ole, ole, ole, ole... bring on the World Cup!
The World Cup begins in less than 4 days and 21 hours. The FIFA World Cup site addresses the question of whether Americans care. Answer? Results are mixed.
Almost half of the respondents indicated that they could not name a single player from the American squad, and others who could name some players were somewhat unconvincing in their knowledge. An attorney from Los Angeles, for instance, listed three names - Eddie Pope, Landon Donovan, and Claudio Reyna - but then added "Kelly", presumably intending to refer to goalkeeper Kasey Keller.
A respondent who grew up in Arizona but now lives in Washington, DC, named two players, Reyna and "that Donovan guy". One of the respondents who could not name any players from the finals squad offered small consolation by mentioning Mia Hamm, the retired star from the US women's team.
Well, let's be fair here. Mia Hamm is a better player than anybody who has ever played for the U.S. men's national team. Period, end. And the women's national team has had far greater success than the men's team. I'm not sure I could name many more players than they did... I suck at names watching soccer, and I haven't been following the U.S. men's national team at all. (I love the women's team to pieces, and I could go on and on about why the retired Michelle Akers pwns.) And I love footballsoccer - I watch games my dad tapes off Fox Sports World. After watching the English Premiere League, watching MLS is like watching watching a high school game. Also, I tend not to like the U.S. mens players much. Oh, I do now more than once upon a time, but don't even get me started on Tab Ramos.
On the other hand, one-third of the respondents said that they could name every single player on the US team, with some even emphasising that they could name the stand-bys and injured players as well.
::blinks:: Really? This makes me wonder if there wasn't an enormous amount of self-selection towards soccer fans in this survey. I don't think one third of Americans could name all the starters on their favorite baseball team.
Perhaps feeling some responsibility to properly represent the team's core fan base, several went out of their way to be especially convincing of their devotion to the team. In answer to the question "Are you aware that the FIFA World Cup is about to begin?", a university professor from Missouri replied: "I'm fully aware that it begins about seven days, six hours and 40 minutes from when I began writing this."
Heh. "We're not all oblivious! Really!"
Alas, the possibility of racist incidents hangs over this World Cup: NYT: Surge in Racist Mood Raises Concerns on Eve of World Cup. Note to drunken hooligans: find some other way to taunt and degrade your opponents, mmmkay?
As he left the soccer field after a club match in the eastern German city of Halle on March 25, the Nigerian forward Adebowale Ogungbure was spit upon, jeered with racial remarks and mocked with monkey noises. In rebuke, he placed two fingers under his nose to simulate a Hitler mustache and thrust his arm in a Nazi salute.
...
After making a Nazi salute, which is illegal in Germany, Ogungbure of Nigeria was investigated by the authorities. But a charge of unconstitutional behavior against him was soon dropped because his gesture had been meant to renounce extremist activity.
::snort:: Glad they caught on to that. I wonder if you can show Dr. Strangelove or The Producers in Germany.
An American who played there said, "I think racism is everywhere. But I feel in Germany racism is a lot more direct." Anybody familiar with Germany have any thoughts?
And alas, it seems that, despite Bono's commercials about it stopping a war, The World Cup doesn't necessarily bring about peace, love, and understanding. Ah well. That's a lot to put on a sporting event anyway. Bring on the footie! (And feel free to ask me about the offside rule. *g*)
Almost half of the respondents indicated that they could not name a single player from the American squad, and others who could name some players were somewhat unconvincing in their knowledge. An attorney from Los Angeles, for instance, listed three names - Eddie Pope, Landon Donovan, and Claudio Reyna - but then added "Kelly", presumably intending to refer to goalkeeper Kasey Keller.
A respondent who grew up in Arizona but now lives in Washington, DC, named two players, Reyna and "that Donovan guy". One of the respondents who could not name any players from the finals squad offered small consolation by mentioning Mia Hamm, the retired star from the US women's team.
Well, let's be fair here. Mia Hamm is a better player than anybody who has ever played for the U.S. men's national team. Period, end. And the women's national team has had far greater success than the men's team. I'm not sure I could name many more players than they did... I suck at names watching soccer, and I haven't been following the U.S. men's national team at all. (I love the women's team to pieces, and I could go on and on about why the retired Michelle Akers pwns.) And I love footballsoccer - I watch games my dad tapes off Fox Sports World. After watching the English Premiere League, watching MLS is like watching watching a high school game. Also, I tend not to like the U.S. mens players much. Oh, I do now more than once upon a time, but don't even get me started on Tab Ramos.
On the other hand, one-third of the respondents said that they could name every single player on the US team, with some even emphasising that they could name the stand-bys and injured players as well.
::blinks:: Really? This makes me wonder if there wasn't an enormous amount of self-selection towards soccer fans in this survey. I don't think one third of Americans could name all the starters on their favorite baseball team.
Perhaps feeling some responsibility to properly represent the team's core fan base, several went out of their way to be especially convincing of their devotion to the team. In answer to the question "Are you aware that the FIFA World Cup is about to begin?", a university professor from Missouri replied: "I'm fully aware that it begins about seven days, six hours and 40 minutes from when I began writing this."
Heh. "We're not all oblivious! Really!"
Alas, the possibility of racist incidents hangs over this World Cup: NYT: Surge in Racist Mood Raises Concerns on Eve of World Cup. Note to drunken hooligans: find some other way to taunt and degrade your opponents, mmmkay?
As he left the soccer field after a club match in the eastern German city of Halle on March 25, the Nigerian forward Adebowale Ogungbure was spit upon, jeered with racial remarks and mocked with monkey noises. In rebuke, he placed two fingers under his nose to simulate a Hitler mustache and thrust his arm in a Nazi salute.
...
After making a Nazi salute, which is illegal in Germany, Ogungbure of Nigeria was investigated by the authorities. But a charge of unconstitutional behavior against him was soon dropped because his gesture had been meant to renounce extremist activity.
::snort:: Glad they caught on to that. I wonder if you can show Dr. Strangelove or The Producers in Germany.
An American who played there said, "I think racism is everywhere. But I feel in Germany racism is a lot more direct." Anybody familiar with Germany have any thoughts?
And alas, it seems that, despite Bono's commercials about it stopping a war, The World Cup doesn't necessarily bring about peace, love, and understanding. Ah well. That's a lot to put on a sporting event anyway. Bring on the footie! (And feel free to ask me about the offside rule. *g*)