FIFA World Cup 2014

[Yoki_IsTheName]

That header off the post probably made it worse for Switzerland.

Ughh so close.

[D.o.s.]

That rebound was astoundingly unlucky.

[Casperian]

Mach's gut, Ottmar.

Football will be worse off without you.

[D.o.s.]

Anyone else find the attempts to Americanize/UnAmericanize soccer tired yet?

[Casperian]

Anyone else find the attempts to Americanize/UnAmericanize soccer tired yet?

What exactly do you mean? Ann Coulter?

[KGs Knee]

Anyone else find the attempts to Americanize/UnAmericanize soccer tired yet?

I'm confused by this.  Not sure what the inference here is.

[D.o.s.]

There's the Coulter furor, but there's also the ESPN promo spots
"THESE MEN ARE SOLDIERS AND FIREMEN AND 'MURICA" and so on. That was actually what prompted the post -- I spend very little time thinking about Ann Coulter.

Its a sport. People play it. socio-political discourse need not apply.

[fairweatherfan]

I've been following the World Cup since 94, and every single time there's the "THIS TIME AMERICA WILL TRULY EMBRACE SOCCER!" furor.  Then every single time people more or less immediately go back to playing quite a bit of soccer but not watching or attending much of it.  It's just an easy angle, which is why they run with it.

[D.o.s.]

Oh, yeah, that's always omnipresent. 

I suspect its just more exhausting this time around because social media is even more ingrained in the culture, so its harder to duck.

[D.o.s.]

There it is again -- the Thorogood/Wright bit. Straight out of the NFL's marketing playbook.

edit: and I say that as someone who enjoys both kinds of football, as well as George Thorogood. So crass (incidentally another great band)

[KGs Knee]

Ok, now I get it.  I do wish they would just get on with the game.

But that stuff (marketing) doesn't bother me.  I don't pay attention to it, but understand it.  They have to "sell" the game.  That's how it's done, play to the heartstrings.

[Casperian]

Well, it's undeniable that the sport, and the understanding of it, is growing with every World Cup. The US has the most competitive sports market in the world (and the most competitive TV market, too), so it's not surprising that soccer's growth in the US will take some time.

20 years ago, people didn't believe the sport would ever become big in Japan, with their love for sumo, boxing or wrestling. Nowadays, it's breaking all kinds of TV records, and japanese players are playing in the Champions League.

Anyway, I agree that the whole political component is unnecessary and tiresome. If you enjoy the sport, or the event, watch it. If you don't, watch something else.

[D.o.s.]

great article on the subject for anyone who cares to read it. Roth does good work:
http://www.sbnation.com/2014/6/27/5844602/world-cup-grumps-ann-coulter-dan-shaughnessy


Anyway,

Here's hoping the USMNT can redeem my day -- Sharapova, Nadal, and the Williams sisters all got bounced from Wimbledon today, and Argentina almost added to the misery.

[Casperian]

great article on the subject for anyone who cares to read it. Roth does good work:
http://www.sbnation.com/2014/6/27/5844602/world-cup-grumps-ann-coulter-dan-shaughnessy

Yeah, it's quite good. In the end, it's nation-making. Rethorics which are thousands of years old to create a sense of community. I mean, is a country really a country if the people don't feel like they're in it together? If there's no sense of community and shared culture, it's just people crammed together inside some arbitrary borders. Dualism, Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis etc, even organized Religion to some degree, it's there to create an "us-vs-them" mentality, to unite a certain group of people against a common enemy. Having a common enemy is perceived to be far more effective (and simpler!) at unifying people than having a common goal. (And let's not forget, without a nation, there's no government, and the first priority for any government is to be needed).

Btw, I think soccer, as the world's biggest sport, is playing a role in all this. All this "us-vs-them" is not only creating a nation, it's also creating animosity, stereotypes, and anger towards the "enemy", depending on what kind of character you are. Throughout the history of mankind, people fought wars over their misconceptions of their "enemies". Nowadays, soccer (and professional sports in general) is functioning as some kind of valve for people who need it to release these kind of emotions. There's a line of thinking that "soccer is a substitute for war without lethal consequences", and personally, I can agree with that.

In my opinion, that's a pretty good way for smart people to accept why some of their fellow men try to use this whole sport thingy for socio-political reasons.

[D.o.s.]

Absolutely.


Also, holy crap this game is stressful. US looks like the underdogs they are.