The World Cup 2010 Thread

[Drygioni]

Poor Australia. Germany look a proper prospect though, just the right mix of young attacking talent looking to prove themselves (Ozil) and old heads who've been there and done it. The fact that Podolski has the caps and goals he does at the age of 24 is incredible. Big game player.

Really looking forward to Netherlands Denmark. Just love the Dutch, hope they can show some talent.

On my fantasy team so far:

Casillas NP, Maicon NP, Lahm got a tasty 8 points for his assist+clean sheet today, Johnson got the 1 for the USA game, Lichsteiner NP

Sneijder I'm hoping gets some tasty points tomorrow. Ozil got 3 for his assist today, Xavi NP

Rooney got a poor 1 point, Van Persie and Robinho NP

[Asherdan]

Thanks for that, miles. It is good to know, here in the purple and gold heart of Laker-Land, that someone else wants them to fail as hard as I do.

Last nights loss tasted like mint.

[robot_god]

I'm basically shocked by every result in the last 24 hours.

[Drygioni]

Quite happy for Japan. I love a good backs-to-the-wall defensive job, Cameroon didn't really deserve to lose but neither did they deserve to win. Bar hitting the post, at no point in the match did I will the ball to go in for them, they didn't put the effort in and were tactically poor. Japan are boring as anything but fair play to them I say

Bit disappointed with the Nederlanders. Probably deserved something but Sneijder, Van Persie and especially Van der Vaart were pretty disappointing for much of the game. Denmark look alright... Bendtner's a decent lad to have up-top, not much creativity in that midfield but Agger and Kjaers forward runs are fun. Reckon it'll be them two to progress but who knows?

Italy really stepped it up after conceding but were still pretty underwhelming throughout, and Paraguay are South American hatchet-men at their most stereotypical. Some really decent players but not utilised pleasantly. Think they just about deserved that draw though, some of the defending was top class.

Been a lack of goals so far, here's hoping Spain and Brazil smash some in and the 2nd round of games is a belter. Mid to Long range shooting and free kicks have been especially poor so far, wonder if the ball really is causing problems?

[robot_god]

The whole ball thing is total nonsense, it has the capability of screwballing/knuckleballing on a free kick from 30m, but it doesn't affect anything else.  Everyone is just nervous and putting too much on their touches.  Only Germany [I didn't see S. Korea] looked comfortable on the pitch at all.

Vuvuzela distraction is a much better excuse than 'bad ball.'

[Arachno-capitalist]

The ball is physically different such that it does unique maneuvers. As an American who likes when shit happens, I approve of this goaltender avoiding technology. That said, clearly no one is gaining an advantage when all teams are playing with the same ball.
Also F the vuvuzela.

[Drygioni]

Yeah, don't really think it's owt to do with the ball, they're all professionals, all have to use it, shouldn't affect anything. Having played with it myself though it has definitely got a different feel on a, say, 10 yard pass. It's hard to tell how much of this is me thinking 'this is going act differently' and I subconsciously play it differently though. Also, if you twat it it does tend to act in an interesting manner. The main problem I found was the bounce is slightly 'off'. Bounces higher and further, screws up the muscle memory.

Like I said though, poor excuse for the world's best footballers to use.

The vuvuzelas get on my tits slightly. Carragher came out and said they're not too much of an issue when you're playing but for a lazy TV viewer like myself I don't really get the individual atmosphere of the games. It's just RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, no variation when a goal is scored, card awarded etc.

[littlefallsmets]

What's the big deal?

Minor league baseball as I grew up understanding it was essentially an exercise in using noisemakers very similar to that.

Blowing big plastic horns and chasing down foul balls. That was the whole POINT of being a kid at a NY-Penn League game.

It is weird to me that they're treating this like a new thing.

[Arachno-capitalist]

I wouldn't even know how to watch a minor league baseball game on television. The World Cup, however, can only be watched on television as far as Im concerned and it is basically impossible to enjoy at any volume with a hive of fuck*ng wasps blaring into every microphone.

[miles]

Yeah plus with thousands and thousands more people doing it, fuck*ng constantly, and as Judy pointed out, with no variation at all. I've learned to kind of tune it out, but it's annoying.

[CortJstr]

What's the big deal?

Minor league baseball as I grew up understanding it was essentially an exercise in using noisemakers very similar to that.

Blowing big plastic horns and chasing down foul balls. That was the whole POINT of being a kid at a NY-Penn League game.

It is weird to me that they're treating this like a new thing.

There are two problems: It's not a typical soccer thing like singing or smoke bombs and like Judy said it doesn't vary with the action. It's just a constant drone. I mean, in basketball people don't wave those thunderstick things around when their own team is shooting a free throw, right?

[Carlos del Vaca]

Who LIKES the vuvuzelas, then?  I've seen a good dozen or so columns about people who hate them, but I have yet to read anyone in any format saying "Vuvuzelas are fuck*ng AWESOME and I blow mine all game long."

[miles]

South Africans, apparently.

You either love them or you hate them. We in South Africa love them.

[littlefallsmets]

Fair enough that I've never seen them extensively at a televised event and I suppose I've only been to events where a few hundred people were using them at ballgames or hockey games with a few thousand people in attendance but... I mean... it doesn't seem like it'd be any more or less annoying than thundersticks or cowbells or anything like that. Football games in the Carrier Dome got deafening just from 40,000 jingling their keys.

I dunno. I guess I think of any large sporting event as being necessarily deafening. Isn't that part of the charm of a truly raucous and devoted fanbase?

Maybe we're too used to corporate American sporting events where all the good seats are taken up by non-fans trying to impress business contacts?

[miles]

Maybe we're too used to corporate American sporting events where all the good seats are taken up by non-fans trying to impress business contacts?

Well, quoting the article I cited above:

In France, there's big, big noise about it. Viewers are completely mad by it ... it's very difficult to hear this permanent noise.

But what do the French know?