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World Cup
Mixed Emotions
Posted June 14, 2006 16:42
| Category: World Cup
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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:
- Mexico-Iran: I couldn't decide who to root for. Mexico is the USA's
biggest soccer rival, so I didn't like the idea of cheering for them.
Iran is no friend of the USA on the political side of things, so I
wouldn't want them to win either. So going into the game I was hoping
for a tie. But when Mexico won, I was surprised to find that I was
happy about the result. Why? Well, for one thing, geography. As
much as I enjoy it when the USA beats Mexico, I still want to see any
team from CONCACAF (which stands for the Confederation of North &
Central America and Caribbean Association Football, or something like
that) do well. And besides, there's no way the USA can knock Mexico
out in the quarterfinals or semifinals unless Mexico gets there!
- Trinidad & Tobago-Sweden: I'm part Norwegian, plus I wanted to
support the underdog from CONCACAF, so it was clear who to root for
here. And though they didn't score any goals, this was one of the
most exhilarating matches I've ever seen, and certainly the best
scoreless one. Those plucky Trinidadians and Tobagoans put together
an amazing display, despite playing half the game a man down, with
last-minute-substitute goalkeeper Hislop putting on a shot-stopping
clinic like I've never seen. But can they keep it up?
- USA-Czech Rep.: The USA was absolutely humiliated by the Czechs in
their opening match, 3-0. Mistakes were made and there's plenty of
blame to go around on the USA side, but let's not forget the Czechs
are quite good. There's a reason they have a #2 world ranking, after
all. They put on quite a show and as a fan of the game I enjoyed
watching it. But it was heartbreaking to see my country fail so
badly.
- TV Coverage: It's great to see ABC/ESPN taking the sport seriously.
They're using traditional terms like "nil" for zero and "match"
instead of "game" but they're also tying things together with American
sports analogies for the benefit of soccer newbies. And I love seeing
over two hours of analysis and news about the World Cup every day!
That was a surprise. The big disappointment? I don't have an HDTV so
I can't watch the much-vaunted HD channels in their full glory.
- DVR: I have a Comcast DVR (Digital Video Recorder, kind of like a TiVO
but not as good) and am recording all the games, making it possible to
watch the games even if I won't be home (or awake) when they are
played live. At least, I recorded all the games so far. Pretty soon
I'm going to run out of disk space though...
Cross your fingers that the USA gets it together in time for their
game against Italy on Saturday!
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Last updated: 09/19/2007
William R. Ward, bill@wards.net
