News gets better for USA, with Conetrao ruled out for Portugal for the rest of the WC. That's their two best defenders not now.
I would LOVE to see USA win it. They generally flop less, play hard, and its nice to see an underdog win but it would be the biggest "Fuck You" in global sports history. All these countries that eat, breathe and literally kill each other over soccer defeated by a country who watches soccer when no other sports (including golf) are on TV.
How fucking stupid are you? Dude was in a dead sprint for an overhit ball, that's like the perfect conditions to pull a hamstring.
Christ that would be the most gloriously hipster moment of all time. Win the World Cup and the country barely gives a shit. The world-wide reactions alone would be worth it. The only way it could be better is if they immediately brought it to George W Bush so he could use it as a spittoon on his ranch. It would be like Bill Gates winning the Powerball lottery and betting it all on black, losing, and just shrugging his shoulders.
Pretty sure the world would blow up if the US won it. The world cup is the one event where the rest of the countries can thumb there noses at the States and say they're better, and say we aren't invited. If we win it, I don't think they could handle the mental anguish it would cause, they couldn't handle Americans holding the world cup trophy.
You can claim its bandwagon fans or whatnot, but to say the country doesn't give shit is BS. Ratings for the game yesterday were around a 6.5 nationwide (and over a 10 in a couple east coast markets, which is higher than anything NBA that is not the Finals and any MLB other than the World Series, and more than double the average rating for the Stanley Cup FInals with teams from the two biggest markets in the country playing. And that was for a group match, and during commute time for the Midwest and work day for the West Coast, not exactly prime time. If the US made the quarters, semis, or god forbid the WC final, the ratings would be huge. Make fun of the MLS and its fans or that people only care about soccer every 4 years, but to claim it wouldnt be blip on the country's radar is completely false. People would go apeshit. Not just some mustache twirlers in Brooklyn and some drunk idiots who are clueless.
This can go both ways. Obviously, if you're watching a game in isolation, a 0-0 draw is pretty darn boring. But in the context of the World Cup a tie can actually be really exciting. If you compare to say the NBA, where the scoring is so prolific, generally the better team (or at least the team that plays better on the night) always wins. But in soccer, a weaker team can force a much stronger team to a draw through sheer effort and desperation to keep them away from the goal. This dynamic provides a lot of exciting underdog stories in the World Cup. Take the USA right now for example, they're coming up against Portugal in the next match. On paper, Portugal is a much better team, but as the USA team is energized coming off their Ghana win, they have a really good chance to hold Portugal to a draw and advance through the group on goal aggregate. In that context, a draw is essentially a win. That gives fans of lower rated teams a lot to cheer for and get behind. For another example, see last night's Brazil v Mexico game, where Mexico's goalkeeper single-handedly rescued his team and forced the game to a draw. In fairness, I'd say you only think this, because you yourself aren't a soccer fan. Most non-US soccer fans really like team USA and feel kind of sorry for them. They consistently play exciting soccer with a lot of integrity, but their own country shits on them. If they won, I think most people would love it, because they'd finally get some recognition and it'd be a great triumph for a team that refuses to dive or buy into the theatrics.
In light of the protests, does anyone else feel like Google's cartoon of the day is belittling the Brazilians it portrays? The favelas aren't so cute in reality. I used to play soccer so while I don't actively follow the sport, I don't mind watching it. Especially on a rooftop lawn bowling green with a view. This was during Chile vs. Australia on Friday. Spoiler
Yea, that is kinda uncool in a way. Imagine when the world cup was here that google did a mock up of inner city Detroit and made it seem cute. Things are getting really chippy in the Aussie game. And now the Aussies get a PK, interesting game.
OH SHIT! <a class="postlink" href="http://www.torontosun.com/2014/06/18/portugal-doctor-tells-ronaldo-injury-is-career-threatening" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.torontosun.com/2014/06/18/po ... hreatening</a> <a class="postlink" href="http://metro.co.uk/2014/06/18/cristiano-ronaldo-ruled-out-of-portugals-world-cup-with-knee-injury-4767002/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://metro.co.uk/2014/06/18/cristiano ... y-4767002/</a> Still rumors, but this is potentially HUGE. Somewhere Ibra is calling him a pussy and cursing the weakness of the rest of the Swedish national team.
Adios Espana, now you can get back to sitting in your little stadiums and watch those little jockeys in fancy elvis costumes and ballet shoes kill bulls.
Lots of acting in this Croatia - Cameroon game. Guys who get taken down get back up if they think they can still make a play on the ball, but if not they lay on the turf and writhe in supposed agony. One thing I'll say for the the WC is that compared to, say, the NBA, there's a lot less complaining to refs. It's nice to watch a sport where the ref makes a call and the players just go on, though I wonder if the nature of the game not really stopping for anything is the reason for that.
I think it's that and the card system. The prospect of getting a yellow or a red for talking back to the refs is a lot harsher than most sports. In the NFL you have to physically assault the ref to get ejected from the game.