2018 World Cup

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FreeKresge
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Posts: 372

2018 World Cup Jun 25, 2018 4:59:22 GMT

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Post by FreeKresge on Jun 25, 2018 4:59:22 GMT

Jun 21, 2018 16:13:57 GMT beren44 said:

FreeKresge : To answer ayanami's question, in the United States, what much of the world calls "football" and we call "soccer" is probably in fifth place in popularity among professional team sports, behind baseball, American football, basketball, and ice hockey. ...

Agreed. I would go as far as saying that in lots of places, pro golf, pro tennis, maybe track/field and ice skating, and definitely college football & stock car racing are more popular than soccer here in America. Maybe even the America's Cup sailboat race.

There is a reason why I said "professional team sports." I would guess that golf, tennis, stock car racing, and NCAA (amateur) basketball and American football all get more coverage in the United States than soccer does.

In my local paper, there appears to be a quota of one article per day about the World Cup on the front page of the sports section. Since I wrote the original post, all but one of these have involved the Mexican team in some way.

Regarding "eye candy": If I were inclined to watch sports for "eye candy," I would watch tennis over figure skating (except that women's tennis is rarely on a channel that I get). The makeup that some of the figure skaters wear makes the makeup that Kasius had Simmons wear look tasteful in comparison.

Regarding bandwagoneers: To me, a bandwagoneer is a person who shows no interest in a local team until they start winning. Then that person starts flying the team flags and wearing the team's logos as if they were fans all along. The flags and logos disappear when the team stops winning.

Watching the Olympics is different. I will watch some sports, but not a lot. When I do watch sports, I prefer to watch the best athletes compete at the event they most want to win. This means Olympics, World Cups, and grand slam tennis matches (the only tennis that appears on channels that I get) among international sports and playoffs and championships among sports in the United States. It is not about jumping on a bandwagon. It is about how I allot the limited time that I watch sports.

Finally, I probably owe it to ayanami to ask, "So, how did Germany do in their last match?" (Note: I actually watched that one.)

beren44
Level 10

Posts: 1,595

2018 World Cup Jun 26, 2018 17:19:38 GMT

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Post by beren44 on Jun 26, 2018 17:19:38 GMT

Jun 25, 2018 4:59:22 GMT FreeKresge said:

Jun 21, 2018 16:13:57 GMT beren44 said:

There is a reason why I said "professional team sports." I would guess that golf, tennis, stock car racing, and NCAA (amateur) basketball and American football all get more coverage in the United States than soccer does.

Ah, yes. I didn't pick up on the 'team' aspect of your post, hence my inclusion of individual sports.

I was focusing on popularity in general, which is why I differentiated between 'pro' and 'collegiate' football. Both are immensely more popular in the USA than soccer. With all the turmoil in the NFL the last couple of years, it would not bother me if soccer became more popular than the NFL. I don't believe it will ever overtake college football popularity though.

Last Edit: Jun 26, 2018 17:21:02 GMT by beren44

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ayanami
Level 10

Posts: 2,467

2018 World Cup Jul 1, 2018 13:01:11 GMT

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Post by ayanami on Jul 1, 2018 13:01:11 GMT

Jun 25, 2018 4:59:22 GMT FreeKresge said:

Finally, I probably owe it to ayanami to ask, "So, how did Germany do in their last match?" (Note: I actually watched that one.)

Terribly! They did terribly in that game (the second group match against Sweden), even though they actually managed to win with that awesome free kick in the last minute.

Then they continued to play terribly against South Korea, which is why they lost their second match in the group stage and were sent home afterwards. For the first time EVER in World Cup history!

Now I can only hope that the trainer steps back, because I've always hated the guy, no matter the successes of the past years. The German football association wants to keep him though.

Either way, I was on vacation last week, on the Greek island Rhodes, so that did lessen the blow quite a bit!

Last Edit: Jul 1, 2018 13:06:47 GMT by ayanami

"Sooner or later, humans will kill all the Aen Seidhe. All dwarves and gnomes. Then they'll start murdering one another. Your kind knows no other way. It's in your genes. You keep killing each other until only one remains. The strongest among you. A thousand years from now, a dim-witted human barbarian will climb to the top of a pile of bones, sit down and proclaim: "I win"."

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