[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Yeah, WTF ?

Just ban those f*cking things already.
I don't care if some Africans get angry. Let them be angry. I don't care.

These f*cking Vuvuzelas are on everybody's nerves.

Yeah, and WTF is with all those black people in the stadiums?

[Spheric Harlot]

Oh, and before some moron butts in here and calls me a racist, I'm just pointing out that holding the Wold Cup in any country and then calling for a ban on local football traditions, you might as well just ban the locals entirely.

[el chupacabra]

… …

[paul w]

I actually am starting to get used to them, and also, as the games become more interesting in the knockout rounds, the commentators will raise their voices a bit. I just think they did a poor job of dealing with them, and the first couple games there wasn't enough energy from the announcers (or they were poorly mic'd).

But during USA-England it didn't bother me as much. Maybe I need to drink more during matches...

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Oh, and before some moron butts in here and calls me a racist, I'm just pointing out that holding the Wold Cup in any country and then calling for a ban on local football traditions, you might as well just ban the locals entirely.

I don't care at all about the local "traditions". It's a world cup, it shouldn't be hijacked by stupid local traditions. F*ck it.

-t

[Spheric Harlot]

If you don't care at all about the local "traditions", I suggest you've rather missed the point of having it in a different country every four years.

I'm watching the game, and I actually really like the horns - it sounds like a HUGE ****in' bee hive.

And the commentators are not at all drowned out on the stream I'm watching.

(first game I've watched this Cup, so maybe they're just getting better at it)

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

If you don't care at all about the local "traditions", I suggest you've rather missed the point of having it in a different country every four years.

Oh, so the point of having it in different countries is so that the host country can annoy the whole world with their f$cking horns ?

Yeah, I missed that "point".

-t

[mattyb]

* If only John Terry had lived next door to Robert Green's missus...

* Why is Robert Green like ITV HD? They both switch off at the crucial moment.

* What does Robert Green do after winning the World Cup? Drops his controller.

* At least that's one British spillage the Americans won't be moaning about...

* What's the difference between Robert Green and Justin Bieber? Robert Green knows how to drop his balls.

* Kermit was right: It's not easy being Green.

* The England lads had a get-together after the game and bought Robert Green a drink to commiserate. He spilled it.

* Steven Gerrard said: "The whole team is behind Rob Green." With hindsight, that's a good place to stand.

* Robert Green - a joke even Americans can understand.

* Yesterday at London Zoo one of the staff let a Central American monkey slip out of his grasp. So Robert Green's not the only English keeper to drop a Howler.

* My computer's got the Robert Green virus. It can't save anything.

* Just bought a Robert Green condom. Extra slippery and you're guaranteed not to catch anything.

* I'm Robert Green and cleaning Windows is my next idea...

* All these Rob Green jokes are getting out of hand. In fact they're crossing the line...

And the best England v USA joke which doesn't feature Robert Green is.. .

* It was a clever move to bring Shaun Wright-Phillips on. For 15 minutes the Americans were stunned, thinking Gary Coleman had come back to life.

[Sealobo]

watching Dutch v. Aussie

german grass-cutting long pass is deadly efficient. wow...

[mattyb]

Germany vs Australia actually. Don't think that the Dutch like to be confused as Germans.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Sealobo 

watching Dutch v. Aussie

german grass-cutting long pass is deadly efficient. wow...

"Dutch"?

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

I had this one made for $15.

That's pretty spiffy, but 3x as much as mine

[turtle777]

WTF was that red card against Australia all about?

Referee a little trigger happy...

-t

[Spheric Harlot]

The guy complained about the foul call, and if he was anything like the Aussies I know, the expletives would have warranted another two cards.

[Doofy]

'Cmon Slovenia - hammer us!
And c'mon colonials. Do the same to Algeria.

I love seeing the disappointed faces of fat, chavvy, jingoistic thugs (i.e. England fans) when their team loses. Do me proud boys.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

not looking good for you buddy

[Lateralus]

Goalll!!!!!!!!

[Sealobo]

****ing amazing.

[Doofy]

Well done colonials!

Boo to the Slovenian muppets. Now I'll have to wait for Germany to hammer us. Come on Germany!

[The Final Dakar]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(**** no caps)

[Snow-i]

what an agonizing game to watch!!!!

The US, in classic style, came through late in the game. :-)

[P]

Have to say that the US really deserved it this time, after the goal the ref stole last game.

Group D will be very interesting to watch. The best position right now is probably second, but after their fumble last game, Germany can't play to that - if they draw against Ghana, Serbia might overtake them. They'll have to play to win, and knowing Germany probably will. That will put Germany against the UK in the next round, with the winner facing (probably) Argentina after that.

[paul w]

USA is in an interesting position. The way things stand now, they have a decent shot at the semis (where they'd be beaten by say, Brazil).

[angelmb]

For those following the World Cup with EyeTV, there is a much welcomed update…

[The Final Dakar]

Germany up.

[boy8cookie]

Looking forward to the Germany v England match. US should beat Ghana.

[stevesnj]

BREAKING NEWS FROM FIFA!

-Video- Breaking News from FIFA

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by boy8cookie 

Looking forward to the Germany v England match. US should beat Ghana.

Well, the US didn't. They clearly had all the opportunities to make it happen.

Wow, the England-Germany game is awesome. Best game in the world cup so far.

The referees made some big mistakes. But At least Englands Ghost Goal from 1966 has been redeemed.

-t

[ghporter]

I am sad that the US team didn't prevail, but that was one helluva game! I get sort of bored in high level soccer games-kind of like pro baseball games-but this one was a nail-biter all the way through. I think that the whole US-Ghana antagonism has been settled though; in what I saw both teams got some good calls and some "not so good" calls, but both teams played full out and hard.

[Spheric Harlot]

The US would have deserved to win, but so did Ghana.

I'm glad at least *one* African team is still in the running.


As for Germany-England: Tremendous football, on both sides. I think the game would have taken a different turn, had the second English goal not been wrongfully discounted.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

As for Germany-England: Tremendous football, on both sides. I think the game would have taken a different turn, had the second English goal not been wrongfully discounted.

Well, but for both sides.

Germany didn't want to shot another goal after the 70th minute.

Every time they got close to the goal, they played back. They could have easily scored another two goals if they had just tried.

England was overmatched.

-t

[turtle777]

Another reason why this was the best game in the world cup so far:

Those f*cking vuvuzelas are finally decreasing.

You could actually hear fans cheer and sing. That was awesome.

-t

[Jawbone54]

I can't wait to read the British headlines.

I actually like the English team itself, but cannot stand the fans/media for their constant pessimism. Booing the team off the pitch in the group stage was just another reason to dislike them. NEVER boo your team when they need your support most.

Anyhoo, going behind early every game was bound to catch up with the U.S. sooner or later. I sat on the couch and just whispered "not again" over and over until my wife finally asked me if I'd ever quit. We looked like the better team in the second half, but the we just don't have good soccer instincts. We aren't a soccer nation, and it shows.

The Mexico/Argentina match is on right now. Mexico actually looks really good offensively. I'm not sure they're actually that big of underdogs. Chicharito and Dos Santos seem to be two really likable players with bright futures.

[turtle777]

Man, do those referees suck.

That goal for Argentina should have never been given. Unbelievable.

-t

[Spheric Harlot]

****ing humans, I tell you.

Almost as bad as people.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

****ing humans, I tell you.

Almost as bad as people.

There is no freaking excuse to not have someone in a booth review it and talk to the referee via the headset.

The technology is there.

If they don't want to embrace it, they need to stand the heat for their stupid wrong call making.

-t

[Spheric Harlot]

I see your point.

But it's a sport with human referees, and their decisions made at the moment are part of the game.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

I see your point.

But it's a sport with human referees, and their decisions made at the moment are part of the game.

For important decisions (goal or not), I don't see the advantage of keeping it human to the point of ridiculous errors.

Nobody complains in other sports how "unhuman" they've become just due to booth review of important calls.

-t

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

For important decisions (goal or not), I don't see the advantage of keeping it human to the point of ridiculous errors.

Nobody complains in other sports how "unhuman" they've become just due to booth review of important calls.

-t

Soccer is a different forum than other sports where it's used. Hockey, football, basketball, and even baseball to some degree all have regular or semi-regular "time-outs" or stoppages in play.

I think it would be weird in soccer. Might be useful to have an extra pair of eyes behind the net during the World Cup, yes, but "video review" would end up with the ref standing there waiting for "the call". It's annoying in those other sports - it would be doubly out of place on a soccer pitch.

greg

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

Soccer is a different forum than other sports where it's used. Hockey, football, basketball, and even baseball to some degree all have regular or semi-regular "time-outs" or stoppages in play.

I think it would be weird in soccer. Might be useful to have an extra pair of eyes behind the net during the World Cup, yes, but "video review" would end up with the ref standing there waiting for "the call". It's annoying in those other sports - it would be doubly out of place on a soccer pitch.

I don't think that's really a reason against it.

Just give each team two challenges.

That will add at a maximum a couple of minutes, which can be added as stoppage time.

It can be done in a meaningful, non-intrusive way. But the FIFA doesn't want it.

-t

[-Q-]

I had started to get interested in this year's World Cup and then was immediately turned off by the refereeing. A ref doesn't have to explain what foul he called? To anyone? And only the ref knows how much time is actually left in the game? Again, without have to explain or tell someone else? No thanks.

[OreoCookie]

England vs. Germany
Now that was a piece of soccer history! Great game and I'm glad we won with a 3 -1 = 2 goal difference. I'd hate to win because of a referee eff up. We cannot turn back the hands of time and go to an alternate universe where the ref counts the goal, but even then I doubt it would have made a difference.

[P]

I loved the game until that 38th minute. After that, it felt like everything and certainly the two last goals were an effect of that big mistake. England had to push forward to score, and that left openings in the defence that Germany could exploit.

That said, I think that Germany was the better team and they are certainly one of the contenders to win this thing. The England defence had problems again, and David James just isn't world class.

[P]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

For important decisions (goal or not), I don't see the advantage of keeping it human to the point of ridiculous errors.

Nobody complains in other sports how "unhuman" they've become just due to booth review of important calls.

-t

I'm on the fence about this. While I hate the long camera reviews in hockey, cases like this show that cameras can be very useful. Or maybe they just show than FIFA's policy of assigning refs from all parts of the world is deeply flawed, and that they should focus on ref from the professional leagues in Europe with the stamina to keep running up and down the entire game. That was really the problem here - the assistant ref was too lazy to run down to a correct position to see the goal, because he didn't perceive it to be a dangerous situation.

I wonder what would have happened if all the England players had stopped playing to celebrate in a big pile on top of Lampard?

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by P 

That was really the problem here - the assistant ref was too lazy to run down to a correct position to see the goal, because he didn't perceive it to be a dangerous situation.

I actually think he might've been in the correct position of watching for offside. That was my conclusion from the replays anyway, but I'm not a ref.

greg

[paul w]

I'm sorry, but when a goal a blatant as Lampard's was is not recognized it's a shame - and undermines the beauty of the game. Ultimately, Germany was the better team, and as a result the mistake didn't prevent the better team from winning.

But a goal is the most precious thing in the game (as rare as they are), and getting them right is more important, in my opinion, than keeping the flawed system of referees unchanged. Why not at least discuss the possibility of improving on the refereeing and how it could actually improve the quality of play.

I feel like too many games were aversely affected by crappy refs.

[Jawbone54]

Why sports like baseball and soccer don't embrace technology to get crucial calls right is beyond me.

[Spheric Harlot]

I can see the necessity. But what made this game so enjoyable was the tremendously fast pacing. Just spectacular.

Add camera reviews, and you dramatically change the pacing of the game.

I like the on-the-fly aspect, despite the odd obvious misjudgment.

[P]

Checking if the ball is past the line can be easily checked in other ways, with radio tags in the ball. It has been tested, but idiot Blatter refuses to do anything.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by P 

Checking if the ball is past the line can be easily checked in other ways, with radio tags in the ball. It has been tested, but idiot Blatter refuses to do anything.

QFT.

Those Fifa bureaucrats really suck because they are so stuck in their old ways.

-t