Points in Case > It's Finally Over

It's Finally Over

Posted July 10th, 2006 by Nathan DeGraaf

Well, the World Cup is finally finished. No disrespect to Court Sullivan and all the other people out there who love watching soccer, but well, I'm glad the damn thing is over.

I think the American perspective of The World Cup can best be defined by my friend and favorite bar manger, Moe. Moe wore a USA soccer jersey into his bar until the US was eliminated from contention. Then, he switched to his Brazil shirt. For the last game, he wore an Italia jersey. Yeah, we love this game over here. No really, we do.

Here is a list of everything I like about the World Cup:
1) The hot chicks that show up covered in paint and end up getting their photos put on the net.

2) All the drinking.

3) The crazy fans. These guys put American fans to shame. You have to hand it to soccer fans. They make Eagles fans look sane by comparison. That can't be an easy trick.

Here is a list of everything I don't like about the World Cup:
1) The players are athletic and everything, but well, they're playing soccer.

2) They'll let a tie get broken by penalty kicks. This is quite possibly the stupidest thing about soccer. These guys just waited four years and played for almost a month so the entire world could pick its greatest soccer team by some fluke kicks? I mean, really. Even playoff hockey never ends with shootouts. Finish the damn game, all ready. Commies.

3) Did I mention that they're playing soccer, which means they can't use their hands and they are obligated to fake injuries.

4) Extra minutes. Look, why can't you just stop the damn clock? Seriously, where's the downside here? Stop the clock and then we'll always know exactly how much time is left. I don't trust some referee (or whoever does it?wait, who the hell does keep that time?) to tell me how much extra time is left. If you stopped the clock when that time was accruing, I wouldn't have to worry about it. I can't believe the whole world just accepts this. It's like the Spice Girls all over again.

Anyway, I was up at The Smoky Pool Hall for the tail end of the World Cup. I watched the fans in Rome rejoice and light flares. I watched a bunch of Italian people hug each other. And, when it was all said and done, and the juke box was back on, I heard my buddy Carl say the following:

"Well, four more years until we have to worry about this shit, again."

And I for one, could wait five.

No votes yet

10 Comments

Rob(from Trenton)'s picture
Rob(from Trenton) (not verified) on July 10th, 2006:

I would resent that eagles fan comment if it weren't so damn true. And if you think eagles fans are nuts, you should wear a rangers jersey to a flyers game and watch what happens.

Anonymous's picture
Anonymous (not verified) on July 10th, 2006:

All items in the list of thing you don't like about World Cup are typical point of view of an American who knows little about soccer. Thus it is pointless to argue. Super Bowl comes every year, but seriously who really care besides the typical beefy, beer belly, couch potato American.

ColeTrain's picture
ColeTrain (not verified) on July 10th, 2006:

Oh God, I got the same comment from anon during the final yesterday. Thinking a game is stupid and silly has nothing to do with ignorance of the game. Good lord, I had to take a test on the rules of soccer back in high school. Soccer is played at all levels (HS, college, semi-pro, amateur leagues) all over the country, and for one scary period during the 90s, "Soccer" moms had political power. Americans as a rule know and understand soccer.

And it still sucks.

dg's picture
dg (not verified) on July 10th, 2006:

Yeah, I can appreciate how people think Soccer sucks.

Just as I appreciate how much the NFL, NHL and NBL suck.

Anonymous's picture
Anonymous (not verified) on July 10th, 2006:

whats the nbl?

Allen's picture
Allen (not verified) on July 10th, 2006:

How could someone write something about this year's World Cup and not write about the headbutt at the end? That made the whole ten minutes of suck that I endured almost worth it. I doubt I'll ever get the chance to watch another star player get ejected for something like that in my lifetime.

dg's picture
dg (not verified) on July 11th, 2006:

Oops, the NBL is the Australian version of the NBA. Just as stupid, but with half the talent.

Nathan's picture
Nathan (not verified) on July 11th, 2006:

Dg, agree to disagree.

Allen, because I wasn't impressed by it. Big deal, a headbutt. We got to see Mike Tyson chew a piece of Evander Hollyfield's ear off for crying out loud.

Anonymous, you are right. I can't help but be an American. And, obviously, neither can Coletrain.

Rob (from Trenton), I don't think I'll be going to a Flyers game in a Rangers Jersey any time soon. But one of these days, if I ever get some money, I will go to an Eagles game in a Bucs jersey. I can't wait.

tylerstl's picture
tylerstl (not verified) on July 11th, 2006:

if only the US liked football (futbol americana) then why do the Europeans have their little pussy ass football league (i.e. the London Monarchs, etc)?

So, um, Anonymous (I hate people who are to pussy to make up a name to be known as) are you saying that by spending millions, if not billions, of Pounds and Euros to establish an American Football league is a statement of disinterest by Europeans?

Shit, and soccer is about the only sport the Europeans have. I mean, cricket? what the hell is that? It reminds me of the game Harry Potter plays. At least Harry gets roughed up. How can anyone get roughed up in a game that has a "bowler"? Rugby is good (again only the Americans like it? rugby is an adaptive version of soccer and football) but I attribute rugby to the Aussies. Every time I watch the Aussies play England they pound them into the ground. But get the soccer ball and see whos the real man, right? lmao

I'm a big soccer fan, but I'm not a soccer facist. There are plenty of equally challenging sports in the world. It just so happens that the Americans like to try them all.

Rob(from Trenton)'s picture
Rob(from Trenton) (not verified) on July 12th, 2006:

If you do go to that game wearing a bucs jersey, I assure you there will be a very long line of people willing to waste $6 to dump their beer on you

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <strong> <em> <ul> <ol> <li> <img> <p> <br> <hr>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

1 + 6 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.