We live in an era of absolute hyperbole. Nowhere is that more evident than the skipping record of articles that are written every four years about the World Cup. Either this is the year that America embraces soccer or we’ll never love a game that is so BORING and COMMUNIST. Most rational people (there’s about seven in the world, last I checked, and four of them are making Beerswear in Calcutta) know that reality is somewhere in the middle. Judging the reaction of friends/coworkers to the World Cup, it seems like more than mere jingoism. There are people that are becoming soccer fans, between these games and the Champions League final. I think that soccer can, in fact, catch on in the states. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Obligatory vuvuzela reference
Soccer is a tricky game to understand for most Americans. The strategies and assignments on offense and defense are reminiscent of hockey (another sport that’s not real cozy with the average American), while the theatrics are purely European (in the most negative stereotypical way possible). A 0-0 game can be a moral victory- in fact, ties are a common occurence. (more…)
WhiteSpeedReceiver Says: ”Why would anyone in England want to look at Landycakes?”
August 13th, 2008, 3:49 pm
I’m stupid, you’re smart. I was wrong, you were right. You’re the best, I’m the worst. You’re very good-looking, I’m not attractive.
That was just one of many times over the past few years I’ve shared my opinion of Landycakes. Hell, I own this shirt. It really took a turn after his, ahem, “performance” in Germany in 2006. It took me a little while to come around, but he’s been simply astounding for the past year or two. Once again, sorry Landycakes.
The Morning After Pill is a daily recap of the previous days events from the sporting world. Certain teams and entire sports are left out due to an extreme lack of caring or crippling hangovers. It’s probably the hangovers though, and they might not even be crippling. Today’s edition has been crafted by WSR, meaning the paper drafts reek of tears and whiskey. That’s how we roll. Send tips to tips@ thegallyblog.com
I hate interleague play more than any of you could ever imagine. If I could find a way to simultaneously kill Bud Selig and Gary Bettman at the same time but it would cost me an arm, I’d get ready to adjust to life with a flipper.
Brett Favre didn’t do anything. He also didn’t not do anything.
College Football
It looks like the conference change merry-go-round is coming to a screeching halt. I have something in the works on this. I’ll just say this now: yesterday I compared what the Big XII is doing to putting a band-aid on a mortar wound.
The NXT rookies were at it again last night, but they were repelled by pretty much everyone in the WWE. At the end of they show, they attacked Canadian Prime Minister Brett Hart.
I’m sorry, I seem to be confusing my athletic entertainment leagues that are fixed.
Blogkakke is our collection of the latest and greatest to grace the Internets. If you have something for here or just want to ask us what it’s like being Nebraska fans and always having life be like a throbbing morning erection, there’s always the comment section or you could try sending things to tops@thegallyblog.com
Musical Interlude:
Linkage:
Yahoo! Sports:Wooooooo it be official, mang. Nebraska is in the Big 10. I know college athletic support is obnoxious and everyone thinks they’re the best, but really, YOU FUCKERS HAVE NO IDEA THE PAIN WE’RE GOING TO BRING.
Deadspin:Someone went digging through the SI vault images to pull out this awesome picture of two guys fighting over a ham, I’m guessing. At an old World Cup game, of course.
Big 10 Twit Pics:It looks like the Big 10 has already started some rearranging. Wait, is this a hint at new Big 10 divisions?!?! … Probably not.
SBNation:You know what tomorrow afternoon is? Revolution Time! Get yourself pumped up for England v. America. Again. We have a pretty decent track record. How is it in soccer? I don’t actually know.
io9:Women are true manipulators and whores. Scientifically proven, I mean. Hey, don’t blame me, I didn’t cross tabulate that data to reach this result. Look in a mirror, missy.
Statesman:It sounds like with NU heading to the Big 10 that other Big 12 teams area making a run to the Pac 10. Enjoy that bi-annual trip to Washington, Texas! Suckers.
With Leather:Do you know nothing about soccer but still want to cheer for someone in the World Cup? Me too. With Leather will catch you up on it all.
Kotaku:I’m certain none of you still play this, but Rock Band 3 has a keyboard. ZOMG! Huey Lewis discography please? Thanks.
WWTDD: Did Sarah Palin get implants? Short answer; no. Longer answer, Palin, you will need to prove this to me by letting me feel your breasts before I punch your Pikachu.
In a further examination of the male psyche, non North Americans are proving how foreign their thought processes are to me. I must be doing it wrong because according to a new global survey, men think about sports ahead of women. Specifically soccer.
“It might not be the news women wanted to hear but it appears men really do only think about one thing when they get together with their mates — and that’s football,” said Tim Ellerton, of Heineken International which sponsored the poll.
The thing about this is that it wasn’t even remotely close. In this global, international study, 90% of men said that when they got together with friends they talked about soccer. Coming in third place was work with 34% and finishing in the runner up position, with 45%, was significant others. This poll covered 5,300 men in 15 countries. The crazy English men watched soccer for an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes a week and reported that they talked about it much more. Crazy right?
On one hand it kind of makes sense, but on the other it’s bewildering. Sure, during NCAA football and the NFL season overlap I watched around 20 hours of football a week and wrote about a lot of that football right here. This was long before the girlfriend came into my life though, so the numbers are skewed on my end. Hell, after the girlfriend came into my life I watched the Super Bowl with a good friend, my girlfriend and one of her friends. It was one of the best Super Bowls I watched, even though my team lost. We didn’t spend the whole time talking about football, which is our soccer, either. That may be a poor example though.
The point in all of this is that, how does soccer dominate these group conversations? For example, half of my friends aren’t even really interested in sports, or are interested in completely different sports. I can’t be alone with that statement. Soccer is popular, but why would it’s popularity preclude all other conversations. There’s so many other things to talk about: work, women you’re with, sex, women you want to be with, drinking stories, tales from the drunk tank, sex, whisky, the latest Ufford cat’s dancing in clothes post, your douchebag boss, beer, sex, the newest movie, Blake Lively, Tijuana pony shows, Oliva Munn and Megan Fox lesbian three way interracial midget amputee porn and the latest celebrity death. You name it, it’s there to talk about with your friends. How can there be so many men that are so focused on soccer that it dominates everything.
Is the world so full of lonely single men that they’re drowning their sorrows in soccer. My groups conversations cover so much more than sports, let alone one singular sport. Am I the bizarre one here? Am I wrong?
In a stunning move of ballsiness, Jose Mourinho has claimed that the Champions League is more important than the World Cup. That’s statement reeks of hubris from a guy that coaches league football and not a National team. Last year’s Champions League final drew an estimated 109 million people as an average audience and 206 million watched at least a part of the game. Meanwhile the 2006 World Cup final between Italy and France drew 715.1 million viewers. So far his argument is off to a shaky start unless my math is WAAAYYY off.
Well, let’s see what he had to say about things. (more…)
