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Posted July 11, 2006 13:20 | Category: World Cup | #
1. One of the biggest ethnic groups in this country is Italian-Americans (but who were they cheering for when the USA played Italy?)
2. The USA was the only team Italy played whom they could not beat - and Italy had a 1-man advantage for about half the game!
3. Soccer in this country has a reputation as a non-violent "sissy sport" - but hopefully Zidane's head-butt will put that idea to rest once and for all.
Posted June 20, 2006 15:15 | Category: World Cup | #
Today I spent my lunch hour (well, two hours) at the Oracle gym
watching the World Cup. It was an exciting game between England and
Sweden.
England haven't beaten Sweden since 1968 and with the result of this game being a 2-2 draw, that streak remains intact. With this result, England and Sweden both progress from Group B to the second round, the first time in World Cup history that the same 2 teams have progressed from the same group in two successive World Cups.
The game started off with a tragedy for England: star striker Michael Owen collapsed with what looks like a badly damaged knee. I seriously doubt he'll play again in the World Cup no matter how far England goes, and I'd be surprised if he even plays at all for several months. Knees just don't bend that way.
The Man of the Match for me was Joe Cole. He scored an amazing first goal, a rifle shot from long range, and had the assist with the second goal which was headed in by Steven Gerrard. The two Swedish goals were off set pieces - one from a corner kick that was nearly cleared off the line by Ashley Cole, and a throw in that bounced around in the box and before anyone knew which way was up, was in the back of the net. But there were plenty of near chances in this very fast-paced match.
The interesting thing for me was not so much what was going on on the screen but rather what was going on around me. Until now all the World Cup games that I've seen have been at home, either alone or with my wife Holly. But here I was at work with a few dozen other Oracle employees. About 70% of them were cheering for England while the rest supported Sweden. I was for England, being a fan of many of the players from the EPL as well as myself being 1/4 Norwegian.
I'd been to viewing parties before, but only for the San Jose Earthquakes away games. There, everyone who was watching the game was cheering for one side. But today we had a mix of people who would alternately chear and moan for opposite sides as the game progressed. Still, it was an amicable crowd - perhaps helped by the fact that the outcome would almost certainly be both teams advancing to the next round no matter who won. A draw seemed like a fair result.
In the other game that was happening at the same time (which ESPN showed the last couple of minutes of, since our game ended sooner), Trinidad and Tobago finished their World Cup without a goal. I was disappointed, since T&T had two Major League Soccer players and were part of the CONCACAF contingent, and everyone's favorite underdog to boot. But I guess that's why they were underdogs - they were destined to lose.
Thursday is the big game for the USA. They need to defeat Ghana and hope that Italy defeats the Czech Republic to move on - but then they will most likely face Brazil. It's doable, but will be a big challenge.
Posted June 14, 2006 16:42 | Category: World Cup | #
The 2006 FIFA World Cup is going on right now in Germany and every team has played a game so far. There have been a lot of emotional highs and lows. Here are few examples:
Cross your fingers that the USA gets it together in time for their game against Italy on Saturday!
Posted April 15, 2005 00:46 | Category: Earthquakes | #
Last August Soccer Silicon Valley held a Rally to show support for keeping the Earthquakes in the bay area. To kick off the 2005 season we held another rally, this time sponsored by the City of San Jose and the San Jose Sports Authority.Well, the Earthquakes are still here, still for sale, and still looking for a new stadium. We got a "stay of execution" last fall but unless the situation improves by late summer, we may lose our team. See the Soccer Silicon Valley Web site for the latest news.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Posted September 28, 2004 11:45 | Category: Earthquakes | #
Last week I attended a meeting of the Santa Clara City Council which was scheduled to discuss the possibility of building a new stadium for the Earthquakes - and I was on the TV news that night!
Posted August 20, 2004 18:55 | Category: Earthquakes | #
Here are the pictures I took at the Soccer Silicon Valley rally today in San Jose. If you know someone who loves soccer with 20-30 million dollars burning a hole in their pocket, tell them to look into buying the Earthquakes. We only have until September 17 to find a new investor or they're moving the team out of state!! Read more about it on the SSV Web site.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Posted August 12, 2004 12:22 | Category: Earthquakes | #
A new grass-roots effort, intended to rally support for keeping the Earthquakes in the bay area and help the team build a new soccer-specific stadium, has been formed. Show your support by signing up as a supporter on the Soccer Silicon Valley Web site, and attend the Rally scheduled for Friday, August 20, at noon in downtown San Jose.
Last updated: 09/19/2007 William R. Ward, bill@wards.net
