Oh well for once perhaps I'm in the majority. Thats unusual.

I had to turn the sound down to watch the Germany vs Australia game yesterday. Maybe they need some better sound dampening microphones or something. I really like soccer, but that was/is annoying as hell. Certainly not a plus and certainly not gonna help gain fans.

My beef with the horns is that they drown out the support from individual teams.
Yes I know it is South Africa's World Cup, but it's still the WORLD CUP.
There were Ghanians and Nigerians on the Five Live phone in this morning, complaining about their drumming being downed out. Our England band couldn't be heard (although 90 minutes of the Great Escape theme can also be wearing). And many teams have their own chants and songs. Also there is no noticeable noise difference when a team scores. It's a shame.

By all means add local colour when the home team is playing. But those watching at home really want to feel connected to the supporters watching live. Not listen to an insectoid drone the whole time.

Of course I know it is the fans THERE who are creating it. I just wish they wouldn't.

You should try attending a mexico v US game where the only break in the sound is when they all yell "PUTA" and laugh at eachother like they just created the world's greatest joke.

Horns suck. Drums suck. Whistles suck. Use your voices to support your team.

It isn't just soccer games. At my high school graduation there were three separate (Mexican) families blowing air horns for their own children as well as all their children's friends. It was fucking annoying as all hell.

Add those stupid thunder sticks to those as well. I will admit to enjoying the drums at a Colombia v Nigeria game years ago... of course I used to drink and Colombians are generous.

especially with their waffle dust.

Suarez is a little bitch.

Suarez is HUGE bitch. Typical uruguayan style though. Combined with his firsthalf blatant dive in the box he should be off. Dumb play by Khune but I feel for the guy.

Turns out Steve Cherundolo is a cousin of my old high school coach... cool.

USA! USA! USA! Down 2-0 at the half, presses on to draw 2-2 against Slovenia. And a disallowed goal, blatant Slovak fouling followed by a flurry of yellow cards...

Is this the thing where the Monkey tries to kick the ball 5,000 meters?

Damn you UT!

A spoiler alert woulda been nice. I WAS gonna watch that match.

Piss poor performance (England)
Looked like a kick about in a park.

Am now thoroughly depressed.

Just got home and saw the score. Well i'm glad I didn't leave the pool early to come home and watch. 0-0 against Algeria? Really? Ugh. The life of an England supporter is never easy.

Spoiler alert? Don't be silly -this is a discussion about the tournament, of course people are going to post results as soon as they happen. or maybe you were being intentionally silly for the purposes of shits and grins?

Honestly, if a disciplinarian like Capello can't get your lot to perform as a team then I don't think anyone can. Golden generation my ass more like pile of overrated selfish players.

Switzerland over Spain!
Serbia over Germany! That ref must work for hallmark, he gives out so many cards.
New Zealand with a goal and a point! Which is more than I can say for Australia so far. :( Do or die for us tonight, against Ghana.

Yeh hadn't thought of it that way - watched it anyway.

I'm not going to watch the England game anyway. Had planned to, but frankly can think of better things to do with the time....

My bro came out of it smiling at least.
He had £5 on 0-0 at 10 to 1.

He said he'd rather have lost though. I offered to take the money off his hands to assuage the guilt, but he politely declined.

Nice payday for your Bro. This tourney is not following the script.

Well, he also bet £5 on England winning 3-1 (11 to 1).
Said he was trying to balance the score he wanted with the one he feared.

I wonder how much of this is to do with the ball?
England played far better in the qualifiers and friendlies...
And it's not just England - shock results for France, for Spain etc

I'm watching some matches OnDemand right now, trying to work up the energy to go to the supermarket. I found myself wondering ... Are Americans not advised to sing our words when God Save the Queen is played at the beginning of the game? Sure sounded like people might be doing that ...

I'm pretty sure I heard fans singing the Americanized version before the Us vs Them match.

Mutter grumble bitch moan gripe carp whinge sulk sulk sulk.

* No wonder ITV's pundits were so critical of England - the station had lined up some great adverts to show just as our first goal went in.

* The new Shrek film is very disappointing. Shrek did nothing for 90 minutes and then had a go at the audience for booing during the credits.

* The FA have launched an inquiry to find out how a fan found his way into the dressing room. And another enquiry into how Aaron Lennon found his way into the dressing room.


* Fabio Capello told Wayne Rooney to have a long look at himself in the mirror. Like that's going to improve his confidence.

* I can't believe we only managed a draw against a poor team we should easily have beaten. I'm ashamed to call myself Algerian.

* Police have released the name of the angry bloke who stormed into the England dressing room and subjected Fabio Capello and the players to a stream of foul-mouthed abuse. It's Wayne Rooney.

* The England team went out to visit an orphanage in Cape Town on Saturday morning. "It's good to put a smile on the faces of people with no hope, constantly struggling and facing the impossible," said Jamal Umboto, aged 6.

* Handy that Blackpool are in the Premier League this season. It's the only chance these England players will get at going in an open-top bus.

* In honour of England's display against Algeria, we're unveiling a new national flag. It's the same design as before but without the red cross.

* That wasn't vuvuzelas, that was the sound of grass snoring.

Maybe soccer players just not really conversant with the words of whatever national anthem is being played (including their own). Neither the Japanese team nor the Dutch team looked as if they knew their own national anthems, but some of the people in the stands obviously really knew their stuff and were clearly enthusiastic about it.

As far as I know all the players from Japan and Netherlands are from those countries so they should know the words. Quite a few of the countries have adopted players so that would be a bit more understandable.

A (now fairly lame) favourite (Australian) comedy segment is for comedians to imitate Australian Olympic teams singing the national anthem. Usually they can confidently sing the first line and the last line of the first verse and the chorus and that's it.

Portugal smash seven goals past North Korea in World Cup rout.

OUCH! ! !

How about the yellow card for a hand ball in the penalty area, that actually hit the American in the face?

Are all those guys drama queens? they get a little trip or tap to the face and they fall on the ground squirming around in pain. What comedy. The dude who got carried off on a stretcher was totally acting.

Better yet, the US at least made it to the next round. I don't think they will much past that point.

huh? That' s not a given

Yea, I guess I am jumping the gun there a bit. Well a guy can hope.;)

A lot, I hope -sorry, but we need to push you guys down to get through. Maybe if you didn't charge so much for citizenship I'd feel differently ;) :lol:

Well I'm grateful someone has done worse than Australia. :D

New Zealand tied with Italy, now have TWO POINTS. Damn, still ahead of us. :(


I watched Portugal Vs North Korea. Wow. I didn't see much diving in that game, but after about 4-0 the Portugese relaxed and just started having fun, it was great to watch. According to the TV news, that was the first world cup game ever to be broadcast live in North Korea. :lol2: ouchies.

There has been some indifferent refereeing and terrible diving. Kaka (Brazil) was red carded after an Ivory Coast player ran into him (Kaka was stationary), bumped his midriff, and dived backwards clutching his head. Tosser should be suspended for a game, at least, IMHO. I cannot see why the USA's 3rd goal was disallowed.

Serious point. A lot of good teams are performing below what is expected of them. Lesser teams are seizing lucky breaks and stealing games. Why?

This is an effect that could be caused some kind of randomising device in the game. Stong teams are weakened, weak teams get lucky.

I blame the ball. It has unusual aerodynamic properties. As well as being faster and curvier, it swerves and dips/soars at random. It is harder for players to aim long passes or shots. This interferes with the skill of the best, while having less impact on the skill of the less skilled. This could explain the strange results we are seeing.

The Portugal/North Korea game was the first real drubbing we have seen. Portugal had the sort of control an excellent team ought to have. The ball was wet. The first half was drizzly and the ground quite wet throughout. I guess this affected the ball - maybe just by providing a smoothing layer that reduced the effect of the texture of the surface of the ball - and allowed for more skilled play.

Has anyone else seen any wet games? How was the skill level?
Lookout, did you say you've played with these balls? What are your thoughts? Did you play with wet balls?

:lol: That was good. Sorry, I usually support my UK Brethern but not this time.

:eek: :D

Hey anyway, did you hear the story about the NK fans being hired actors from China? that was crazy.

On the US goal: As a rugby union ref I can say that the replay did show quite a number of fouls by both teams at the start of the run for the kick on the third goal for the US. Did I want it to count, yes absolutely, but should it have counted because the ref saw penalties that others did not see?, hard to say. It is not an easy job. Overall I think the ref in that game was marginal I would give him a C+ or B- if I left out my bias on wanting the third score to count.

But given that, the refs performance overall in the Cup I think has been pretty poor. Lots of penalties for silly contrived infractions. Tossers infuse this sport. The guy getting carried off on a stretcher for a bump on his ankle? please. A few refs have had stand up performances but they are in the minority. Yesterday's game with Spain and Honduras was fantastic. The ref ignored the acting and marginal stuff and called the game in the spirit of the sport. It should be interesting to see it progress.

Zen did you srsly ask L123 if he played with wet balls? :eek:

Oh grow up you two.



:lol:

So the SA defender goes for a header and gets a RED Card? WTF?

Merc- the buildup to the 3rd goal was the norm for that game. If it wasn't a goal it should have been a PK. The ref screwed the pooch on that one. It's a hard job and he proved he was not up to the task. The US was robbed. If this had happened to another country *coughIrelandcough* there would be mass hysteria and demands for justice. It is over and time to move on. We still have a chance of going through. The US has to win and England not win. We should order some dodgy pies and lasagnas for the england squad.

Anyway, Zen... No...the balls I played with were dry. I personally do not like Adidas balls from the last few generations so this was no different. It is light and has a lot of bounce. Hard strikes gathered...and lost speed and power quickly. The swerves and dips have a lot to do with the weight and texture. It sucks but all the teams in the tournament had the balls for months before they got to SA. Pro footballers should have been familiar with it. In fact, watch the Germans. They seem quite comfortable with it. Of course the budesliga played with that ball all season.

To bad SA didn't advance. I wanted them to go at least to the next round, but I guess Mexico really was the better team. France looked like doodoo.

France went on strike from training before the match.

laff. Egotists self destructing. Old adage about champion team and team of champions.

Meanwhile, the Italians had a nap on the pitch, the English are being searched for weapons at security, the Japanese are commuting from Nairobi, and the New Zealanders are assessing the field as pasture...

Australia plays Serbia in eight hours time. We need to win, and have Ghana beat Germany, to get through. Or if we just really thrash Serbia I think the Germany game might not matter so much.

hoo-yah.

(so far)

and

MOAR!

US scores in the 91st minute!

Despite the refs' best efforts the US are through to the next round!!!!!

Game winning goals ruled out in 2 separate games and a stone cold PK denied, but the US still manage to pull of the win in the 91st minute! WOOOHOHOHOHOOOOOO!

It really is too bad, but in all honesty they should have done that two years ago. Domenech is possibly the worst international coach in the history of coaches. He has single handedly destroyed that team. Top drawer players have retired rather than play for him.

Even in this tournament when trailing with minutes left and needing goals he has left his best players sitting on the bench. The players have not done themselves any PR favors but the blame lies with the coach and the FFF.

Great News! I had to watch the ticker on-line. Amazing, the 91st minute.

When does the next round brackets get finalized so we know who we are up against? Will be have to play England again.

The US will play whoever finishes second in 'Group D' later today - that could still be any one of Germany, Ghana, Serbia or Australia.

Hope for an unexpected outcome so that Ghana or Australia goes through. Here we go.

That would be really interesting here on the cellar if Australia got through.

So it's USA to play Ghana in the next round with the winner of that meeting either Uruguay or South Korea in the quarter-finals.

... or not.

One World Cup and Two World Wars!
C'mon England!

IN GER LAND

It looks like the US has an opportunity here.

Ach, that 4-0 thumping by Germany cost us. Serbia, who beat Germany, don't go through. I'm glad to see Ghana in, and the USA too.
Of those teams which made the last 16 last time, where are they now?

Well, unless something seriously changes in the next 15 minutes, neither of the teams in the final in 06 will even make it out of the group stage this year.

I'm glad we'll face Ghana rather than Germany, but it will be no walk in the park. They are a big strong team who attack with speed. While they aren't the most technical of teams they are exactly what the US struggles with.

Edit: Fuck the Italians then then fuck em with a rusty hacksaw just for good measure. cheating cunts one and all.