The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

[Jimjamesak]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

A new resident for Siberia...

[Jimjamesak]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

Love the Goalkeepers Union comment from Keller.

[dxmnkd316]

Instead people think it's amazing to win against our fellow also rans. No wonder this sport makes no traction.

You know what? **** this line of thought. You know why this sport isn't going to grow? Because instead of letting people go out and celebrate like any other GD nation, people like you walk around wagging your finger at them saying, "Nope, don't celebrate!" ****. That.

You know what grows a sport? National celebrations showing wild fans getting into the sport maybe for the first time ever. We score a goal and get a win and people go nuts. Fantastic. I hope people go nuts with every win. If they dragged their friend with to the bar and that friend goes wild with the knowledgable fan, maybe he had a good enough time to watch the next game and if he's lucky, get to see another win.

**** me.

[Jimjamesak]

So your perspective is not being a dick? Ok...

If you call my expectation and perspective as being negative, that seems to say more about you than me. Just sayn.

As a review, I'm very excited we won, but it was Ghana and the first round. Lots of play to go, though. As Brazil just found out.

94 was supposed to be the start of something special. Instead people think it's amazing to win against our fellow also rans. No wonder this sport makes no traction.

The fact that you call Ghana an "also ran" shows an exteme lack of knowledge.

[Spartanforlife4]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

Nigeria World Cup viewing center was bombed, AP reporting.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

Anyone else wondering if Russia's equalizer was offsides?

[MountieBoyOz]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

I really thought Russia would Putin another.

[Twitch Boy]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

I really thought Russia would Putin another.

Concur. They're just Stalin too much with the ball.

[French Rage]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

Concur. They're just Stalin too much with the ball.

And none of their shots hit their Marx.

[alfablue]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

Good tie. Interesting that it took kind of a fluky goal to get Russia to really play. They put some good pressure on after going behind.

[MountieBoyOz]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

And none of their shots hit their Marx.

That loss might czar their chances at advancing from the group.

[MountieBoyOz]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

Every time I see Feliani of Belgium I think of that line from Fletch about the Afro.

[Scarlet]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

My view on the did we over-celebrate too much conversation is to go back to Sochi. When the US had that shootout showdown with Russia and it was all TJ OSHIE ZOMG WE BEAT THE RUSSIANS MIRACLE ON ICE AGAIN!!!!!!!!! And then they didn't even medal. The ridiculous over celebration of that game bugged the **** out of me because people were acting like the US won everything.

I am admittedly not a soccer fan and have been keeping up with the tournament because my company's Brazil operation is a national sponsor and we've done a ton of work around it. I only watched the second half as I was in the midst of traveling hell and I have to say, I don't think the US played well at all. That late goal was very cool. And it should be celebrated because it came after a crap half of play in the last moment. I cheered where I was and I'm not even a fan. I think the celebration is different from the hockey I mentioned above because the US team isn't favored to win, and even though Ghana isn't, like, Brazil, they are a team that beat the US the last two tournaments so it's like getting a weight off their back. Happy for them but I want to see them get another win.

With regards to the high ratings, my thoughts, for whatever they're worth, is the large base of people living in the US from other countries are ALL watching. They don't watch golf. Or hockey. They watch soccer.

[J.D.]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

like to see as many teams in it as possible going into game three of group stage, but you have to believe australia will fall to 0-2 tomorrow. i'd say cameroon is likely headed for that as well.

[bigmrg74]

Re: The FIFA World Cup Thread (Spoilers Welcome)

Not likely. Every FIFA members gets a vote. That means Africa is about 5 times more influential than CONMEBOL. Now I'm not sure if all of FIFA votes on the confederation spots or if another committee handles that, but there's a reason why the two biggest confederations do not have playoffs to get in.

On the wiki page for the World Cup there's a section about Blatter talking about expanding to 40, which would guarantee a spot for Oceania, as well as a Caribbean club. That would take about 2/3 of the teams away from CONCACAF. He said it would be 1 more to UEFA, 2 more to Asia and Africa, the 1 to the Caribbean, the 1 guaranteed to Oceania and then a shared between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. So if anything the playoff is here to stay, it would just transition to playing CONMEBOL.

I would be cool with that. Opens CONCACAF up to where Canada and the Central Americans can get into the World Cup, and we would have to do less dinking around with Caribbean teams about getting there. That should raise everybody else's play up knowing that they just can't phone it in against Bermuda when we know that somebody else had a draw against say a stout Jamaica squad.

Then it would be 8 groups of 5 teams right?