World Cup

Portugal...out
Brazill...out
Argentina....drama
First African team in semis

France only traditional Euro team left...
South America, Balkans, Africa still represented.

Oh, and maybe....murder...
 
Fun weekend. The only real surprise outside of the possible murder of a damn good journalist was Brazil's early exit as I really thought they had the best chances to win it all and, of course, Kane missing the PK that would have sent them extra time. The way this tourney's played out nothing really truly shocks me anymore.

Don't sleep on Morocco. They're a very disciplined team that is incredibly well organized and does a fantastic job playing like they have an extra man on the field with the way they position themselves and fill gaps. While definitely not the favorite by any means I wouldn't be shocked to see them advance to the final or possibly win it.
 
Fun weekend. The only real surprise outside of the possible murder of a damn good journalist was Brazil's early exit as I really thought they had the best chances to win it all and, of course, Kane missing the PK that would have sent them extra time. The way this tourney's played out nothing really truly shocks me anymore.

Don't sleep on Morocco. They're a very disciplined team that is incredibly well organized and does a fantastic job playing like they have an extra man on the field with the way they position themselves and fill gaps. While definitely not the favorite by any means I wouldn't be shocked to see them advance to the final or possibly win it.

I may be out of the loop. Are you telling me that a murder might be linked to that journalist's death. I did catch wind of a journalist passing over there but did not hear of those rumors.
 
I may be out of the loop. Are you telling me that a murder might be linked to that journalist's death. I did catch wind of a journalist passing over there but did not hear of those rumors.
There was speculation that foul play may have been involved in the death of Grant Wahl, however that was put to rest when it was announced that he'd died of an aortic aneurism.
 
I guess there have been 3 journalists or media deaths now?
Didn't hear of the third, only knew of 2, but know very little. I was a big Grant Wahl fan so that one hurt and then I read about the other when reading comments regarding an article that mentioned foul play may have been involved.
 
Didn't hear of the third, only knew of 2, but know very little. I was a big Grant Wahl fan so that one hurt and then I read about the other when reading comments regarding an article that mentioned foul play may have been involved.

It is different at other places, that is for sure. Wow!
 
Soccer's a sport that lacks variety to anyone who's not deeply knowledgeable. I know it isn't, but when you watch soccer it looks like 20 guys running around kicking a ball back and forth, and the back and forth is what throws people off. Just when the action gets close to the goal, boom...someone boots it 80 yds to the other end of the field and the whole mess starts over again. I get that you know the game and the nuances, but to most people in the US it just looks like constant running, chasing, and keep away with almost no scoring, which makes it a bore. I by no means think I'm athletic enough nor skilled enough to play soccer, but I can watch it for maybe 2-3 minutes before I start to doze off. If there was some variety or more scoring action, more people would watch.

Football, basketball, even baseball have more variety in what's going on. The complexity of those sports that's apparent to anyone watching, not just those who know the sport is what makes them tolerable. Even baseball which gets a bad rap for being boring has very distinct offense and defensive actions, then there's pitching which is a whole different world, then batting, you have a team and individual aspect to the game, etc.

Because of that, soccer would need something more exciting to jazz it up for casual people to actually watch it.
I think we are all limited by our culture and perspective. I agree with you about soccer, but if I grew up with it I would likely love it (as most of the world does, and it's massively popular).

Baseball, by contrast is very American and not played by all of these countries. I grew up with baseball, but to be honest, it's mind numbingly boring to most people. Players are basically standing and waiting most of the game. It's slow. Not much scoring. But.... if you grew up with it, and appreciate the "game of inches" it's interesting. But to most of the world, I'm sure it's boring as hell. Depends upon perspective. My perspective is that it was more fun to play than watch. It's a good kid's game.

I used to find hockey unbelievably boring because I didn't grow up with it. My wife's brothers played for Boston College and I got to go to a few frozen fours and saw them win a natty. Also partied with them all night after that win. I really like watching hockey now, because I learned about it.
 
I think we are all limited by our culture and perspective. I agree with you about soccer, but if I grew up with it I would likely love it (as most of the world does, and it's massively popular).

Baseball, by contrast is very American and not played by all of these countries. I grew up with baseball, but to be honest, it's mind numbingly boring to most people. Players are basically standing and waiting most of the game. It's slow. Not much scoring. But.... if you grew up with it, and appreciate the "game of inches" it's interesting. But to most of the world, I'm sure it's boring as hell. Depends upon perspective. My perspective is that it was more fun to play than watch. It's a good kid's game.

I used to find hockey unbelievably boring because I didn't grow up with it. My wife's brothers played for Boston College and I got to go to a few frozen fours and saw them win a natty. Also partied with them all night after that win. I really like watching hockey now, because I learned about it.

I never watched it at all, never considered it

Until I watched the USA women during the 1999 World Cup when they were getting a ton of press

The way they played was an eye-opener

They were extremely aggressive and immediately on the attack and won the World Cup

At the time my son and daughter were playing in a middle school league so I had developed
an understanding of the game, by necessity

Ever since then I watched the USA women playing international soccer

Perhaps the best sports play I have ever seen was Megan Rapino's pass to Abby Wambach in the
World Cup against Brazil with mere seconds on the clock, behind by One

 
One hell of a tournament marked by one of the best finals I've ever seen. Not a Argentina or France fan, but to see Mbappe at the age of 23 (who could be in the future GOAT conversations in 10+ years) square off against Messi who is arguably the GOAT now was a spectacle and the performances both put on was amazing. The game aside was equally fantastic. To see Mbappe win the golden boot and Messi win his coveted title in penalties was fantastic. What a tourney. Now the count down to hosting 2026 begins and I can't wait.
 
One hell of a tournament marked by one of the best finals I've ever seen. Not a Argentina or France fan, but to see Mbappe at the age of 23 (who could be in the future GOAT conversations in 10+ years) square off against Messi who is arguably the GOAT now was a spectacle and the performances both put on was amazing. The game aside was equally fantastic. To see Mbappe win the golden boot and Messi win his coveted title in penalties was fantastic. What a tourney. Now the count down to hosting 2026 begins and I can't wait.
I actually watched it with my fam Saturday morning. It was a pretty exciting match. Honestly, it seemed to have many more exciting plays than when watching the US match. Maybe the US is just that far behind but the Argentina vs France match had some tense moments with plays.
 
I actually watched it with my fam Saturday morning. It was a pretty exciting match. Honestly, it seemed to have many more exciting plays than when watching the US match. Maybe the US is just that far behind but the Argentina vs France match had some tense moments with plays.
As you said a lot of it is style of play, but a great deal of it was the intensity level and France playing from behind most the match and the urgency involved. The first half definitely had a much slower pace to it. Second half France was forced to be more aggressive and as a result not only played with more tempo, but also pushed more players up allowing Argentina opportunities for the counter attack which really opened things up. The two 15 minute overtime sessions were just two teams absolutely getting after it, because TBH no one wants a game to go to penalties.
 

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