I would have liked to watch the US game yesterday but was working. Now that they are out, can y'all give me some good reasons to watch the rest of the tourney? Other than some interest in Brasil since I had an exchange student from there and they are the host country, what other story lines are interesting?
Yes, every game in the knockout round save the Columbia and Costa Rica games could have and in some cases should have been won by the other teams. It's totally up in the air at this point in my opinion. Brazil hasn't been beaten on home turf in a long ass time, Lionel Messi is trying to be the next Maradona, the Dutch and Arjen Robben are a fun team to watch and can score, and who wouldn't want to watch France vs Germany. I can think of so many jokes and so many reasons to watch this game on Friday it's ridiculous, plus Costa Rica is a CONCACAF team left that is on a roll and could be a sleeper. If you don't like soccer and don't have a positive mind set about the sport you won't enjoy it, but I fucking love the World Cup.
In general, do you typically root for European or South American countries? Are you pulling for France or Germany?
I know you didn't ask me but I'm rooting for Argentina. Messi is a generational player who may be considered the best to ever play the game but needs at least one world cup to be in the conversation. There's nothing like watching him play. Neymar and Brazil are fun to watch. I like the Dutch as well. Robben is a hell of a player. The French are fine. They don't excite me too much. I'll probably pull for them over Germany but I think the Germans will win.
I've met a few people from Argentina over the past few years of living in our current area (The Woodlands - near Houston). They all seemed nice although one of the families re-enforced the perception I've had that women are sometimes 2nd class citizens in South American countries. I've been impressed with the NBA players from Argentina, both on and off the court. I've heard of Messi but don't know anything about him so will make it a point to try and watch one of their games.
I'm pulling for France because I my ancestors are traced back to France. Plus i find them more fun to watch, they aren't a possession team like Germany, they are more predicated on attacking where as Germany will pass the ball a thousand times until an opportunity arises, France tries to create more opportunities. I also typically like the Euro teams better, mostly every great player plays in the Euro leagues because they pay the most. At one point Italian Soccer Star Roberto Baggio was the highest paid athlete in the world. He was the guy who blew it for Italy when Brazil won the World Cup in America in 1994. Baggio in a penalty kick shoot out kicked the ball so far above the goal it almost seemed rigged. The US lost to that Brazil team in the round of 16 that year too btw. That was the Dooley, Coby Jones, Alexi Lalas, Tony Meola team. I don't know I've just always loved to watch Soccer, like I've always loved to watch the bigger golf tournaments. My family usually is like "how do you watch this boring shit" and I'll go on my diatribe about Americans being small minded people with short attention spans and they'll say I'm a commie and blah blah blah.
Oranje, The Dutch, Holland, The Orange Lions... Perhaps the greatest National Team to never win a Cup. They weren't favored by even their own media to get out of the group this time but the great Van Gaal has managed the hell out of a young/old squad. He will be returning Man U to glory again next year, after he signs all of his Dutch players.
I can't think of any reason to watch now. I'm not Brazilian, Costa Rican, Columbian, German, Dutch, Belgian, or Argentinian and my Cajun roots don't extend to rooting for the French in anything other than their expertise in the culinary arts. Basketball is over. Baseball is pretty meaningless at this time of the year so I am in the sports dead zone until August 30th. For all the excitement and hoopla about the USA soccer team as Les Miles would put it "They failed to finish first in 3 out of the 4 games they played."
