the teams
the teams
ok everybody say what they like about their favorite teams. 22 days 17 hours to kickoff. i like my home team but particularly enjoy japan, trinidad/tobago, brazil, and whatnot. with stress on whatnot. anybody willing to wager, i say brazil wins the finals, boring person that i am.
hq's
overworked and overpaid that i am, i haven't even done the obligatory trips to the local team headquarters.
brazil is staying in königstein, a nice castle town about a half hour from here. they say the team's hotel (and vincinities thereof) is a place of virgil for the nicest brazilian girls. i will get there sooner or later for sure. mind you, if ole horndog mc were here that would probably have been the first place on our itinerary.
go to königstein, turn left and drive another 50 clicks, and you arrive in nauheim, which is where the saudi team ist staying. do the saudies even play footie? i thought they had guest workers for every bit of manual labor... do they kiss each other when they goal? do they ever goal? ok ok i'll cut the stupid discriminatory humor, suffice to say some saudi princes have booked two whole stories of the best hotel in town and their rollses are backing up traffic for a quarter mile -- so much for being overworked and overpaid, as it were.
brazil is staying in königstein, a nice castle town about a half hour from here. they say the team's hotel (and vincinities thereof) is a place of virgil for the nicest brazilian girls. i will get there sooner or later for sure. mind you, if ole horndog mc were here that would probably have been the first place on our itinerary.
go to königstein, turn left and drive another 50 clicks, and you arrive in nauheim, which is where the saudi team ist staying. do the saudies even play footie? i thought they had guest workers for every bit of manual labor... do they kiss each other when they goal? do they ever goal? ok ok i'll cut the stupid discriminatory humor, suffice to say some saudi princes have booked two whole stories of the best hotel in town and their rollses are backing up traffic for a quarter mile -- so much for being overworked and overpaid, as it were.
one of my students is from mexico. i bought him a soccer ball for field day. it was just for him because he asked me to come to his soccer games earlier this year. i went and
that's the team i usually pull for, his.
but he said he's pissed that mexico did not do well the last time he watched, and he's not watching this year. he said if he had to pick someone it'd be brazil. i said okay then. people from brazil are supposedly very beautiful. enjoy your soccer ball.
i'm enjoying these posts. it's nice to hear from you. there was this big article in national geographic purposely from the perspective of an american on soccer. it was funny. i'm enjoying yours more though.
that's sad that you're busy and not able to properly enjoy writing about this. good luck with your job.
(i personally enjoy being underpaid and underworked. i work my butt off for about 8 months total then i'm like, school's out for summer! school's out forever!! tomorrow's my last day for this year. i can not imagine not having that feeling of freedom every year. that feeling of resolution like, "it's finished" and then lots and lots of time to be underworked.
last year i could not get away; this year i'm going to thoroughly enjoy it. i wish all other adults got a summer break too. it's fun.)
that's the team i usually pull for, his.
but he said he's pissed that mexico did not do well the last time he watched, and he's not watching this year. he said if he had to pick someone it'd be brazil. i said okay then. people from brazil are supposedly very beautiful. enjoy your soccer ball.
i'm enjoying these posts. it's nice to hear from you. there was this big article in national geographic purposely from the perspective of an american on soccer. it was funny. i'm enjoying yours more though.
that's sad that you're busy and not able to properly enjoy writing about this. good luck with your job.
(i personally enjoy being underpaid and underworked. i work my butt off for about 8 months total then i'm like, school's out for summer! school's out forever!! tomorrow's my last day for this year. i can not imagine not having that feeling of freedom every year. that feeling of resolution like, "it's finished" and then lots and lots of time to be underworked.
last year i could not get away; this year i'm going to thoroughly enjoy it. i wish all other adults got a summer break too. it's fun.)i won't be writing much about the individual games. i don't have the time and i don't have the ability. for those of you who wnt to know what is going on, let me steer you to the excellent guardian/observer football blog at
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/worldcup06/index.html
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/worldcup06/index.html
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Tommy Martyn
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teams you don't want to play
In order
Argentina
Brazil
Spain
Germany
Portugal/Netherlands
All the others.
Argentina
Brazil
Spain
Germany
Portugal/Netherlands
All the others.
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Tommy Martyn
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Football, like factory records, is not about fun Marky.
Very famously, Bill Shankly, (who was the manager of Liverpool) is endlessly quoted as saying, "Some people think football's a matter of life and death. It's not. It's much more important than that."
I really have no idea who is going to win this thing. Mexico did enough against Argentina to get a draw. Up till then I thought Argentina were magic. I have noticed that the big name players -by which I mean the guys who play for the elite clubs that challenge for the league and cup in their home nations alongside the champions league and natiional duties - are looking shagged out. Better to have a decent player who is coming off a 40 game season than a superstar coming off a 64 game season. I think this has had a lot to do with explaining why the "lesser" teams in this tournament have not been getting run over. (Aside from the Argentina v Serbia/Montenegro game)
The English press is all about how Wayne Rooney is looking so fresh. Well, thanks to his broken foot, he had all of May off. Some of the other superstars should have done likewise. Riquelme (sp?) looked knackered yesterday. Ronaldinho has been a 15 watt bulb so far. It's not a co-incidence that they had really long club seasons.
Very famously, Bill Shankly, (who was the manager of Liverpool) is endlessly quoted as saying, "Some people think football's a matter of life and death. It's not. It's much more important than that."
I really have no idea who is going to win this thing. Mexico did enough against Argentina to get a draw. Up till then I thought Argentina were magic. I have noticed that the big name players -by which I mean the guys who play for the elite clubs that challenge for the league and cup in their home nations alongside the champions league and natiional duties - are looking shagged out. Better to have a decent player who is coming off a 40 game season than a superstar coming off a 64 game season. I think this has had a lot to do with explaining why the "lesser" teams in this tournament have not been getting run over. (Aside from the Argentina v Serbia/Montenegro game)
The English press is all about how Wayne Rooney is looking so fresh. Well, thanks to his broken foot, he had all of May off. Some of the other superstars should have done likewise. Riquelme (sp?) looked knackered yesterday. Ronaldinho has been a 15 watt bulb so far. It's not a co-incidence that they had really long club seasons.
you have a point, tony. some teams look awfully beaten down already.
the question to me however is this. the all-star teams full of international prima donnas, such as brazil: were they just being lazy during the qualifying round, so will they get up to form in the kickouts? or have guys such as beckham and ronaldho already shot their wad for this season?
the question to me however is this. the all-star teams full of international prima donnas, such as brazil: were they just being lazy during the qualifying round, so will they get up to form in the kickouts? or have guys such as beckham and ronaldho already shot their wad for this season?
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Tommy Martyn
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Admittedly I am not a football fan although I have been out with friends watching most of the games so far. Here are my comments. Take them with a grain of salt:
The Italian team are like a bunch of whiny little girls at the Mall. I can't wait until someone beats them. The sooner the better. Send them packing back to spaghetti-land.
The USA should be asked not to come back ever the way they played. They looked like they didn't know what they were doing out there.
Australia was fucking robbed. They were a great team to watch and went out one round too soon.
Watching Germany play Sweden was like watching a group of men smack around naughty 12 year old boys. They should get detention for that. Somebody please give Swedish coach Lars Lagerback his lager back. His decision to pull the defense against Germany was not a wise one.
Teams too boring to watch: Ukraine, Holland, France, Switzerland. Pass the spliff, turn off the Swedish announcers, and turn up the raggae. No one cares who wins these games.
Brazil is easily the most fun team to watch, but
Argentina doesn't impress me. I think anyone left but Italy could beat them.
I am rooting for England although Brazil will probably win. Germany can beat anyone though with the home field advantage.
England. Too bad they ran out of magic spray for Michael Owen. That was bad timing. They should have borrowed some from the Italians. And I don't get why so many football people all seem to hate Beckham. Why? Sure he looks like a girl and he is overrated but when you hear people talk so bad about him it really makes you wonder if people are player-hating on him. The people I hear in pubs all chant that he is gay whenever he gets the ball. He seems to get the job done pretty well. People seem to like Rooney because he looks like a fire hydrant like the rest of England, but he hasn't done anything yet so far. Gerrard is the hero of this team and must carry everyone. He has really impressed me so far. Go England!
The Italian team are like a bunch of whiny little girls at the Mall. I can't wait until someone beats them. The sooner the better. Send them packing back to spaghetti-land.
The USA should be asked not to come back ever the way they played. They looked like they didn't know what they were doing out there.
Australia was fucking robbed. They were a great team to watch and went out one round too soon.
Watching Germany play Sweden was like watching a group of men smack around naughty 12 year old boys. They should get detention for that. Somebody please give Swedish coach Lars Lagerback his lager back. His decision to pull the defense against Germany was not a wise one.
Teams too boring to watch: Ukraine, Holland, France, Switzerland. Pass the spliff, turn off the Swedish announcers, and turn up the raggae. No one cares who wins these games.
Brazil is easily the most fun team to watch, but
Argentina doesn't impress me. I think anyone left but Italy could beat them.
I am rooting for England although Brazil will probably win. Germany can beat anyone though with the home field advantage.
England. Too bad they ran out of magic spray for Michael Owen. That was bad timing. They should have borrowed some from the Italians. And I don't get why so many football people all seem to hate Beckham. Why? Sure he looks like a girl and he is overrated but when you hear people talk so bad about him it really makes you wonder if people are player-hating on him. The people I hear in pubs all chant that he is gay whenever he gets the ball. He seems to get the job done pretty well. People seem to like Rooney because he looks like a fire hydrant like the rest of England, but he hasn't done anything yet so far. Gerrard is the hero of this team and must carry everyone. He has really impressed me so far. Go England!
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Tommy Martyn
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According to my mum, people are fed up with the Beckhams - you don't get one without the other - because of all the non-football playing stuff. It's like Princess Dianna got good at football.
It also annoys the purists that he is the most famous player in the world, but not even in the top twenty for ability. (Apart from hitting the dead ball) At least Ronaldhino can point to his ability to justify his profile.
Rooney is the anti Beckham. The son of a boxer from upscale Croxteth in Liverpool. Wayne (could you ask for a better name?) would have swam the channel to put on that England shirt. Watch how central defenders line up aginst him. He always pulls two of them out of position. So even when he is doing nothing with the ball, he is doing something. Although he looks like a fatty it has been estimated that he normally runs more than anyone else on th e field. Try marking him for 90 minutes. Then there are his abilities when he gets the ball. For me though, the measure of Rooney can best be summed up by looking at how his teamates pick up their game when he comes on. If you don't,you are going to have to look him in the eye at the end of the game, and most folk don't want to do that. That he commnds this level of respect from his older peers at age 20 is amazing.
It also annoys the purists that he is the most famous player in the world, but not even in the top twenty for ability. (Apart from hitting the dead ball) At least Ronaldhino can point to his ability to justify his profile.
Rooney is the anti Beckham. The son of a boxer from upscale Croxteth in Liverpool. Wayne (could you ask for a better name?) would have swam the channel to put on that England shirt. Watch how central defenders line up aginst him. He always pulls two of them out of position. So even when he is doing nothing with the ball, he is doing something. Although he looks like a fatty it has been estimated that he normally runs more than anyone else on th e field. Try marking him for 90 minutes. Then there are his abilities when he gets the ball. For me though, the measure of Rooney can best be summed up by looking at how his teamates pick up their game when he comes on. If you don't,you are going to have to look him in the eye at the end of the game, and most folk don't want to do that. That he commnds this level of respect from his older peers at age 20 is amazing.
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Tommy Martyn
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The games come on here at a very reasonable time. The last two weekends in a row I've had a housefull over to watch the games and cook out. Some of the guests were countrymen. Some were Scottish. Most were natives with wildly different levels of interest in the roundball game. Without exception though, they got into the games by being in a room with people enthusiastic about the spectacle. People were jumping up and down and shouting all through the Portugal/Holland game. At half time we flipped channels to catch up with the Cincinnati Reds/Cleveland Indians game. It was bottom of the 9th with the reds in front. Exciting stuff. Except that we had been watching the slug fest for the previous 45 minutes. Baseball (which I love by the way) looked a poor comparison to the beautiful game. Everyone there was in agreement. And yet sports radio is still awash here with morons calling in and complaining that football is boring.
Best footy joke so far: At least the americans had a comprehensive exit strategy for the world cup.
Best footy joke so far: At least the americans had a comprehensive exit strategy for the world cup.
I swear to God this happened that I was watching a Gillete commercial over here and they were selling that green electric vibrating shaver thing they do and then there was a woman on the screen shaving her face and I went... eugh! and then Linda told me that girl was none other than Becks. True story, albeit not too interesting or relevant to football.