On Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:24:22 +0200, Nico wrote:

Donald Weber krabde zich op het hoofd en verklaarde te 23-6-2010:

I know this will be jumped on, but...... "awful soccer" I mean how could you
possibly tell? That is, in such a game as this one. [snip]

Haha, it is awful soccer when the ball is played around and around and
around... AND no serious goal attempts are made. Then everyone gets
bored and complaining.

But then again, maybe it is a difference of culture? I don't like to
watch baseball (ouch!) or American Football (double ouch!), nor do I
amuse myself by watching an icehockeygame, so I don't bother and don't
watch it ;-)

I think you might be right about the cultural difference. I
remember back when I was in high school, 30 or so years ago, being
told that it was going to be the next big thing in American sports.

I've tried watching--I really have (not just the current World Cup).
I just can't get into it, which is odd, because I enjoy ice hockey,
and there are some similarities.

I know it's not just a "not invented here" bias--I've been known to
get up at 4AM on a Sunday to watch an F1 race.

I can certainly appreciate the skill it takes to play at that
level--how somebody does a bicycle kick and not break their neck on
the landing is beyond me.

Maybe there's a lot of stuff going on away from the ball that would
allow me to enjoy it if I saw it in person. Baseball is a lot like
that--what you can see if you attend a game is about 10X what you see
on TV.

No matter what, the USA team hold their own at SOCCER at this world
championship. And the people who like the game are amazed and truly
delighted how the USA team did just that. Mainly because soccer is not
a 'great sport' in the USA like baseball or American football and the
USA are relatively 'newcomers' to this game. And so, the appearence of
Team USA at a world championship soccer should be something to be proud
of, because teams of the whole world have been competing to just be
there.

Looking back at our history, about half the time we get in, we exit
after the first round (which is about average, since the first round
cuts the field in half). Since there isn't the kind of following in
the US that there is in other countries, once we're out, it's hard to
get us interested in South Korea vs. Uraguay :-)

I'm proud the Dutch team is there, in spite of the play they have shown
the first two games they we're engaged in.

You got through the first round--now you just need to roll over
Cameroon, and not get anybody hurt*.

*Which brings up a question--once a baseball or American football
team has clinched a playoff spot, it's common to rest the starters so
that they'll be fresh for the playoffs, and most importantly, not get
hurt. Would the Dutch team (or any team that knows it's going to
advance) do that?

take care,
Scott