Let the World Cup begin! I don't follow soccer closely enough to make any predictions about who will win, but it will surely be fun to watch. I am cheering for the US, Argentina, and England to do well (all countries where I have lived, if only for a time).
We don't have ESPN at home, so I was worried that I would miss most of the games or have to ask my dad to TIVO the ones I really wanted to see. But thank heavens for Univision! It turns out that Univision is televising almost every single World Cup game, and you don't need cable to get it.
And as an added bonus, watching soccer in Spanish is way more exciting than watching in English. I watched the first half of the England v. Paraguay game this morning on ABC, and the announcers were so boring. The play-by-play guy knew very little about soccer (the extent of his commentary was that David Beckam is married to Posh Spice) and was not a bit animated. I switched to Univision for the second half and was very entertained. The announcers are so much more animated and make watching the game so much more exciting (but you do need to speak some Spanish to get the effect). There's nothing like an announcer yelling "Goool, goool, goooooooooooooooooollllllllll, goooolllllllaaaaassssssooooooo" for several minutes after a goal, or even yelling "se le fueeeeeeeeeeee" in a near miss. The Spanish announcers also have clever phrases. In Argentina's game this afternoon, Argentina had a breakaway, but the Ivory Coast's ("Costa de Marfil") defender was so fast that he recovered in amazing time (it truly was amazing how fast he was), and the announcer said, "Mira como se recupero el Marfilseno. Que rapido" and then yelled, "Como se dice ferrocarril en Costa de Marfil!" It was really funny.
Anyway, I hope everyone can take in a few World Cup games this time around, and, for you Spanish speakers, do it en Espanol.
Vamos Argentina!!!!!!
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To say Ian is excited about the World Cup is an understatement. He ran around the house twice today yelling, "goooooooooooooooooooooal" after Argentina scored. He also looked very cute in his Argentina jersey or "camiseta." I thought I'd try it on too. It is actually very roomy and makes a nice pregnancy shirt. Viva la Argentina!
Hey yo!
Well, Ian, I am with you, the world cup rocks! I have Thursday off, and I am going to watch soccer from seven until one
I think that Switzerland has played the most controlled soccer so far. They really passed the ball perfectly. Their huge problem was a lack of creativity. Their forwards would get the ball and hesitate for a couple of seconds. I bet they have a super anal coach, and every time they got the ball they thought to themselves, "Oh man, what is coach gonna think if I mess up." How lame. I wish they would have been more creative--then they would have been unstoppable.
The Czech Republic is going to go far. They were aggressive. Apparently in the 90's, during the war over there, the fan club for the Czech team 'Red Star' was where the army recruited for its leading, tough guy battalion. The fans call themselves the "Ultra Bad Boys." So we understand where their aggression comes from!
Just one story. A favorite pasttime of the Ultra Bad Boys is to dress in the jerseys of visiting teams, lure innocent fans into thier car, take them into the country, and beat them unconscious. "But once they're unconcsious we stop," one of them said, keeping at least a little humanity.
Yes, the Czecks gave us a serious butt-whooping. I was dissappointed that Arena didn't start John O'Brian and Eddie Johnson, but no one looked good in that game. It could be that the Czeck Republic is just amazing. Hopefully we make a better showing against Italy. I saw the last little bit of Italy v. Ghana, and the Italians all looked very tall and very greasy.
!Viva La Patria!!
Espana all the way!!
I would have bragged that Spain scored four goals in its opener compared to only three by Argentina. Only I just read that Argentina scored SIX goals today. I attribute Argentina's additional goals to the fact that in today's game the Argentines wore a more masculine shade of blue.
Mike, someday you need to visit a Soccer country just to see people's true interest and involvement in soccer. Towns shut down during the game, and people party in the streets all night after a victory.
That said, and despite everything you said about the Cze team, I hate how soccer players flop. Reggie Miller would have been a fine striker.
Also, if any of you have seen the British version of The Office, doesn't England's striker look like a tall Gareth (the British Dwight)? I think the other team should pelt him w/ jelly.
Because of this blog I've gotten into the world cup! I'm really looking forward to the Netherlands - Argentina game.
It would be cool if there were brackets for the world cup that we could fill out. Maybe there are and I've just never given soccer a chance.
The cup is also reminding me of the glory days playing for the Bombers indoor soccer team.
Note from Ian's wife: Ian is dutifully studying day and night for the bar exam. Therefore, his blogs over the next few weeks will be sparse. We in the Davis household are all saddened by Argentina's defeat. It was fun so many of you for Lindsay's wedding or via web cam at the shower. Thank you all for your generousity to baby Gracie!
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