The only book I can remember losing was The Witch of Blackbird Pond in 8th grade. I thought I'd find it when my family moved and we cleared out the house, but I never did. I ended up having to reimburse the school.
I have deliberately abandoned books by leaving them on chairs or benches or windowsills or lockers or sliding one under a row of beds in a hostel just before heading off to an airport.
The problem is that there are only a handful of teams that are reputed to be fun for the casual spectator to watch--Brazil, maybe Argentina, maybe the Dutch, and usually a couple of the African teams. Other than that, I expect boot-ball, which is not so much fun.
Also, the NBA Final will continue to be excellent, and features a likeable German.
Food: very good.
Ambiance: Seemed a little bare bones, but maybe that's what a German beer hall is supposed to be like. There were lots of soccer themed streamers. I didn't go out into the garden.
Service: obviously lacking, at least last night, although my waitress was nice about it, and all the waitresses, I noticed, were really hott, if that gets you out to restaurants.
Price: pretty expensive, actually, considering it was good but simple fare.
I'm listening to that Corrs song "Runaway" right now and just loving it. Who'd think a song with these lyrics would be so good?
I remember liking Supper quite a bit. Kind of loud, but damn tasty food, and nice music. I subletted for a couple of months in an apartment on that block in the East Village with the gajillion Indian restaurants, and just around the corner was a Supper relative, Frank. I recommend it too.
The Argentina game is on ESPN2. Back to the cable channels.
I'm sorry David. I'd be broken hearted too. In some ways it was worse because the Swedish team was not horrible. I'd say they were better overall than TT. Small comfort.
Speaking of German food in NYC, anybody know where I could get those typically north bavarian Bratwuerst sort of pickled in white wine vinegar served cold? They have a specific name, but I've forgotten it.
Does Ivory beat Silver? These Rock, Paper, Scissors variants confuse me.
Maybe it is a "decency" delay. I'd guess it is more to catch a visual than an audible transgression. The only thing I can hear other than the announcers is a very loud crowd.
At the half, the sub-Saharan team is not doing well. I can do without the frequent comparisons to Maradona. I don't see no fat, drugged-out guys on that team.
You know, I do think that socialism may be responsible for soccer; or at least non-socialism is responsible for the unpopularity of top-quality soccer in the U.S. (and so the lack of much top-quality soccer). Because soccer is played continuously, you can't get as much advertising in (I remember watching a World Cup or something when they would just show the sponsor's logo under the score, but that's no more exposure than you get by buying the ad behind home plate in the stadium). So it doesn't get shown much on the main US channels, and only real nuts aficionados follow it.
Whereas countries whose main TV channels are public don't need ads to drive their programming, so soccer can be shown the way our major-league sports are shown here.
32: No, I agree with you 100%, honestly. I was in no way mocking your argument. And I honestly think the poor kids thing is true, too--it's weird how soccer in this country is all about middle class "soccer leagues" that you have to pay to join and stuff. Bizarre.
but bphd (and I mean this in all seriousness), how does the hallowed nature of a game like "stickball" fit into your claim in #31? I think it's a counter-example, seriously. It is weird that soccer is such a middle-class thing in america, but that's (I think) mainly an issue of path dependence. But it's not because American sports myth never highlights poor players, or players who grew up with nothing... 'cause it does.
DW, it's not quite cricket to introduce actual facts into the discussion; but I don't think that article undermines the point about television. (And the question is more "Why hasn't soccer taken off in the U.S. like the NFL and NBA" -- the NFL, at least, owes its great popularity to television, it was pretty low-rent in pre-TV days.) Also the American major leagues are clearly not socialist, they're crony capitalist like say defense contracting.
37: I thought about that, but really, isn't "stickball" like some throwback myth to pre-suburban 1940s America? I mean, baseball is pretty organized, you have your ball, your bat, your glove. Do kids actually truly play stickball??
41. I just think Association Football is getting more popular in the vast middle class.
Most guys my age didn't play as kids, but we have kids who do play. It is hard not to learn the game when you go to games and sometimes get drafted to coach.
The Washington Post is also giving the Cup broad coverage. Credential requests from the American press are up over 2002's.
I thought people here would be supporting the home team- has it really escaped everyone's notice that the German term for their national team is the Mannschaft?
43. Dunno, I've seen kids play on streets. Street hockey works OK too. Most of these ad hoc soccer games don't have 22 kids so a stretch of street works.
We didn't play stickball, but we did play rounders and rundown. Beginning baseball-type games don't require much more equipment than beginning soccer-type games.
I'm not sure about the advertising point; all the Premiereship teams just wear their sponsors' logo on their chests ('Fly Emirates!'), and the pitch is ringed with ads.
I suspect it may have more to do with where young talent goes. A friend of mine played soccer while growing up in Houston, and he found that most of the teams his school faced were composed of football players doing off-season conditioning. So you get this loop where natural athletes get encouraged to join football, basketball, and baseball, so then our soccer leagues aren't as good, so then Americans don't watch because we like winners, so then good natural athletes dream of being in the other sports, etc.
42: Yup. Saw some kids playing it the other day on a street ending above the Prospect Expressway.
I don't know what happens should the ball go over the fence to the road -- the Expressway is sunken, so maybe a ten to twenty minute delay to Manhattan -- but it's played.
I just recently saw a photograph (I can't remember where now) of some kids playing soccer, somewhere in Southern Africa I think, and they had made their own ball out of wadded up plastic bags and tape.
I do have to admit that PK and I used to play baseball with a rubber baby ball and an empty 2-liter coke bottle. He was little enough that basically my job was to hit the bottle with the ball, and if I missed, he'd gleefully yell, "bad pitch, Mama!"
Ivory Coast look great. Just not as good as Argentina, unfortunately.
Re: immigrants. Most of the European countries with colonial pasts have substantial numbers of children/grandchildren of immigrants in their teams. France, England, Holland, Portugal, etc.
The eastern european countries, Italy and Spain (despite the colonial past), much less so.
On descendents of immigrants, it is fun to watch the US team play European teams. Going by names it is sometimes hard to tell which team a player is on. Keller, Hahnemann, Ching, O'Brien, Olsen, Borg, etc.
Italy and esp. Spain have plenty of immigrants. Spain's situation is more similar to the US than the rest of Europe. Lots of north african illegals. Also maany latin americans.
What I talked about though was if the number of immigrants were proprtional to the number in the general population, and if that tells you something. Having thought about it, I doubt it.
No no, he's a pitcher, putting him out isn't the primary concern.
(Fortunately the way the jinx was activated was that they took him out for a pinch-hitter just after I posted that, rather than his giving up three runs just after I posted that.)
30: What? Isn't Man U the most valuable sports team on earth? That doesn't seem very socialist.
And basketball doesn't require much equipment either, nor do you need to join a league to play. Soccer didn't take off in this country because it's often boring.
58: Italy and Spain have lots of immigrants, just not very many of them are on the National Team, compared to the other countries MMcG mentioned.
And Ivory Coast did look really good. That one goal they made was beautiful. Plus they don't have the Italian Overacting Syndrome the way Argentina does.
Although I really don't actually hate Argentina. In fact the one game I saw in the 1994 World Cup was Argentina v. Bulgaria in Dallas. I was excited to get the chance to see (a very old) Maradonna play live, but prior to the game they discovered a surfeit of "cold medicine" in his urine/bloodstream, and he was booted. Argentina lost 2-0. Yay Bulgaria!
Tim, you're insane. Soccer is almost never boring; it's very much like basketball, only with a larger field, outside instead of in, and feet instead of hands. But they both have constant action and are lovely to watch.
63: I'll watch the Dutch, the Brazilians, the Argentinians, and most of the Africans on a lark; everyone else is too likely to bore me to death to risk. And soccer players are mildly attractive; basketball players are hot.
re: 68 The long ball game used to be a British thing -- both Scotland and England did it.
It's not really been that way for the English national team for a very long time though. The current English team, much as it pains me to say it (as a Scot) is pretty skillful and not really a long-ball team at all. There's still something wrong with them though, they seem to lack something in comparison to the very best sides.
Packing the defense and sitting on slim leads is actually much more an Italian thing.
An article I read a few years put the figures for players of Afro-Caribbean descent at approx 1 in 4 for the English league. And those percentages are roughlyreflected in the English national team. That's significantly higher than the % in the population at large where I think the figures are more like 2 or 3%.
Scotland has a fairly large immigrant population -- historically Poles, Italians and eastern european jews and more recently from Pakistan. However, for various reasons there isn't a big Pakistani participation in professional football either in England or in Scotland so the Scottish team contains far fewer visible 'immigrants' (i.e. children or grandchildren of immigrants) than England.
The reason that Spain and Italy have very few immigrants in their teams is, crudely, that these countries are teh racist compared to northern European countries like Sweden, England or Holland.
25.--Witchsmeller, yes, exactly! I think it was the blaue Zipfel I liked better. Now, anyone know if I can get that in New York?
And for the soccer: oh, man, Cote d'Ivoire broke my heart this afternoon. They just didn't manage to break through the Argentinian defensive line, and their defense wasn't what it could have been. I wasn't convinced by their goalie, either. But I wanted them to win to keep the announcers from mentioning the civil war every five minutes.
75 Jackmormon, you are probably better off by making them yourself. It's rather easy. You can find several recipes here for example (http://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/212161088846802,83/Blaue-Zipfel.html). You speak German, IIRC?
76 teofilo, I'm sorry but I won't engage in any kind of banter until I've received the fruit basket.
Honestly, I have no idea for whom I should cheer in this one. Not that I always have good reasons for picking a team (Oranje!) but this one is kind of like, hmmm, continent loyalty or wanting an underdog from a country that may get the shit kicked out of it to have something to celebrate about.
If I understand the rules correctly, the distribution of World Cup qualifying spots by region is related to the success of each region at previous World Cups. North and Central America - or to put it more mellifluously, CONCACAF - had only 3 teams in 1998 and 2002, but more success from the US and Mexico in 2002 made it possible for 4 teams to go to Germany (although T&T had to qualify in a playoff).
Agh. Damn you, Iran. They started off so well in the first half, and then their offense just went to shit. Plus, the keeper totally fucked up on letting that second goal in.
I watched it at a pub where they had the audio in English in the front room and in Spanish in the backroom, and Univision was about 7 seconds ahead of ABC, so I would hear Mexico score (via loud cheering) before I saw it. That was annoying.
Iran's offense just couldn't get it together; their defense was pretty good, as it had to be, seeing as though the Mexicans kept getting into the box. But such a sad and deserved defeat. I keep rooting for the underdogs, who keep losing. Hélas.
I hope we can confine soccer talk to this thread, so I can avoid it (I'm planning on insulating myself from the result of the US-Czech game, because I can't watch at work and so am going to watch the replay tonight, but it's no fun if you already know what happens).
I thought it was pretty classy the way espn2 broadcast the US national anthem and then cut to commercials.
I also thought it was classy when the goon where I was watching the first half applauded to himself when Koller was put on the stretcher.
But then the two Czech people laughing to themselves in that "I'm letting everyone know I'm laughing to myself" way about the ignorant Americans (eg offsides is called, "they don't even know what it is") were pretty cool too. I couldn't decide, though, if they were as cool as the American fans who started cheering whenever the US got the ball within 75 feet of the Czech goal, even if it was only one guy way off to the side vastly outnumbered by defenders.
Commentators: Well, if the U.S. can beat or tie Italy and Ghana, then maybe we can have four points and if the other teams all go home, we can advance.
I "missed" the last 20 minutes, but the studio announcers are still talking about how "they still have the chance to show what the US team really can do." Whatever. They clearly looked better in qualifying than in anything since then.
The US are a good solid team but their world ranking and their qualifying peformances are heavily slanted by the fact that they are part of Concacaf. They just don't have to face much heavy hitting opposition through qualifying.
They will get pwned by the best European and South American sides.
US will do well to tie Ghana. Ghana was outplayed but they played.
The announcers are hilarious. I don't mind a little mention of how this will affect the US team, or a comparison of a competeing player to a US player. They are broadcasting to that market. But, at the end of the game they talked about nothing else but the US.
Heehee, Mr. B. "arranged" free cable for us to reward me for finally finishing that article. Have I said he's a saint? Not only did he enable me to spend virtually all day for the last couple weeks agonizing over not writing, he actually thinks that I deserve a reward for making him do all the house and kidwork (which he did beautifully, even). Yay World Cup! Those Adidas commercials are super cute. And hot Brazilians.
They do the same kinds of things sorta at WNBA games. It's about cultivating a new generation of players, obvs. And it makes it somehow more appealling and game-like than, say, halftime shows with Janet Jackson.
142: Like OMG the keeper for the Czech Republic (I think his name is Cech or something) is so fucking hot I almost totally lost my shit while watching the game (replay last night). And he's smart too; he speaks 5 languages.
Damn, links to particular archived comments don't seem to work. The link was supposed to be to the "LB v. Paulina Poriskova" story, part I, but you need to search for 'supermodel' to find it.
I find it mildly depressing that whowantstosexmutumbo.com no longer exists. It just goes to show that you have to take the rough (this) with the smooth (ogged's news!).
Crap. I can't find this comment by googling WONTFIX, but it seems as though IE and Safari mess up some of those links, and there's a way to fix that, but the easiest way is to use Firefox. Also, yay racoons.
Yes, yes. In 1936, Nazi Germany hosted the Olympic Games and Adolph Hitler hoped that those games would prove the superiority of the Aryan race. And the stadium has been remodeled since then.
We get it already, and you can get the fuck over it any time before the end of group play now, mmmkay?
Ok, this seems to contain instructions about how to make Safari/IE-compatible links, but I'm damned if I can find the original WONTFIX/yay raccoons discussions. (Though right-clicking in Firefox seems to make Safari-compatible links.)
The #023098 at the end of the URL is what sends you to the correct comment and is the same for the "static' and "managed-mt" URLs. So if you really want to produce a comment link in IE that will work in IE you need to take:
static URL for the thread + # + stuff after the # sign for the comment.
That's probably too much trouble, but that's the only way I see.
Hey, person with my initials followed by a fraction equal to 1/20th, I had a question about a comment you left on tapped. You said that you don't put charitable deductions in your taxes. Now, I think there's a case for not minimizing your tax burden (by finding and using all relevant deductions) IFF you think the a marginal dollar going to the government will marginally increase the level of good stuff the government produces in the world and you don't want to just keep the money because it's important for you and/or your family or you think giving the extra money you keep to a charity is less helpful than giving that money to the government. But all of the above is probably not the case right now, so I was wondering what the deal was?
For me, charity is from the heart. I don't feel right for my acts to get reimbursed (in part) by the government. I don't really have a clear explanation for my stand. It is partly formed from a Catholic religious background. I do favor government subsidizing people to get them to give, if that's what it takes. So the paradox that sometimes we need coaxing to act on our own.
Perhaps, it is the idea that charity should be a private sacrifice. No praying on the street corner and no display of alms-giving. So it follows for me that I shouldn't be declaring it on my taxes. Plus, people like Kotsko can't give receipts.
That's a thought, how much does charity come to be defined as giving to government registered organizations?
I hate to write about this stuff as I figure I'll sound sanctimonious.
Meanwhile, how about that team from Ghana? They are playing a strong game. The Czechs and the Ghanans are playing such a physical game that I think a rugby game'll start any second now.
(I could do without the announcers talking about a forthcoming game and neglecting this one.)
I'm kinda torn on the Ghana/Czech R. thing. I'm sucked into the whole "yay, African teams" thing, but I do love the Czechs... But Ghana really does look like playing well so far.
a thing of beauty. How the Ogged-ian football unbelievers can watch that sort of thing and still not get how football can be a beautiful game...
IIRC, the link is to an Argentinian goal. There are teams worth watching, but there are only six or seven of them. And the end of the play looks something like a pick and roll, which you can see in any NBA game, any time during the season.
Timbot, even if he is trolling you guys, is totally right. What the Argentinian team showed is what in basketball is called "good ball movement." Yes, it's nice. It also proves my point about the massive boringness of soccer that an instance of good ball movement has the world of soccer buzzing. Almost every play in soccer is a broken play; the game is just too hard, even for the very best teams, and it's not fun to watch so much failure.
Also, ogged, some people really enjoy the feel of a good soccer game. The scoring is a bonus, although it's not goog if the teams don't even attempt to take care of it.
Soccer is a game for Calvanists who believe life is hard: your are satisfied with games that are boring and ugly, with relatively few rewards for effort, because you believe a just game, like a just life, is meant to be hard. If you're less inclined to believe in an angry, punative God, you choose the NBA. Or Brazilian (Argentinian, Dutch, African) soccer, where the joy of the people, and their catholic approach to religion, has overcome the original dowdiness of the game.
The announcers really set the bar high when they pointed out that even if the US loses they still can't be eliminated today. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the US looks much better than in the last game, but to advance they pretty much will need to win both games remaining and that's a lot to ask.
They should not make summer associates work on the weekends.
It means they think well of you -- most summer associates, even those who will turn out to be fine lawyers, are blindingly useless, and there's no point keeping them around on the weekends because their work product is getting tossed anyway. So take it as praise; annoying, disfunctional praise, but that's the only kind you're going to get in a law firm.
There've been a bunch of quick red cards in the tournament. My guess is the refs have been instructed to call things this way, but that just seems to mean that the bad calls have a bigger impact.
That U.S. red card was a bit wonky; otoh, it did look on replay like he had his cleats up.
Re. dominating the game, my amateur part-time soccer fan thoughts are that we've certainly been attacking aggressively, and playing way, way better than I expected.
213,8: The US was in control early on, but not looking that dangerous when it came time to shoot. Italy hadn't had many chances, but looked more likely to score when they got close to goal. The own goal was very helpful, obviously.
They should not make summer associates work on the weekends.
What LizardBreath said. Plus, you may as well begin to get a sense for what life will be like as a big-firm lawyer, at least when you are starting out. Me, I'm a small firm lawyer now, so I'm commenting from home. But I had to do what you are doing before I could do what I am doing.
Your job for today is to note the differences between the two talks, by hand.
In fact, we want a memo on it. By Sunday afternoon at 2. Be sure to find another summer to proofread and cite check it. Also, have a paralegal print out all of the comments cited and arrange them chronologically in a tabbed, indexed binder. Make sure you check the binder before it goes to duplicating. Oh, and have a copy sent to me at home--use a car service to get it there.
The offside rule stops teams just making some big huge guy stand next to the goal keeper and hoover up the long balls -- it's there to make the game interesting.
The offside rule stops teams just making some big huge guy stand next to the goal keeper and hoover up the long balls -- it's there to make the game interesting.
FIFA might want to recalibrate its sense of "interesting."
Saying soccer is not basketball so don't look at basketball's rules is like saying the US is not the rest of the world so don't look at international law. Why do you hate human rights, B?
re: 191 - gets it totally wrong. The whole point is that it has to be hard. I like watching baskteball but the fact is that those kinds of flowing movements i) do happen a lot in basketball and ii) this is a bad rather than good thing. It devalues the whole thing -- when moments of beauty are really hard to conjure up, they're worth more.
Also, that goal you guys just had ruled offside, the refs decision was totally harsh.
Great, the only game I get to see part of today (live) wasn't very good and I'll be spending most of the rest of the day in the library.
Is this the hockey thread?
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:04 AM
Oh, I forgot that there was another book that I returned to the wrong library that now the library can't locate.
Posted by Tia | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:09 AM
The only book I can remember losing was The Witch of Blackbird Pond in 8th grade. I thought I'd find it when my family moved and we cleared out the house, but I never did. I ended up having to reimburse the school.
I have deliberately abandoned books by leaving them on chairs or benches or windowsills or lockers or sliding one under a row of beds in a hostel just before heading off to an airport.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:13 AM
A friend of mine once recalled a book from his university library only to be told he was the one who had it checked out.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:15 AM
England-Paraguay was pretty dull, wasn't it? I only saw bits of it.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:17 AM
I'm quite surprised by the amount of coverage the NYT has given to the World Cup.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:25 AM
I'm just getting into German food. How was Loreley? Food? Price? Ambience? thanks!
Posted by annie | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:50 AM
The problem is that there are only a handful of teams that are reputed to be fun for the casual spectator to watch--Brazil, maybe Argentina, maybe the Dutch, and usually a couple of the African teams. Other than that, I expect boot-ball, which is not so much fun.
Also, the NBA Final will continue to be excellent, and features a likeable German.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:54 AM
Food: very good.
Ambiance: Seemed a little bare bones, but maybe that's what a German beer hall is supposed to be like. There were lots of soccer themed streamers. I didn't go out into the garden.
Service: obviously lacking, at least last night, although my waitress was nice about it, and all the waitresses, I noticed, were really hott, if that gets you out to restaurants.
Price: pretty expensive, actually, considering it was good but simple fare.
I'm listening to that Corrs song "Runaway" right now and just loving it. Who'd think a song with these lyrics would be so good?
Posted by Tia | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:58 AM
I really like watching England. I'm not quite sure why. (It has nothing to do with Beckham.) But their game was sort of boring today.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 10:02 AM
4: Hasn't everyone done that?
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 10:34 AM
I had dinner at Supper, not too far away from there, last night.
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 10:46 AM
I meant to go watch a game at 6am this morning, but thought better of it.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 10:48 AM
Sweden vs. TT is pretty fun.
TT's keeper has been working hard. TT can't seem to shoot at the goal. Over and to the side, but not so much at. TT might get a draw from this.
Ibrahamovic. Nice to see European migration in action.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 11:13 AM
"Ibrahamovic" s/b "Ibrahimovic"
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 11:19 AM
It's Argentina v. Cote d'Ivoire at 3 pm (EST), right?
Posted by Jackmormon | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 11:26 AM
9: thanks, tia. Is it casual? We prefer casual places...too lazy to get all gussied up.
Posted by annie | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 11:53 AM
Someone kill me please.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 11:57 AM
Yup Argentina at 3 P.M. (EDT). 1st game in Group C.
TT gets a draw. That was an exciting game. TT was a man down for most of the 2nd half. Sweden seemed to get sloppy and desparate at the end.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 12:02 PM
I remember liking Supper quite a bit. Kind of loud, but damn tasty food, and nice music. I subletted for a couple of months in an apartment on that block in the East Village with the gajillion Indian restaurants, and just around the corner was a Supper relative, Frank. I recommend it too.
Damn, I miss NYC.
Posted by M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 12:08 PM
The Argentina game is on ESPN2. Back to the cable channels.
I'm sorry David. I'd be broken hearted too. In some ways it was worse because the Swedish team was not horrible. I'd say they were better overall than TT. Small comfort.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 12:14 PM
Speaking of German food in NYC, anybody know where I could get those typically north bavarian Bratwuerst sort of pickled in white wine vinegar served cold? They have a specific name, but I've forgotten it.
Posted by Jackmormon | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 12:16 PM
Well, we still have a better than even chance of getting to the round oif 16. And England and Paraguay didn't impress that much either.
Shame I'm Swedish, otherwise I'd probably enjoyed the game.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 12:19 PM
23 to 21, and thanks you!
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 12:20 PM
To 22
You mean Blaue or Saure Zipfel, perchance ?
Posted by Witchsmeller Pursuivant | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 1:03 PM
Weird, ESPN2 is 5 seconds behind Univision. Same feed.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 1:16 PM
In case of an accidental cuss?
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 1:29 PM
F&#cking Argentina.
Go Elephants!
Posted by M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 1:42 PM
Does Ivory beat Silver? These Rock, Paper, Scissors variants confuse me.
Maybe it is a "decency" delay. I'd guess it is more to catch a visual than an audible transgression. The only thing I can hear other than the announcers is a very loud crowd.
At the half, the sub-Saharan team is not doing well. I can do without the frequent comparisons to Maradona. I don't see no fat, drugged-out guys on that team.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 1:58 PM
Have at it, socialists.
You know, I do think that socialism may be responsible for soccer; or at least non-socialism is responsible for the unpopularity of top-quality soccer in the U.S. (and so the lack of much top-quality soccer). Because soccer is played continuously, you can't get as much advertising in (I remember watching a World Cup or something when they would just show the sponsor's logo under the score, but that's no more exposure than you get by buying the ad behind home plate in the stadium). So it doesn't get shown much on the main US channels, and only real
nutsaficionados follow it.Whereas countries whose main TV channels are public don't need ads to drive their programming, so soccer can be shown the way our major-league sports are shown here.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:09 PM
Plus soccer is a game that poor kids can play, since it only requires one piece of inexpensive equipment. Can't have that!
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:13 PM
bphd, I feel you have treated my subtle and careful analysis in an overly reductive manner.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:15 PM
'subtle and careful analysis' s/b 'cock'
Posted by Fanny Najef-Yoga | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:20 PM
Daniel Gross says you're wrong.
Also, the game's been around much longer than television.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:29 PM
14: Also Larsson, Lucic, Shabaan. Interesting to see which countries have a proprotional number of immigrants, and which countries don't.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:35 PM
32: No, I agree with you 100%, honestly. I was in no way mocking your argument. And I honestly think the poor kids thing is true, too--it's weird how soccer in this country is all about middle class "soccer leagues" that you have to pay to join and stuff. Bizarre.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:37 PM
but bphd (and I mean this in all seriousness), how does the hallowed nature of a game like "stickball" fit into your claim in #31? I think it's a counter-example, seriously. It is weird that soccer is such a middle-class thing in america, but that's (I think) mainly an issue of path dependence. But it's not because American sports myth never highlights poor players, or players who grew up with nothing... 'cause it does.
Posted by arthegall | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:42 PM
b, no worries.
DW, it's not quite cricket to introduce actual facts into the discussion; but I don't think that article undermines the point about television. (And the question is more "Why hasn't soccer taken off in the U.S. like the NFL and NBA" -- the NFL, at least, owes its great popularity to television, it was pretty low-rent in pre-TV days.) Also the American major leagues are clearly not socialist, they're crony capitalist like say defense contracting.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:43 PM
Hey, I came to my work, and both my textbook and TCOOHC were here. Woot!
Posted by Tia | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:46 PM
38: You're right sory, but it's such a fun article. Slate at its finest.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:49 PM
Any theories about 6? Maybe the premise is wrong?
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:53 PM
37: I thought about that, but really, isn't "stickball" like some throwback myth to pre-suburban 1940s America? I mean, baseball is pretty organized, you have your ball, your bat, your glove. Do kids actually truly play stickball??
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:54 PM
You know, you still need a field to play soccer on.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:57 PM
41. I just think Association Football is getting more popular in the vast middle class.
Most guys my age didn't play as kids, but we have kids who do play. It is hard not to learn the game when you go to games and sometimes get drafted to coach.
The Washington Post is also giving the Cup broad coverage. Credential requests from the American press are up over 2002's.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:58 PM
I thought people here would be supporting the home team- has it really escaped everyone's notice that the German term for their national team is the Mannschaft?
Posted by SP | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 2:58 PM
43 - you only need a ball and two kids.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:01 PM
43. Dunno, I've seen kids play on streets. Street hockey works OK too. Most of these ad hoc soccer games don't have 22 kids so a stretch of street works.
Car!
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:01 PM
We didn't play stickball, but we did play rounders and rundown. Beginning baseball-type games don't require much more equipment than beginning soccer-type games.
I'm not sure about the advertising point; all the Premiereship teams just wear their sponsors' logo on their chests ('Fly Emirates!'), and the pitch is ringed with ads.
I suspect it may have more to do with where young talent goes. A friend of mine played soccer while growing up in Houston, and he found that most of the teams his school faced were composed of football players doing off-season conditioning. So you get this loop where natural athletes get encouraged to join football, basketball, and baseball, so then our soccer leagues aren't as good, so then Americans don't watch because we like winners, so then good natural athletes dream of being in the other sports, etc.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:07 PM
In both basketball and soccer you don't even need a second kid in order to practice dribbling.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:09 PM
Game on!
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:09 PM
46. Pwnt to Weman.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:11 PM
42: Yup. Saw some kids playing it the other day on a street ending above the Prospect Expressway.
I don't know what happens should the ball go over the fence to the road -- the Expressway is sunken, so maybe a ten to twenty minute delay to Manhattan -- but it's played.
Posted by Halfway Done | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:14 PM
I just recently saw a photograph (I can't remember where now) of some kids playing soccer, somewhere in Southern Africa I think, and they had made their own ball out of wadded up plastic bags and tape.
Also: f@%king Argentina!
Posted by M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:22 PM
I do have to admit that PK and I used to play baseball with a rubber baby ball and an empty 2-liter coke bottle. He was little enough that basically my job was to hit the bottle with the ball, and if I missed, he'd gleefully yell, "bad pitch, Mama!"
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:38 PM
Ivory Coast look great. Just not as good as Argentina, unfortunately.
Re: immigrants. Most of the European countries with colonial pasts have substantial numbers of children/grandchildren of immigrants in their teams. France, England, Holland, Portugal, etc.
The eastern european countries, Italy and Spain (despite the colonial past), much less so.
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:40 PM
Ian Snell is on fire.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:51 PM
On descendents of immigrants, it is fun to watch the US team play European teams. Going by names it is sometimes hard to tell which team a player is on. Keller, Hahnemann, Ching, O'Brien, Olsen, Borg, etc.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:51 PM
Italy and esp. Spain have plenty of immigrants. Spain's situation is more similar to the US than the rest of Europe. Lots of north african illegals. Also maany latin americans.
What I talked about though was if the number of immigrants were proprtional to the number in the general population, and if that tells you something. Having thought about it, I doubt it.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 3:53 PM
56: I hope someone put him out.
Posted by Halfway Done | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 4:02 PM
No no, he's a pitcher, putting him out isn't the primary concern.
(Fortunately the way the jinx was activated was that they took him out for a pinch-hitter just after I posted that, rather than his giving up three runs just after I posted that.)
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 4:32 PM
30: What? Isn't Man U the most valuable sports team on earth? That doesn't seem very socialist.
And basketball doesn't require much equipment either, nor do you need to join a league to play. Soccer didn't take off in this country because it's often boring.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 4:44 PM
58: Italy and Spain have lots of immigrants, just not very many of them are on the National Team, compared to the other countries MMcG mentioned.
And Ivory Coast did look really good. That one goal they made was beautiful. Plus they don't have the Italian Overacting Syndrome the way Argentina does.
Although I really don't actually hate Argentina. In fact the one game I saw in the 1994 World Cup was Argentina v. Bulgaria in Dallas. I was excited to get the chance to see (a very old) Maradonna play live, but prior to the game they discovered a surfeit of "cold medicine" in his urine/bloodstream, and he was booted. Argentina lost 2-0. Yay Bulgaria!
Posted by M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 4:48 PM
Tim, you're insane. Soccer is almost never boring; it's very much like basketball, only with a larger field, outside instead of in, and feet instead of hands. But they both have constant action and are lovely to watch.
Plus soccer players are teh hottest.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 4:49 PM
Plus soccer players are teh hottest.
You'd be hot too if you had to run around outside in the summer for 90 minutes.
Posted by M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 4:51 PM
63: I'll watch the Dutch, the Brazilians, the Argentinians, and most of the Africans on a lark; everyone else is too likely to bore me to death to risk. And soccer players are mildly attractive; basketball players are hot.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 4:55 PM
62. Yeah, I misunderstood 55. sorry matt.
61: I'd say something mean about baseball, basketball, or american football, but I've never any games.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 4:58 PM
seen
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 4:59 PM
Weman:
Aren't you English? As I understand it, the English are the ones who perfected packing in the defense and booting the long ball. Is that inaccurate?
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 5:01 PM
68, meet 23.
Posted by teofilo | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 5:04 PM
Soccer players are hotter than basketball players, who can be good-looking, but are usually of scary and large proportions.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 5:11 PM
re: 68 The long ball game used to be a British thing -- both Scotland and England did it.
It's not really been that way for the English national team for a very long time though. The current English team, much as it pains me to say it (as a Scot) is pretty skillful and not really a long-ball team at all. There's still something wrong with them though, they seem to lack something in comparison to the very best sides.
Packing the defense and sitting on slim leads is actually much more an Italian thing.
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 5:23 PM
I like the long ball game. A satisfying 'foomp', and everyone tears down the field.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 5:37 PM
An article I read a few years put the figures for players of Afro-Caribbean descent at approx 1 in 4 for the English league. And those percentages are roughlyreflected in the English national team. That's significantly higher than the % in the population at large where I think the figures are more like 2 or 3%.
Scotland has a fairly large immigrant population -- historically Poles, Italians and eastern european jews and more recently from Pakistan. However, for various reasons there isn't a big Pakistani participation in professional football either in England or in Scotland so the Scottish team contains far fewer visible 'immigrants' (i.e. children or grandchildren of immigrants) than England.
The reason that Spain and Italy have very few immigrants in their teams is, crudely, that these countries are teh racist compared to northern European countries like Sweden, England or Holland.
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 5:56 PM
Soccer on tv, previously discussed.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 9:12 PM
25.--Witchsmeller, yes, exactly! I think it was the blaue Zipfel I liked better. Now, anyone know if I can get that in New York?
And for the soccer: oh, man, Cote d'Ivoire broke my heart this afternoon. They just didn't manage to break through the Argentinian defensive line, and their defense wasn't what it could have been. I wasn't convinced by their goalie, either. But I wanted them to win to keep the announcers from mentioning the civil war every five minutes.
Posted by Jackmormon | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 10:17 PM
25: What have you done with our Mistress Scott?
Posted by teofilo | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 10:35 PM
Yay Bulgaria!
Heh. Reminds me of graffiti I saw in a youth hostel in Budapest in '95: "Hristo Stoichkov for Emperor of Greater Bulgaria!!!!"
Posted by Josh | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 10:45 PM
The Argentinian defense line was really good. Fuckers.
Broke my heart, too. When that one goal was declared offsides, I thought, this is it! They're going to turn it around now!
But no.
Go Iran!
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 06-10-06 11:35 PM
Hey, this is tennis!
Oh, wrong channel.
Federer vs Nadal is tight (ATM).
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 9:27 AM
75 Jackmormon, you are probably better off by making them yourself. It's rather easy. You can find several recipes here for example (http://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/212161088846802,83/Blaue-Zipfel.html). You speak German, IIRC?
76 teofilo, I'm sorry but I won't engage in any kind of banter until I've received the fruit basket.
Posted by Witchsmeller Pursuivant | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:07 AM
No fruit basket until you adopt a less studied name.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:09 AM
Hey, since when do you award the fruit baskets?
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:14 AM
I don't award them, but none is awarded without my assent.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:16 AM
Oh yeah?
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:17 AM
I assented to that.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:19 AM
Shorter abc commentators: I wonder if the whole Iranian team are Holocaust deniers?
Bleh.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:27 AM
I hope that basket included a rose.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:31 AM
86: Yeah, that was a little gross. At least the color guy had the decency (wc?) to stay studiously quiet during that.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:32 AM
The dilema for Reds: who do they want to win? It's illegal aliens vs. Islamofascists, for them.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:38 AM
Honestly, I have no idea for whom I should cheer in this one. Not that I always have good reasons for picking a team (Oranje!) but this one is kind of like, hmmm, continent loyalty or wanting an underdog from a country that may get the shit kicked out of it to have something to celebrate about.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:42 AM
(Oranje!) Good call--they're my favorite team, too. To the extent one can have a favorite team in a sport one doesn't watch much.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 11:51 AM
If I understand the rules correctly, the distribution of World Cup qualifying spots by region is related to the success of each region at previous World Cups. North and Central America - or to put it more mellifluously, CONCACAF - had only 3 teams in 1998 and 2002, but more success from the US and Mexico in 2002 made it possible for 4 teams to go to Germany (although T&T had to qualify in a playoff).
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 12:10 PM
Agh. Damn you, Iran. They started off so well in the first half, and then their offense just went to shit. Plus, the keeper totally fucked up on letting that second goal in.
I watched it at a pub where they had the audio in English in the front room and in Spanish in the backroom, and Univision was about 7 seconds ahead of ABC, so I would hear Mexico score (via loud cheering) before I saw it. That was annoying.
And sad.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 12:35 PM
Persian poltroons permit Pablo to proceed? Pah!
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 12:53 PM
Gadhafi addresses the important issues.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 1:18 PM
Shouldn't Ghadafi have some words for Kamel, too, and not just FIFA?
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 1:57 PM
In a statement on ''Gadhafi Speaks,'' his official Web site
Wait, Ghadafi has a blog?
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 3:19 PM
Africa should immediately contemplate, at any level, to solve the dilemma of stability and reference.
Posted by Muammar Gadafi | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 3:36 PM
Testing
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 7:16 PM
Though I often post links in the signature lines of quotations from people who I'm not, 98 was not me. I try to stick to people from other centuries.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-11-06 7:33 PM
Gadhafi is so 1987, so he might count.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 5:43 AM
Iran's offense just couldn't get it together; their defense was pretty good, as it had to be, seeing as though the Mexicans kept getting into the box. But such a sad and deserved defeat. I keep rooting for the underdogs, who keep losing. Hélas.
Posted by Jackmormon | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 7:55 AM
Australia just scored against Japan, in the last three minutes. It's really exciting.
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 8:47 AM
And again, and have gone ahead, after looking at a loss.
Great stuff.
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 8:48 AM
And again!
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 8:50 AM
whoa!
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 8:52 AM
Can I just say:
?eši, do toho!
?eši, do toho!
?eši, do toho!
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 8:53 AM
I hope we can confine soccer talk to this thread, so I can avoid it (I'm planning on insulating myself from the result of the US-Czech game, because I can't watch at work and so am going to watch the replay tonight, but it's no fun if you already know what happens).
And I wish I was watching this game.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 8:54 AM
Czechs just scored, the game's about 3 minutes old.
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 10:06 AM
Czechs again
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 10:37 AM
to watch the replay tonight, but it's no fun if you already know what happens)
It's not over, but you might want to save your time for other things.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 10:37 AM
OKAY U.S.A YOU CAN STOP SUCKING NOW SOME OF US ARE FEELING BAD ABOUT HAVING TO ROOT FOR THE DUTCH.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 10:38 AM
The announcers are terrible too. Did everyone believe the hype? Sincerely?
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 10:48 AM
I'm rooting for the Czechs because it's more important than validating a subculture for them.
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 10:51 AM
I thought it was pretty classy the way espn2 broadcast the US national anthem and then cut to commercials.
I also thought it was classy when the goon where I was watching the first half applauded to himself when Koller was put on the stretcher.
But then the two Czech people laughing to themselves in that "I'm letting everyone know I'm laughing to myself" way about the ignorant Americans (eg offsides is called, "they don't even know what it is") were pretty cool too. I couldn't decide, though, if they were as cool as the American fans who started cheering whenever the US got the ball within 75 feet of the Czech goal, even if it was only one guy way off to the side vastly outnumbered by defenders.
And that's why I'm not watching the second half.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:04 AM
I wasn't expecting us to dominate, but it would be nice if we could put up as much of a fight as Paraguay, or say, Cote d'Ivoire did.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:04 AM
I was expecting the US not to look good - friendlies may not mean much, but that Morocco game was terrible - but not this bad.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:09 AM
It's like they're not even trying.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:19 AM
This just rots. They're just sleepwalking.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:21 AM
3 for the Czechs, great breakaway.
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:33 AM
Oh FUCK!!!
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:33 AM
arrrrrg.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:36 AM
Cute kitty. Takes away the pain.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:40 AM
Commentators: Well, if the U.S. can beat or tie Italy and Ghana, then maybe we can have four points and if the other teams all go home, we can advance.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:47 AM
How bad was it? The TV guys quit being homers.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:48 AM
Pretty bad.
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:50 AM
How bad was it? The TV guys quit being homers.
They stopped being American boneheads, or they stopped being people who succeed despite idiocy?
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:50 AM
127. Boneheads. (I have heard non-American boneheads. I sometimes think it is a requirement.)
I wish the team had fit the Simpson's definition.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 11:54 AM
Well the definition of "Homer" was just "American bonehead"; succeeding despite idiocy is, technically, pulling a Homer.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 12:01 PM
I "missed" the last 20 minutes, but the studio announcers are still talking about how "they still have the chance to show what the US team really can do." Whatever. They clearly looked better in qualifying than in anything since then.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 12:04 PM
Test!
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 12:31 PM
Test ....
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 12:34 PM
The US are a good solid team but their world ranking and their qualifying peformances are heavily slanted by the fact that they are part of Concacaf. They just don't have to face much heavy hitting opposition through qualifying.
They will get pwned by the best European and South American sides.
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 1:25 PM
And by Ghana, if this game so far is any indication.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 1:33 PM
This is a very entertaining game.
I need a windowless office connected to the rest of the world through a door which locks from the outside.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 2:26 PM
I agree; the US we saw today won't be worth much against either of these.
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 2:29 PM
WHOOO!!! Mr. B. found a live internet feed of the game!!!!
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 2:30 PM
So you're going to share it with the rest of us, right?
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 2:33 PM
Crap, how did that happen?
Posted by Standpipe Bridgeplate | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 2:41 PM
http://www.footballstreaming.info/
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 2:42 PM
Dear Common Taters,
You are broadcasting a game between Italy and Ghana. The U.S. game is over.
Thanks,
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 2:45 PM
Damn, soccer players are hot.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 2:46 PM
US will do well to tie Ghana. Ghana was outplayed but they played.
The announcers are hilarious. I don't mind a little mention of how this will affect the US team, or a comparison of a competeing player to a US player. They are broadcasting to that market. But, at the end of the game they talked about nothing else but the US.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 3:00 PM
Adidas has a part 2: the kids playing with the fantasy players. I admit these ads are fun.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 3:05 PM
I was listening to it in Italian. Which, if anything, just made the whole experience even hotter.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 3:06 PM
I was listening to it in Italian.
It's nice at first, but then you wish you could stop coming and concentrate on the game.
Posted by Standpipe Bridgeplate | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 3:10 PM
That's why I watch the games in the first place, SB.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-12-06 3:15 PM
Heehee, Mr. B. "arranged" free cable for us to reward me for finally finishing that article. Have I said he's a saint? Not only did he enable me to spend virtually all day for the last couple weeks agonizing over not writing, he actually thinks that I deserve a reward for making him do all the house and kidwork (which he did beautifully, even). Yay World Cup! Those Adidas commercials are super cute. And hot Brazilians.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 12:35 PM
I was disappointed that Switzerland didn't win, but only somewhat so, because I didn't think they would.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 12:41 PM
Aww, the players are holding the hands of little kids. Have they been doing this for every game? So sweet.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 12:54 PM
Gruesome.
Oh, the little kids are still attached.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 12:56 PM
Man, I knew you weren't supposed to use your hands, but enforcing it like that seems harsh.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 1:03 PM
150 - yes, I think so.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 1:05 PM
re: 150
Yeah, the little kids as mascots have been a fixture at all big-time games here in Europe for a while. Not just the World Cup.
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 1:25 PM
Trying to encourage the birth rate, eh?
Posted by Jackmormon | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 1:42 PM
Awww, yay little kids!
They do the same kinds of things sorta at WNBA games. It's about cultivating a new generation of players, obvs. And it makes it somehow more appealling and game-like than, say, halftime shows with Janet Jackson.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 1:54 PM
142: Like OMG the keeper for the Czech Republic (I think his name is Cech or something) is so fucking hot I almost totally lost my shit while watching the game (replay last night). And he's smart too; he speaks 5 languages.
He's my new imaginary boyfriend.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 2:03 PM
Silvana, Mr. B. and I both had a good laugh at that. I haven't seen enough of the cup yet to pick out my new boyfriend, but I'll let you know....
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 2:19 PM
Croatia could tie this.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 2:27 PM
re: 157
Czechs are teh hott. Of course, I may be biased.
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 2:35 PM
No, Czechs are the hott. At least, the ones that aren't middle-aged guys with drinking problems.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 2:38 PM
They certainly are, I say, intimidatedly.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 2:42 PM
Bemused by your link, LB.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 2:50 PM
Damn, links to particular archived comments don't seem to work. The link was supposed to be to the "LB v. Paulina Poriskova" story, part I, but you need to search for 'supermodel' to find it.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 2:52 PM
What? They work. If you do it right.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 2:55 PM
You need to ditch that Internet Explorer, honey, it ain't doing you no good. (Link to be supplied for a low low price.)
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 3:02 PM
I find it mildly depressing that whowantstosexmutumbo.com no longer exists. It just goes to show that you have to take the rough (this) with the smooth (ogged's news!).
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 3:03 PM
I don't get that link when I click on 'Link to this comment'. I'm using Internet Explorer, if that matters.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 3:03 PM
Crap. I can't find this comment by googling WONTFIX, but it seems as though IE and Safari mess up some of those links, and there's a way to fix that, but the easiest way is to use Firefox. Also, yay racoons.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 3:09 PM
Raccoons?
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 3:11 PM
Dear Comment Taters,
Yes, yes. In 1936, Nazi Germany hosted the Olympic Games and Adolph Hitler hoped that those games would prove the superiority of the Aryan race. And the stadium has been remodeled since then.
We get it already, and you can get the fuck over it any time before the end of group play now, mmmkay?
Regards,
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 3:15 PM
Argh. I blame ac.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 3:16 PM
Ok, this seems to contain instructions about how to make Safari/IE-compatible links, but I'm damned if I can find the original WONTFIX/yay raccoons discussions. (Though right-clicking in Firefox seems to make Safari-compatible links.)
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 3:32 PM
LB's link:
http://www.unfogged.com/static/comments_3315.html
Wolfson's link:
http://www.unfogged.com/static/comments_3315.html#023098
Right click "copy shortcut" for that comment in IE:
http://www.unfogged.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/unfogged/managed-mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=3315#023098
The #023098 at the end of the URL is what sends you to the correct comment and is the same for the "static' and "managed-mt" URLs. So if you really want to produce a comment link in IE that will work in IE you need to take:
That's probably too much trouble, but that's the only way I see.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-13-06 11:15 PM
I've no dog in the fight, but that red card for Ukraine was not right. I will thank Ukraine for making the US look better.
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-14-06 11:21 AM
Hey, person with my initials followed by a fraction equal to 1/20th, I had a question about a comment you left on tapped. You said that you don't put charitable deductions in your taxes. Now, I think there's a case for not minimizing your tax burden (by finding and using all relevant deductions) IFF you think the a marginal dollar going to the government will marginally increase the level of good stuff the government produces in the world and you don't want to just keep the money because it's important for you and/or your family or you think giving the extra money you keep to a charity is less helpful than giving that money to the government. But all of the above is probably not the case right now, so I was wondering what the deal was?
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 06-14-06 11:37 AM
Argentina/SerbiaMontenegro: grim. 4-0 now.
A looks good
As to S&M, I hope we've heard the last of how bad the German haircuts are.
Posted by I don't pay | Link to this comment | 06-16-06 8:38 AM
Christ. 6-0. This is a bloodbath.
Looking forward to watching CI again, even though they let me down.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 06-16-06 8:54 AM
Argentina are looking scary.
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-16-06 9:21 AM
Argentina - Holland should be a match to see.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-16-06 9:26 AM
CI is back in it.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-16-06 10:42 AM
via Crooked Timber:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhuRMiDz63w
a thing of beauty. How the Ogged-ian football unbelievers can watch that sort of thing and still not get how football can be a beautiful game...
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 12:56 AM
Ghana is ahead!
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 10:20 AM
in re 176. WD:
For me, charity is from the heart. I don't feel right for my acts to get reimbursed (in part) by the government. I don't really have a clear explanation for my stand. It is partly formed from a Catholic religious background. I do favor government subsidizing people to get them to give, if that's what it takes. So the paradox that sometimes we need coaxing to act on our own.
Perhaps, it is the idea that charity should be a private sacrifice. No praying on the street corner and no display of alms-giving. So it follows for me that I shouldn't be declaring it on my taxes. Plus, people like Kotsko can't give receipts.
That's a thought, how much does charity come to be defined as giving to government registered organizations?
I hate to write about this stuff as I figure I'll sound sanctimonious.
Meanwhile, how about that team from Ghana? They are playing a strong game. The Czechs and the Ghanans are playing such a physical game that I think a rugby game'll start any second now.
(I could do without the announcers talking about a forthcoming game and neglecting this one.)
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 10:44 AM
Ghana!
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 10:45 AM
I'm kinda torn on the Ghana/Czech R. thing. I'm sucked into the whole "yay, African teams" thing, but I do love the Czechs... But Ghana really does look like playing well so far.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 10:52 AM
Oh, and I hope that O's recent good news is consoling Chicago's Iranian community for Iran's loss to Portugal.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 10:53 AM
Although I'm sure he's still weeping over Angola tying Mexico.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 10:54 AM
a thing of beauty. How the Ogged-ian football unbelievers can watch that sort of thing and still not get how football can be a beautiful game...
IIRC, the link is to an Argentinian goal. There are teams worth watching, but there are only six or seven of them. And the end of the play looks something like a pick and roll, which you can see in any NBA game, any time during the season.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:04 AM
Stockton always did have a great backheel pass to Malone.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:07 AM
Timbot, even if he is trolling you guys, is totally right. What the Argentinian team showed is what in basketball is called "good ball movement." Yes, it's nice. It also proves my point about the massive boringness of soccer that an instance of good ball movement has the world of soccer buzzing. Almost every play in soccer is a broken play; the game is just too hard, even for the very best teams, and it's not fun to watch so much failure.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:16 AM
That is to say, you might believe that you enjoy watching soccer, but you're wrong.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:17 AM
That was an odd sequence, and unfortunate for both teams.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:24 AM
Also, ogged, some people really enjoy the feel of a good soccer game. The scoring is a bonus, although it's not goog if the teams don't even attempt to take care of it.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:26 AM
not good
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:27 AM
Soccer is more of an artistic medium than a game.
Posted by Standpipe Bridgeplate | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:36 AM
Soccer is a game for Calvanists who believe life is hard: your are satisfied with games that are boring and ugly, with relatively few rewards for effort, because you believe a just game, like a just life, is meant to be hard. If you're less inclined to believe in an angry, punative God, you choose the NBA. Or Brazilian (Argentinian, Dutch, African) soccer, where the joy of the people, and their catholic approach to religion, has overcome the original dowdiness of the game.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:38 AM
2-0!
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:39 AM
Go Ghana!
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:41 AM
200!
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:52 AM
Ghana wins!
Posted by md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 11:55 AM
Italy beats Ghana 2-0.
+Ghana beats Czech Republic 2-0.
+Czech Republic beats US 3-0.
__________________________
= Italy 7, US 0.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 12:00 PM
Yes, it could be a kind of blood bath.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 12:06 PM
When is Italy playing the US?
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 12:31 PM
I think the game starts at 2. But I am f$&*#ing working, and will have to wait to watch the replay at 5.
They should not make summer associates work on the weekends.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 12:35 PM
Sorry, 2 CST, so 3 pm EST.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 12:35 PM
The announcers really set the bar high when they pointed out that even if the US loses they still can't be eliminated today. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the US looks much better than in the last game, but to advance they pretty much will need to win both games remaining and that's a lot to ask.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 12:41 PM
I was rooting for Italy (solely based on their name) till I saw that fucking conductor gesture.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:24 PM
They should not make summer associates work on the weekends.
It means they think well of you -- most summer associates, even those who will turn out to be fine lawyers, are blindingly useless, and there's no point keeping them around on the weekends because their work product is getting tossed anyway. So take it as praise; annoying, disfunctional praise, but that's the only kind you're going to get in a law firm.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:26 PM
I was rooting for Italy because I like the way the Univision guy says "Luca Toni". Also, I hate America.
What's the conductor gesture?
Posted by Standpipe Bridgeplate | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:30 PM
The US has outsourced their scoring, apparently.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:30 PM
Italy is clearly committing acts of asymmetrical warfare against us. Damn those Italians!
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:33 PM
Just tuned in to see McBride blledding. Apparently the US has outplayed Italy´???
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:34 PM
McBride tried to head the ball with his nose, prompting the ref to give a red card to De Rossi. Makes perfect sense.
Posted by Standpipe Bridgeplate | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:36 PM
Well, I'll be damned. Between this and Ghana's upset, you could conceivably advance.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:38 PM
Nonsense. De Rossi clearly elbowed McBridge, SB. Your hatred for America is blinding you to the realitly-based community.
Anyway, we've just evened it up, and now it's ten v. ten! Wowness. This game is insane.
(213: Our goal was an Italian own goal; they seem to be wanting to self-destruct.)
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:45 PM
What was the deal with that U.S. red-card. Surely a worse call than the Italian one.
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:46 PM
Way to waste your advantage.
216: The Swedish commentators claimed you had dominated the game. They're usually reliable, afaict.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:48 PM
McBridge
Heh.
Posted by Standpipe Bridgeplate | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:49 PM
There've been a bunch of quick red cards in the tournament. My guess is the refs have been instructed to call things this way, but that just seems to mean that the bad calls have a bigger impact.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:50 PM
Hey, I'm excited, I can't type.
That U.S. red card was a bit wonky; otoh, it did look on replay like he had his cleats up.
Re. dominating the game, my amateur part-time soccer fan thoughts are that we've certainly been attacking aggressively, and playing way, way better than I expected.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:52 PM
221: The announcers on ABC seem to agree.
Posted by pdf23ds | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:52 PM
213,8: The US was in control early on, but not looking that dangerous when it came time to shoot. Italy hadn't had many chances, but looked more likely to score when they got close to goal. The own goal was very helpful, obviously.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:53 PM
They should not make summer associates work on the weekends.
What LizardBreath said. Plus, you may as well begin to get a sense for what life will be like as a big-firm lawyer, at least when you are starting out. Me, I'm a small firm lawyer now, so I'm commenting from home. But I had to do what you are doing before I could do what I am doing.
Posted by Idealist | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:54 PM
SB misses the elbow to the face and the conductor gesture--does this explain why s/he likes soccer so much: s/he never actually watches?
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:56 PM
No.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 1:59 PM
Didn't we already have this summers working weekends talk?
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:04 PM
Your job for today is to note the differences between the two talks, by hand.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:05 PM
This game is fucking insane.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:05 PM
Fewer players should mean more attack, though 9 against 9 would be more fair.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:08 PM
Interesting game. A shame I must work now.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:11 PM
Fuck work! Call in sick.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:11 PM
Does the offsides rule exist solely to make the game worse?
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:12 PM
the conductor gesture
Enlighten an ignorant soul. I have no idea what this refers to.
Posted by Standpipe Bridgeplate | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:13 PM
Your job for today is to note the differences between the two talks, by hand.
In fact, we want a memo on it. By Sunday afternoon at 2. Be sure to find another summer to proofread and cite check it. Also, have a paralegal print out all of the comments cited and arrange them chronologically in a tabbed, indexed binder. Make sure you check the binder before it goes to duplicating. Oh, and have a copy sent to me at home--use a car service to get it there.
Posted by Idealist | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:14 PM
The offside rule stops teams just making some big huge guy stand next to the goal keeper and hoover up the long balls -- it's there to make the game interesting.
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:16 PM
I'd explain, SB, but you've laughed at me twice today. So, suffer.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:17 PM
234: After the goal, Diwhatever made a hand gesture on the sideline like conducter using his baton.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:17 PM
Tim, you're evil.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:18 PM
But why wouldn't the other team leave a guy up just to mark the big guy? Seems like it would space the field and make more room for movement overall.
This is assuming offsides still applies w/in the penalty area, which is a suggestion I heard somewhere (probably during a tv broadcast).
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:19 PM
The offside rule stops teams just making some big huge guy stand next to the goal keeper and hoover up the long balls -- it's there to make the game interesting.
FIFA might want to recalibrate its sense of "interesting."
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:19 PM
240 to 236. Basketball doesn't have an offsides, but you don't see the center spend the whole game around the offensive basket.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:20 PM
Aww.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:22 PM
Oh for fuck's sake, basketball is not soccer. The floor is way smaller, for one thing.
And the players are way better looking.
And W... T....F...???
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:22 PM
Oh, crap, I see. Damn. Ironic we were just talking about that.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:23 PM
FIFA might want to recalibrate its sense of "interesting."
So very true.
Posted by Idealist | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:24 PM
B:
We know you're uncomfortable with black folk. Let it go.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:24 PM
Saying soccer is not basketball so don't look at basketball's rules is like saying the US is not the rest of the world so don't look at international law. Why do you hate human rights, B?
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:25 PM
2 points
re: 191 - gets it totally wrong. The whole point is that it has to be hard. I like watching baskteball but the fact is that those kinds of flowing movements i) do happen a lot in basketball and ii) this is a bad rather than good thing. It devalues the whole thing -- when moments of beauty are really hard to conjure up, they're worth more.
Also, that goal you guys just had ruled offside, the refs decision was totally harsh.
Posted by Matt McGrattan | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:26 PM
It's not that I'm uncomfortable with black ppl, it's that I'm very comfortable with South Americans.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:26 PM
The ref in this game is just out of his mind. Although that yellow card was called for.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:28 PM
What about hockey's offsides? I prefer that rule too.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 06-17-06 2:28 PM
I have to admit to not knowing a thing about hockey, just on general principles.
Posted by