World Cup 2010

THE WORLD CUP IS HERE!!!!

Well, almost...

It was the World Cup 2006 that first got me into soccer. My friend Thadd is a hugs soccer fan having played when he was a youngster and had been following the world game for some time. So it was good to have someone to watch with who could explain the goings on to someone like me. I had enjoyed a match or two here and there, but now I was really starting to get it.

It also helped that we had three TVs in my living room at the time so we could watch two games at once...at least I recall in the group stages they would overlap every now and then. I also remember we (Me, Thadd and our friend Chris) started a post-rock band during these games. Specifically, out first rehearsal was during the France v. South Korea match in round 2. It was pretty good even though the French won. Boo. AND we watched France beat Brazil in Thadd's Aunt's basement as we were resting up from a show the night before in Dayton, Ohio.

What a summer.

So this year I'll have to watch most of the games myself, though I might be able to convince my dad to watch here and there. He gets bored. And I can understand why, it takes patience and endurance to get through all the mucking about in midfield before the faster action starts around the 18 yard box. he does like watching goals, shoot-outs and free-kicks. He's a hugs sports fan so he can appreciate the talent and abilities of the players as well as the impact of such a things as the World Cup.

So we'll see. My bro-in-law might be up for some games too. Oh! and I recently found and Irish pub in Allen that will be showing all the matches, live AND recorded.

So the biggest bummer (though not really) is that I won't be able to watch the opening few matches live, including the much hyped England vs. US. I'll be in North Africa on a mission trip! (i have another blog you can click on over there for more info on that). But I'll be back in the country to watch most of the tournament, hust not the opening weekend. Though, I wonder what it will be like over there for the stars of things...maybe the locals will be really into it, too!

Anyhoo, I won't waste space going over all the predictions and things...it's almost pointless. But I'll just let you know who I'm rooting for (and against).

United States: Naturally, I'll pull for the US to do well. I think they'll go forth from the group stage just fine and any win after that will just be gravy. I'm thinking maybe a split with England in thier two matches? That'll be fine.

England: I consider England to be the Dallas Cowboys of international soccer, but without the Championships.

First, Their fans unrealistically expect them to win all the time and they don't. They can't. They don't have the chemistry and are too top loaded with superstars and egos. Not to mention all the social and economic reason why they are fading away (i use that term lightly cuz I'm not sure what they're fading away from?).

Second, like Tony Romo, they have some sort of unrealistic sense of accomplishment. Granted, most of the players play on some of the biggest clubs: Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, etc...but I hate to tell you guys, this isn't club football anymore. As awesome as the Premeir League is, you're not playing against Stoke and Hull City anymore...you're playing against the best in the world (who also play for the big clubs; either your own or the ones that knock you our of the champions league like Barcalona, Bayern Munich and Inter). Fergie isn't your manager here, by the way...

Third, England may claim that they "invented" soccer...and that may be true....but countries like Italy, Spain, Brazil and tiny little African nations are the ones that have developed superior styles of play. Have you seen the way Italy passes the ball? So crisp and clean, not all this lobbing and drop-kicking up and down the field. And have you seen how creative teams like Brazil and Argentina are once they get into goal? I know, I know, you've got your "tradition" and "gentlemanly" English way of doing things. But you're down five goals to nil at half-time. Stop whining and step up your game.

Fourth, some of these other countries are just more passionate. Is it any wonder that the Australian fans' enthusiasm for the Socceroos helped propel them through the world cup? I expect a strong showing from these 'mates (even though I don't like 'em much) along with the New Zealanders, too. England fans are like Cowboys and Yankees fans: "Oh, you made it to the playoffs? It's a failure unless you win the whole thing EVERY YEAR!!!"

Compared to just about every country, England will not be satisfied with another good showing (though they have a good showing in almost every world cup). Just compare them to the US. If the US gets through to round two, everyone will be ecstatic because the sport in the US is on its way UP!

Either way, the Premier League is cool, and I like most of the England players. It is fun to watch Rooney score goals with that balding head of his. It's also fun to watch him cry to the refs when he stubs his little toesies!

Brazil: The most fun team to watch. They play the game like it is: a GAME. Smiling from ear to ear, showing off fancy tricks and skills and creating distinctive scoring opportunities left and right. I'm disappointed Ronaldinho didn't make the cut. i know he's past his prime, but he adds so much in terms of experience and joy. Not to mention what he could teach the younger players, who most likely look up to him and would follow his example. Unless by some miracle the US do a whole lot better than expected, I'm pulling for Brazil to win it all.

Argentina: It seems they are poised to make a deep run. The combo of Messi and Tevez could translate into a mountain of goals.

Germany: I heard a quote from an old English manager about soccer: "[soccer] is a bunch of boys running after the ball for 90 minutes and in the end, Germany wins." The Germans always go deep in the world cup, but someone needs to step up in the absence of Michael Ballack.

Spain: Keep and eye on Torres. They'll most likely want to redeem themselves after the shocking loss to the US in the Confederations Cup.

Netherlands: Supposedly this in van Persie's last Cup. Hopefully the lads in orange can send him off on a high note.

Africas: Lots of team from Africa this year that could step it up a notch defending their "home" turf. South Africa probably won't go far, but with a myriad of world class players, teams like Ghana, Cameroon and Ivory Coast could be surprising underdogs.

South Korea: They had a pretty good showing four years ago, and they might turn some heads this go-round. They're in a relatively weak group with Nigeria and Greece, so unless something surprising happens they could go deep. Like the US, their national team is on it's way up, just don't confuse them with North Korea!

Teams to root against:

Portugal: Christiano Ronaldo= just...no no no no no no no no!

North Korea: Do I really have to explain this one?

France: The French have always been pokey. They've got talented players, but for whatever reason they always seem like jerks. Henry, Zidane, Ribery (though he's shown some character in the Champions League)... and this time they only got in through that infamous handball game. At least Henry came clean about it, but they shouldn't even be here.

Australia: They're on the up and up like US and S Korea, but something about 'em rubs me the wrong way. Kinda like Brett Favre...nothing against 'em, just....meh. I don't really like how they switch confederations, but New Zealand is probably thanking them for that.

Italy: The main reason I don't want them to win is because they won in 06. Other than that, they did have that huge cheating scandal in their domestic league, but the national team plays the game well.

Of course, there are lots of other countries that will be fun to watch, maybe pull an upset or two. It will be most interesting to see which underdog actually makes it through to round 2. Spunky Mexico? Pesky Switzerland? How about Chile or Honduras? Or former cup winners and 70s powerhouse Uruguay? Hopefully there will be some surprises and many great matches to remember for years to come!

Baseball! Atlanta Braves

Ah, America's favorite pastime! At least that's how the saying goes. As far as my sports encounters go, it seems like the NFL is more popular, but as far as sheer masses of people enjoying a sporting event, baseball wins. Even people who don't like sports will go to a ballgame. My mom will even go to a ballgame, and she'll inevitably ask something like "Who scored that last touchdown?" or "When will the Zamboni come out?" or "Why do they all wear hats?"

Anyhoo, my absolute favorite team is the Atlanta Braves, another team I inherited from my father. )I guess every team I like I've gotten from him, except soccer. He doesn't quite get soccer. Yet!) My Grandpa Noah (Dad's dad) was also a huge fan. I remember sitting in his living room watching the huge old wooden-box TV and he'd be calmly watching the games with his Braves cap on sideways.

It also helped that while I was growing up in the 90s, the Braves were awesomely amazing. Sixteen straight division titles, 5 World Series appearances with that ONE Championship against the Indians in 1995. When I was younger I absolutely HATED the Twins, Blue Jays and Yankees (twice!). But I'm glad I was able to watch and root for all those great players...Otis Nixon stealing bases left and right, Sid Bream and his awesome moustache stealing home against the Pirates (still one of the funniest base-running scenes in playoff history)!

And the PITCHING! Greg Maddox, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Steve Avery, etc... some of those guys are still ticking, but what a great era for the Braves!


Of course, this is the 25th and final season for the great manager, Bobby Cox. Naturally, he'll be headed for the Hall of Fame, hands down, but I hope they send him out with a bang. I hope they can at least make the playoffs. The Phillies are so good, it would be considered a "meltdown" if they don't win the East, but I think the Braves have a decent shot. Chipper is still good, and if he can up his game like two years ago, along with Brian McCann, Melky Cabrera, Nate McLouth and new sensation Jason Heyward, this could be quite an offense!

Since the season's just getting underway, I'll probably have lots of baseball stuff on here this summer. groovy.

Oh, and for those of you (who?) that care, I also like to watch the Texas Rangers in the American League. They're and up-and-coming, spunky bunch, and they don't have the false sense of entitlement that some of the other Dallas-area teams reek of.

So there you go. Hey batter batter!! SWING batter batter!

Soccer in Guinea-Bissau

OK, so if you've peeked at my other blogs, I'm going to be taking a trip to the North African country of Guinnea-Bissau in June. Realization: I'm going to be in Africa during the World Cup!!! Just in the exact opposite part of Africa...

Anyway, I decided to do some research on the state of sports in the little country. Frankly, there's not much there. Soccer, of course, is popular, as well as basketball. Their national team is ranked 3nd to last in the world, according to the FIFA rankings (right in front of Tahiti and British Virgin Islands!).

However, they do have one international star. His name is Bocundji Ca, and he plays his club soccer at AS Nancy in French Ligue 1. He's the center player in that photo up there.

GB does have a domestic league: Campeonato Nacional da Guiné-Bissau, but there is not much info on these teams besides little wikipedia articles. It seems many of theses clubs have affiliations with the big Portuguese clubs (the country did gain independance from Portugal in 1874), with names like Sporting Clube de Bissau and Sport Bissau e Benfica.

So hey! There's that. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a cool jersey to buy while I'm over there. It'll go great with my Sri Lankan national cricket jersey!

Soccer! Nottingham Forest!

before I get started, let me point out that in my last post, I misspelled the word 'sexually.' So for a so-called 'sports' blog, I'm batting around, um, .000. sorry 'bout that. on we go!

Soccer - first: Let's all agree to call the global game "soccer" and the American game "football." Many people, in America and Europe, imagine that soccer is an American term invented to distinguish the game from gridiron. Indeed, anti-American Europeans often frown upon the use of the word, like it's part of American imperialism or something...or that were trying to "Americanize" the game. Or that we're just plain stupid and will never matter in the global game.

This is silly.

In fact, "Soccer" was the most common name for the game in Britain from the 1890s until around 1970, when tha North American Soccer League came over here. In America, we easily adopted the English word, while the British decided to be smug and switched to the term "football."

Also, in fact, there are so many types of "football" games, it's a little ridiculous for one to simply be called "football" For example, under the umbrella of FOOTBALL are soccer, american gridiron, Canadian football, Rugby, Gaelic football, Australian rules football, etc... so which one is which?

Another in fact, the word "soccer" comes from the official name of the game: Assocation Football. Back in 1890s, when many clubs were being formed across Britain, the game was simply called "association," shorted to "assoc" which, in time, turned into "soccer."

So for the purpose of me, myself, and this blog, the global game shall be called "Soccer" while the American game shall be called "football."


NEXT!

To be quite honest, I didn't give a rip about anything soccer-related until 2006. yes, that's right, i've been a fan for exactly 4 years. lame, i know. But I could never really get into the game, until World Cup 06 when a buddy of mine (who was really into the game) was able to explain things as we watched all the matches. My living conditions at the time were awesome for sports-watching. Three TVs and two couches set up grandstand style in the living room. Oh yes.

Shortly thereafter, another friend of mine bought me a FIFA 06 computer game, and I was HOOKED. line and sinker and all that. Now, the trick was what team should I support? It's in my nature to root for the underdog when I have no attachment to a team in any sporting contest, so I was not drawn to any of the European giants (Man Utd, Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea, etc...).

The first team I was drawn to was Blackburn Rovers simply because they had that cool half-and-half kit design, and they were the only team other than the big 4 to win the Premier League since 1990. Also, the city of Blackburn is mentioned in my favorite Beatles song! However, it didn't take long to realize the club was run by idiots, they let all their cool players and coaches go. Whatever.

So dumped them and decided to do some research on some of the big English leagues and teams and just see which one popped out to me. I figured if I kept and open mind, a club will find ME and it will be a natural and easy fit. What team did I hook up with? Nottingham Forest!

Honestly, there wasn't much in the decision. After a little research I realized this was a team I could easily pull for. Relative underdogs for most of their long existence (2nd or 3rd oldest club in the midlands, depending on your source), they had an occasional decade of success. Most notably, they won two straight European Chamionships in 1979 and 1980 under the brilliant mastermind, Brian Clough. They have an extremely rabid and vocal fan base across the world, and even in America.

They were a founding club in the Premier League in 1992, but were as low as England's third tier in 2006. Even when relegated to League Two, they could still draw a crowd at City Ground that rivaled half of the Premier League clubs. Since then, they have improved under some good coaching and and even better player acquisitions, and are on the brink of promotion to the top-flight next year.

So things are looking up for Forest in the coming years. so hooray!

Other soccer teams I like include Liverpool ( a good buddy of mine loves these guys, so I'll root for 'em too), Barcelona (just because they're so freaking good, and have a tendency to have the world's best player, i.e Ronaldinho a few years back, or Messi this year), and if I had to pick an MLS team, I'd go for FC Dallas. why not? they play about 15 minutes from my house and tickets are cheapy cheap.

Internationally, I'll pull for the US, though it will be a while yet before we're one of the elite nations. Brazil is also fun to watch, as is Italy.

For most matches I'll catch on TV, i won't have an emotional interest, so I'll find myself pulling for the underdog or something.

I realized the other day that I'm actually going to be in Africa when the World Cup starts. Different end of Africa though, but it will be interesting to see what kind of impact it has, even in the little country I'll be in.

okay...next: BASEBALL!!

Football. Indianapolis Colts and Georgia Bulldogs

Football - We're talking American gridiron here. This my absolute favorite sport. I grew up in Indiana so naturally I am a Colts fan. Before you start yelling at me for jumping on a bandwagon, let me just say I had to endure the Jeff George years, so shut up. Is it my fault that I happened to become a fan of a sucky team that hired a brilliant GM that turned the franchise around?? It's not my fault, I say!

Also not my fault (or my team's fault) is your team's decision to draft Ryan Leaf, or to give Pacman Jones a chance (or three!), or to keep your sexaul-assaulting, face-planting-into-a Honda idiot of a quarterback while you ditch your Super Bowl-winning wide reciever, or countless other things...

More on all that later! Probably!

Back to my original thoughts: I became a Colts fan through my dad, who took me to my first game back in the mid-90s when our quarterback was good ol' Captain Comeback: Jim Harbaugh. All I really remember was the deafening crowd noise and that we lost and I almost cried. I don't remember how young I was. After several dismal years, the Colts lost the AFC title game to Pittsburgh (swine...), then after several more dismal years our wonderful GM Bill Polian drafted Peyton Manning and soon all was well! For the most part at least.

As fun as it would be, I'm not going to go into a Colts history lesson here, so let's just say during football season, my dad and I live and breathe the NFL and Colts games. Though we are level headed enough to not let it get to us too much when they lose.

Speaking of my dad, he graduated from the University of Georgia and played in their marching band, so another team I inherited from him is the Georgia Bulldogs. Most seasons this is pretty fun, playing in the SEC, the Dawgs get plenty of attention and TV time, even when they're not in champion contention. As long as we beat Tech, all is well. (on a side note, I don't really have an affiliation in college hoops.)

So there's that. Questions, comments? I'll have further discussion/type-cussion on Colts related things such as Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Colts, Colts super bowls, games attended and such.

So keep and eye out all my loyal readers!!!

SPORTS!

I like sports.

But not all sports.

Or at least not all sports all the time. I really really like football, soccer and baseball.

I like the later round NHL and NBA playoffs, but their season are meaningless to me. I also like the Indy 500 and the occasional NASCAR race. I'll watch some golf, too, but this moslty leads to naps, which I also love! I used to play tennis, so I'll pay attention to that sometimes. Wimbledon is super cool.

Anyhoo, I'll be using this space to pontificate about all things sports. Whatever is on my mind. I'll try not to be too subjective, but it's a free country (no thanks to you an lyle!) so I'll do what I want.

I also have a curious fascination with sports uniforms, so I might type about that every now and again, too.

The next few posts will have some general info on the sports I like and the teams I follow. I can tell it's getting late because I am talk-typing in fragments right now. First sport to discuss: FOOTBALL!!