the scenario.
You'd know that between 1950 and 1990 we never even qualified for the World Cup. You'd know that we actually won a game in 1994 and that we were eventually ousted by Brazil - perhaps the ultimate Establishment team - by a 1-0 score. You'd know that we were humiliated four years later in France, not only failing to win a game, but also being declared the worst of the worst, officially designated as the No. 32 team in a 32-team tournament.
Now we're in the Final Eight. I mean, c'mon. How can you say you're a sports fan and not be excited?
You don't even have to know all the whys and hows leading to this moment. You don't have to know that for the first time our team is 100 percent professional, complete with its own prodigies in Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, a pair of experienced internationals even though they are each just 20 years of age. You don't have to know that the prickly coach, Bruce Arena, actually was a lacrosse player of note before settling into a full-time soccer career, or that he has brought a true sense of professionalism to a team that was mismanaged by the overmatched Steve Sampson last time in France. You just have to take note.
If you were a true sports fan, you'd know that the American athlete not named Tiger Woods whose name should be on the lips of every American is Brad Friedel, whose acrobatic goalkeeping has been the single biggest reason the team has advanced to the round of eight.
If you were a true sports fan, you'd already know that defending champion France and always-dangerous Argentina were among those teams eliminated in the first round. If you were a true sports fan, you'd know that Senegal is still alive and that the entire continent of Africa is enthralled as a result. If you were a true sports fan, you'd know that Hanover Street is practically draped in black because Italy blew a 1-0 lead with two minutes left in regulation and lost to co-host South Korea yesterday.
You would know these things because if you were a true sports fan you'd be imbued with an innate sense of curiosity about an event that transcends all others, the Olympics included, in passion and intensity on the world stage. If you were a true sports fan, you'd have some sense of just how odd and, to many, infuriating our presence in the quarterfinals is to millions across the world, and how exhilarating it is for the team and the staff to have the opportunity awaiting them on Friday.
Warning: It's still going to be soccer. They will go past the allotted 90 minutes with their curious injury time. The game could be decided by those ridiculous penalty kicks. There will be long periods of inaction (sorry, futb?l buffs, but it is so). But in the context of global soccer geopolitics it will all have great meaning, and if we even won - not impossible, since Germany, a fading power, can be likened to the 1988 Celtics - it would replace the last victory over Mexico as The Biggest Win Ever In American Soccer History. I can already see a predictable headline in the German papers: '' Nationale Tragoedie. ''
That means what you think it means, and I'm not kidding. People around the globe take this whole business very seriously.
If you were a true sports fan, you'd be saying, `'I can't wait till Friday.'' If you were a true sports fan, you'd be hanging on every word John Powers and Frank Dell'Apa are writing. You'd envy them, because they are where the world action is.
You have an inalienable right not to care. But if you are ignoring the World Cup, you have clarified your status in the matter. Either you're a sports fan, or you're not.
This event separates the fans from the frauds
By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist, 6/19/2002
Either you're a sports fan, or you're not.
I didn't say baseball, basketball, football, hockey, or Tiger Woods fan. I said sports fan. If you think you are, this is the time for you to put up or shut up. Get behind our soccer guys, or don't ever bother to claim being a sports fan again, because you will have exposed yourself as a myopic fraud.
Do I love soccer? No. Do I think it's flawed? Yes (but which of our games isn't?). But do I love spectacle, pageantry, drama, and passion in sport? Yes. Do I love the idea that, even if this game does not happen to be our favorite sporting enterprise, a couple of billion people in the world are captivated by it, and therefore our participation in the World Cup makes us partners in a fascinating tale of global intrigue? Oh, absolutely.
A true sports fan is not limited to one or two games. A true sports fan loves competition and loves seeing things in context. A true sports fan wants as many varied experiences as he or she can find. Sometimes, once is enough. I fulfilled my curling obligation in Japan four years ago. I did the belt-notch thing. And if I ever found myself in Canada or Norway or even Wisconsin on some cold winter night, and I hear there is a big grudge match about to take place, I would have no trouble dropping in for one more evening of curling.
The Olympics are the best example of what being a true sports fan is all about. It's all about context. Who among us mainstream American writers knows from Greco-Roman wrestling or cross-country skiing? But six years ago I came under the spell of an extraordinary Russian wrestler named Alexandr Karelin and the summer before last I was there when our own Rulon Gardner became the first man to beat the Siberian marvel in 13 years. I will never know the ins and outs of Greco-Roman wrestling, but I rank that match as one of the great thrills of my 34-year career. And unless you've got an hour or two on your hands, don't ever make the mistake of asking me about the last three Norwegian-Italian 40K cross-country skiing relay epics. It's, like, one of my favorite topics right up there with Mickey vs. Willie or why Bill Walton is still the greatest player of all-time.
You simply do not know what true sports fandom is all about until you've gotten yourself involved in some international rivalries. You can enjoy them without knowing anything about the sport itself. All you need is a feel for sport and a little humanity in your soul.
As far as this World Cup business is concerned, I say that if you were a true sports fan, you'd have some kind of a handle on what's been going on, and just how long and tedious the road has been for an American soccer team to get to this Friday morning match with Germany. You'd know a little something about the structure and history of the soccer world, how it has long been dominated by haughty Europeans and passionate South Americans and how the United States of America has been forever regarded as a bit player in the scenario.
You'd know that between 1950 and 1990 we never even qualified for the World Cup. You'd know that we actually won a game in 1994 and that we were eventually ousted by Brazil - perhaps the ultimate Establishment team - by a 1-0 score. You'd know that we were humiliated four years later in France, not only failing to win a game, but also being declared the worst of the worst, officially designated as the No. 32 team in a 32-team tournament.
Now we're in the Final Eight. I mean, c'mon. How can you say you're a sports fan and not be excited?
You don't even have to know all the whys and hows leading to this moment. You don't have to know that for the first time our team is 100 percent professional, complete with its own prodigies in Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, a pair of experienced internationals even though they are each just 20 years of age. You don't have to know that the prickly coach, Bruce Arena, actually was a lacrosse player of note before settling into a full-time soccer career, or that he has brought a true sense of professionalism to a team that was mismanaged by the overmatched Steve Sampson last time in France. You just have to take note.
If you were a true sports fan, you'd know that the American athlete not named Tiger Woods whose name should be on the lips of every American is Brad Friedel, whose acrobatic goalkeeping has been the single biggest reason the team has advanced to the round of eight.
If you were a true sports fan, you'd already know that defending champion France and always-dangerous Argentina were among those teams eliminated in the first round. If you were a true sports fan, you'd know that Senegal is still alive and that the entire continent of Africa is enthralled as a result. If you were a true sports fan, you'd know that Hanover Street is practically draped in black because Italy blew a 1-0 lead with two minutes left in regulation and lost to co-host South Korea yesterday.
You would know these things because if you were a true sports fan you'd be imbued with an innate sense of curiosity about an event that transcends all others, the Olympics included, in passion and intensity on the world stage. If you were a true sports fan, you'd have some sense of just how odd and, to many, infuriating our presence in the quarterfinals is to millions across the world, and how exhilarating it is for the team and the staff to have the opportunity awaiting them on Friday.
Warning: It's still going to be soccer. They will go past the allotted 90 minutes with their curious injury time. The game could be decided by those ridiculous penalty kicks. There will be long periods of inaction (sorry, futb?l buffs, but it is so). But in the context of global soccer geopolitics it will all have great meaning, and if we even won - not impossible, since Germany, a fading power, can be likened to the 1988 Celtics - it would replace the last victory over Mexico as The Biggest Win Ever In American Soccer History. I can already see a predictable headline in the German papers: '' Nationale Tragoedie. ''
That means what you think it means, and I'm not kidding. People around the globe take this whole business very seriously.
If you were a true sports fan, you'd be saying, `'I can't wait till Friday.'' If you were a true sports fan, you'd be hanging on every word John Powers and Frank Dell'Apa are writing. You'd envy them, because they are where the world action is.
You have an inalienable right not to care. But if you are ignoring the World Cup, you have clarified your status in the matter. Either you're a sports fan, or you're not.
I can't wait 'till Friday!
I CAN'T WAIT 'TILL FRIDAY!!!
And I agree with El Jefe...USA 2...GERMANY 1...
GO USA!!!
I CAN'T WAIT 'TILL FRIDAY!!!
And I agree with El Jefe...USA 2...GERMANY 1...
GO USA!!!
