Max's Kansas City, you have no idea how moved I am by your posts on this World Cup issue. I grew up around soccer (football) in Germany and feel like it's in my blood but when I came to the US almost 40 years ago the sport was virtually non-existant here. I missed it almost as much as crusty bread back then but ever since it slowly started being recognized I have been a faithful promoter of the beauty of the game with my friends. I still remember the first time a World Cup was even shown on TV here, with commercials during games every five minutes or so to the point that it was almost unwatchable but things have improved immensely since then.

I agree with you, it helps tremendousely that we finally have a respectable team these days but the finesse of the game itself, all its intricacies with the ultimate achievement of a goal finally make it ever so much more exciting to our American football, at least to me!

Oh, I almost forgot: Go USA tomorrow against Ghana!!!

Let's hope it's a classic between Germany and England tomorrow. The teams couldn't be more evenly matched. And for God's sake please, no penalty shoot out. Couldn't take another one of them. Whoever wins though has a really hard route because probably Argentina and then probably Spain lie in wait.

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MaxsKansasCity
I have tried in previous
WCs but ..... finally this time it is a blast. I suppose a better USA team helps, but
I have been watching the other teams play too, and it is great. It is not boring....

Great read max`s, love your posts too. The funny thing is that that you say that it`s not boring I`ve to say that the quality of this tournament is low.

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Max`s KansasCity

World Cup football is truely a world sporting event. I always kind of thought of this type of football as a Europe thing (Brazil too), but this year countries spanning the whole world are in the round of 16. I am a new fan to this, so I have missed some history, but from what I am seeing this is truely a WORLD CUP... WOW!!!

It has always been the only worldwide sportevent which made millions of people happy or made them cry, european, asian, arabian, american,african..just thrilling. But this time it has more place in the US-media?
Enjoy it and I hope you get the secrets of football which people from the US usually don`t like: that a 0:0 game can be very thrilling, that a crap game can be unforgettabel cause of the last 2 minutes, that a underdog can win a game cause of one shoot and the stronger team had 20 shoots without making a goal, that a referee can make wrong decisions (cause he is human) and we have to accept it.., that it can be veeery boring, but of course you have to discuss it and at least: you never know what will happen, it can happen everything!

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Max`sKansasCity


World Cup football is truely a world sporting event. I always kind of thought of this type of football as a Europe thing (Brazil too), but this year countries spanning the whole world are in the round of 16. I am a new fan to this, so I have missed some history, but from what I am seeing this is truely a WORLD CUP... WOW!!!

Glad you joined in ( beside your vuvuzela blackout ...) but wait for today´s
final ko matches to start.

Curious how the US team will do against Ghana,Bradley´s playing for my favourite club team...stadium´s just a 10 minute drive away...

Concerning England-Germany I guess England will win,but then it might get hard
against Argentina,I suppose ( but Mexico has a chance as well ).

I wished the penalty shoot out didn't exist any longer and that the golden goal had come back. A penalty shoot out is exciting at the moment itself but when it's over and one of the teams has 'won' the game by winning the pso it feels like an anti-climax. A pso doesn't deliver a 'real' winner.

Let them just play until on of the teams has scored, no matter how long it takes, just like in Wimbledon tennis. In the end one of the teams will score, maybe after a very long time and the players being more dead than alive, but after the golden goal we have a REAL winner.

As for the wrong decisions by the referees: it's rather odd that we can see on our tv's what should have been the right decision almost a second after the wrong decision has been taken. It would be better if that changed as well, but football is an extremely conservatice sport, except its commercialization and the dominant role of the big companies. But I don't consider that as a progression.

Anyway: enjoy al the finals that are about to be played!

Crazy Capello!

I think why I am loving this so much is I now understand the "urgency" of the matches. Every second counts and watching the guys doing their best to score a goal, or doing their best to avoid the other team scoring a goal, and they are all very talented. The foot work dribbling of some players is amazing. Only becaause they are playing against the best in the world is why it may seem slow, but these guys are in the best "real" shape of any athletes. They are sprinting AND running a marathon. I get worn out just watching them, but even at the 80th minute they seem somewhat fresh.

I like the scoring set up too . 1 point for ties is a good idea That means a team could be mainly a defense team and still move forward ,without scoring ..... but maybe offense is what wins World Cups. I dont know for sure ..... I am very intersted to see what happens in the next 4 days...but I have a feeling the Dutch, Germans, England, Spain and Brazil may be the best, but I am not sure .....I will say that I am surpriesd at what happened to the other historically great teams, maybe it was the new balls or vulvahorns noise or something ... but this World Cup almost seems like a free for all, where heart has been the most important thing.... but I have a feeling we may see the talent really come through ..... and we may see a couple of teams that made the round of 16 get crushed .... but I dont know ... the only thing that I know for sure is that we will be watching every match for the rest of the World Cup .... no matter what.

I dont think I am full fledge football maniac yet, but I am World Cup maniac. As I said, this is special because of the HUGE importance of EVERY game. There is a sense of urgency that makes this intense. I dont know if a months long season, full of less important games, would be as fun, but in this World Cup it seems that time is always running out and somebody better do something right now, score a goal or make a great pass or steal that freekin ball.

As an aside, I would love to see someone score a "pele" back flip for a goal .... We have almost seen it a couple of times when all of those bodies are flying around by the goal end. There have been some "close ones" and almost ones. I guess that maybe that is what this is about, the more "close ones" they execute ... the more quality attempts they make .... the harder they work, the luckier they get. It is kind of like life .... you should never give up because anything can happen, so you have to keep going until the very end. Along the way you might have to overcome some BS, or get blessed with some gift call and you may have to deal with elbows to the head, bear hug holds and kicks to the shin ..... BUT YOU GOTTA KEEP GOING ..... KEEP DEFENDING ...... AND maybe it will work. "thats the way the ball bounces" .. How many balls have hit the post in this tourny? 6 inches freeekin inches away from a score and maybe destiny, but that is the way the ball bounces...
THE HARDER THEY WORK THE LUCKIER THEY GET.

I tried to watch the World Cup many times before ... but it did not make sense .... but I unserstand that 5 billion people around globe cant be completely wrong, so I kept coming back to see if I coulod understand World Cup, and finally I see ... thanks to Hansie and Gazza and others who helped clarify the fine points and tell some history, it all adds up. Hopefully someone out there who does not "get it" might see some logic here and it will help them too.

I hope for fairly called matches today, and the next 4 days and on... good luck men..
IT IS DO OR DIE TIME.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-06-26 15:38 by Max'sKansasCity.

Capello is @#$%& mental!

I like it

Absolutely @#$%& shameful from Torres.

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andy js
Absolutely @#$%& shameful from Torres.

Such players should be banned from the tournament. If necessary after the game when the video can be watched. They ruin the game and the tournament.

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kleermaker

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andy js
Absolutely @#$%& shameful from Torres.

Such players should be banned from the tournament. If necessary after the game when the video can be watched. They ruin the game and the tournament.

He should go to the movies - not football, but cheating that's what they can. Hopefully Spain will be sent home asap.

I am NOT defending the "diver" but isnt there quite a lot of this stuff?
I have been watching a ton of these matches and they start to
blur together, especially because I am still learning what is legal
versus what the refs actually call etc etc ..it is confusing ....
but I think we have seen a lot of this type of "acting". maybe ..

One instance comes to mind when one player ( I forget who ) and there was a
tiny bit of touching and all of a sudden the guy is grabbing his face like
Jason Voorhees hit him with an ax. If someone wanted to... I might think they
could create a bunch of these moving gifs showing "odd" things .... maybe ; )

What do the experts here think, should there be post match penalties for diving?

I have not commented on any of this stuff because I am not sure what is legal
and what is not ...... I depend on the final score, and consider it the law.


================================================
Once again inches are miles in this game URU vs KOR ...so close ...HITS TH BAR ...ouch!!!!

I am also fed up and disgusted to see this low-down cheating !
These ridiculous comedians should somehow be penalized

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andy js
Absolutely @#$%& shameful from Torres.

Can somebody play that video in slow motion ?

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Keep On Rolling

I love the game, but I f***ing hate schwalbes and divers.

VAMOS URUGUAY CARAJOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VAMOS URUGUAY CARAJOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VAMOS URUGUAY CARAJOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VAMOS URUGUAY CARAJOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VAMOS URUGUAY CARAJOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VAMOS URUGUAY CARAJOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VAMOS URUGUAY CARAJOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VAMOS URUGUAY CARAJOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fabio Silvera

Congrats to Uruguay and Fabio! Let the sun shine in!

Suarez (player of Ajax Amsterdam) made the difference. Beautiful second goal. He's a typical diver, but he didn't dive this match as far as I've seen it.

Gracias Kleermaker! Uruguay hoy es una fiesta en todo el país! Ha sido un muy buen mundial para nosotros! pero aun quedan dos partidos para llegar a la final!
Como debe de ser para mis festejos en mi casa estan sonando los Rolling Stones a un volumen muy extremo!

VAMOS URUGUAY CARAJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Saludos hermanos!

congrats to Uruguay

under the boardwalk---down by the sea

Well done Uruguay, congratulations

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Keep On Rolling

I must admit that I long for the game USA-Ghana and I really don't know who's going to win

Congradulations to Uruguay!

Where is Carlitos? He's been very quiet. C'mon man, let's hear you.

URUGUAY URUGUAY!!

OK man.

----South corea, sorry, was the better team

under the boardwalk---down by the sea

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jpasc95
I must admit that I long for the game USA-Ghana and I really don't know who's going to win

Me neither, but I hope it's Ghana, because it's the only African country in the tournament yet. But for Max I hope the US win. So if the match is okay and fair I'm content with whatever result.

Sure, US. wins

Vamos South America !

The big business has killed real Football and some other sports (Rugby will be the next sport to be contaminated in the next few years ), and it shows that most of the players in Europe after some time, prefer playin' in some Ads for money that soccer ball for pleasure.
I'm happy for all these Teams who show us great Football.
Very big crisis in FRANCE, crisis in ITALY which will be the next one ?
C'mon guys let's play football, you show us in this tournament that you're not some great rock'n'roll stars...you're just USD 1 000 000 suckers, but suckers even so!

HMN

Congrats to Uruguay