Saturday World Cup blogging
YOU GUYS.
So as a longtime US soccer fan, I came into today's US-England match with high hopes that the US wouldn't lose too badly, or in too inept a way. Obviously, if I had my way, most sports wouldn't exist and the US would be all about soccer, but I do not have my way. It's a big country with a big youth soccer program; we do have talented players; they all play for professional European teams, because that is where the money and the real competition are. There is almost no life after college for soccer players in the US, unless your name is David Beckham. It has only been in the last few World Cups that the US team has played like, you know, an actual team.
So, today's match!
* I was very scared about the US defense lineup in the first half. Nobody was where they should have been; there were so many giant holes; if it hadn't been for Tim Howard stepping up and defending the hell out of the goal area, it would have been a slaughter.
* TIM HOWARD. Watching talent like that on the field is nothing but joy. He is really, really good.
* England's offense was formidable when it worked, but it was also pretty disjointed. It came together more in the second half, but by then the US defense had apparently realized that it needed to actually cover players in the goal area.
* IMO, the officiating so far has been really, really tight, though it has also been fair. I think this is a good thing in balance, since they've been cautioning on risky moves that could cause player injuries.
* It's the first game for both teams with the official ball and at this altitude; I expect them both to adjust. Because that was klutzy.
* Although the US goal was the product of a fumble on the part of the English keeper, I don't feel like it was unearned because (a) a team is the sum of its parts, and a goal is a goal, and (b) the US had several excellent scoring drives that barely missed, so it wasn't like that one drive was just a random fluke.
So far, the play has been largely crap on all sides, so hopefully things will get more interesting as the brackets narrow. I really, really hope that at least one African team advances to the finals, because it's their home turf.
We will soon return you to your regularly scheduled non-sports TV blogging.
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/147417.html (
comments). Comment at either site.
So as a longtime US soccer fan, I came into today's US-England match with high hopes that the US wouldn't lose too badly, or in too inept a way. Obviously, if I had my way, most sports wouldn't exist and the US would be all about soccer, but I do not have my way. It's a big country with a big youth soccer program; we do have talented players; they all play for professional European teams, because that is where the money and the real competition are. There is almost no life after college for soccer players in the US, unless your name is David Beckham. It has only been in the last few World Cups that the US team has played like, you know, an actual team.
So, today's match!
* I was very scared about the US defense lineup in the first half. Nobody was where they should have been; there were so many giant holes; if it hadn't been for Tim Howard stepping up and defending the hell out of the goal area, it would have been a slaughter.
* TIM HOWARD. Watching talent like that on the field is nothing but joy. He is really, really good.
* England's offense was formidable when it worked, but it was also pretty disjointed. It came together more in the second half, but by then the US defense had apparently realized that it needed to actually cover players in the goal area.
* IMO, the officiating so far has been really, really tight, though it has also been fair. I think this is a good thing in balance, since they've been cautioning on risky moves that could cause player injuries.
* It's the first game for both teams with the official ball and at this altitude; I expect them both to adjust. Because that was klutzy.
* Although the US goal was the product of a fumble on the part of the English keeper, I don't feel like it was unearned because (a) a team is the sum of its parts, and a goal is a goal, and (b) the US had several excellent scoring drives that barely missed, so it wasn't like that one drive was just a random fluke.
So far, the play has been largely crap on all sides, so hopefully things will get more interesting as the brackets narrow. I really, really hope that at least one African team advances to the finals, because it's their home turf.
We will soon return you to your regularly scheduled non-sports TV blogging.
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/147417.html (
comments). Comment at either site.