FIFA World Cup 2010

[Succubus Dryad Of The Undying Comet]

Penis.

[CurdyMilk]

Yeah, they said that ref will not be the head ref for any more games this World Cup.  He will probably be moved to the sideline to watch for offsides because many people complained.  At least the US can still advance with a win.  A tie will also work depending on the scenario.

[Farley4Fan]

Almost as bad as that Jim Joyce call a couple weeks ago, if any of you track MLB baseball.  The umpire made a bad call that ruined some poor guy's perfect game.  A perfect game is what you call it when a pitcher doesn't allow any hits, walks, or runs.  No one gets on base.  So, 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth he calls a batter safe at first base and he clearly was not. 

BUT, at least Jim Joyce manned up and admitted it.  He was totally sorry.  I'm not sure if this FIFA ref has apologized or anything but if he would then he'd get more respect.

They really need to cut the whole crowd noise out of the TV broadcasts.  I know that the Vuvuzela is tradition or something (is it?) but I don't want to hear it personally.

Go USA haha.  If they don't take care of business now then soccer will never be relevant in the US again.

[CurdyMilk]

I saw that baseball replay, and it was an even worse call than the soccer one.  That pitcher must be sick for the rest of his life after that call.
I like the vuvuzela!  Even if they do not make it far in the World Cup, US soccer will not be forgotten.  Ok maybe it will be forgotten for 4 years until the next World Cup, but our future looks brighter than our present for talented players.  

[Farley4Fan]

I saw that baseball replay, and it was an even worse call than the soccer one.  That pitcher must be sick for the rest of his life after that call.
I like the vuvuzela!  Even if they do not make it far in the World Cup, US soccer will not be forgotten.  Ok maybe it will be forgotten for 4 years until the next World Cup, but our future looks brighter than our present for talented players.  

Yeah it may have been a worse call but here's the kicker:

The umpire admitted his mistake and was voted the leagues best umpire in a survey taken just days later.  The player were the voters. 

So he's probably still the most respected umpire in the whole MLB because of the way he conducted himself after this blown call.  He apologized to the pitcher countless times.  He didn't get in the coach's face after the game because he disputed the call.  He held his judgment until after he saw the replay, and then he broke down and started tearing up.  He was full of remorse at what he did to the PITCHER, not at what he might have done to his own career as an umpire. 

I didn't see any of that from the soccer referee.  He didn't even consider for a second that he blew the call and maybe the U.S.'s chances at advancing in the world cup.  In other words he appeared to be arrogant.  He didn't seem like a man to me like Jim Joyce did.  He didn't man up.

But that's just from what I've heard, read, seen - which wasn't too extensive.

[CurdyMilk]

GGGGOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!  USA in stoppage time!

[Farley4Fan]

Yay

[Westfall]

That was an awesome goal. I loved watching Italy drop today too. No Italy, no France in the final bracket...but USA is there....WOOOOOOOOO

[Spekkio]

Annd Fifa has banned local sports radio stations from playing the replay of that goal.

I hate soccer even more now.

[Westfall]

You could probably find it on espn.com

[Spekkio]

That's not the point. Aside from the fact that soccer is incredibly boring and stupid, what kind of sports organization is so obnoxious that it blocks sports news outlets from broadcasting its replays?

[Westfall]

Soccer is actually extremely intense in terms of endurance and has plenty of good gameplay, setting up shots, etc. It's boring to you because America usually sucks at soccer hard because it's a European sport. It's no more boring than sitting through a baseball game or hockey game. Perk is that time never stops...no timeouts or bullshit like that. Play to the end and hope you can get a goal. It's boring to the impatient. Also one of the first sports ever....come on, kick the ball into this area and it's a goal....see who has the most at the end. Incredibly boring and stupid, what an awesome approach. You must not be into sports.

They can censor w/e they want. You can still find it.

[Cronky]

It's no more boring than sitting through a baseball game or hockey game.

I think this is a good example of how I view the sport when seeing it on TV. Since unless you watch/play it enough you never understand why...

Soccer is actually extremely intense in terms of endurance and has plenty of good gameplay, setting up shots, etc.

It just ends up being a bunch of guys running around trying to...

kick the ball into this area and it's a goal....see who has the most at the end.

Though I have to admit it's pretty nice that they make it so...

time never stops...no timeouts or bullshit like that. Play to the end and hope you can get a goal.

If it's going to be boring, might as well make it go by as fast as possible.

I don't watch it so I don't care if it's censored, but there are my thoughts on it all. :P

[Farley4Fan]

Soccer is actually extremely intense in terms of endurance and has plenty of good gameplay, setting up shots, etc. It's boring to you because America usually sucks at soccer hard because it's a European sport. It's no more boring than sitting through a baseball game or hockey game. Perk is that time never stops...no timeouts or bullshit like that. Play to the end and hope you can get a goal. It's boring to the impatient. Also one of the first sports ever....come on, kick the ball into this area and it's a goal....see who has the most at the end. Incredibly boring and stupid, what an awesome approach. You must not be into sports.

They can censor w/e they want. You can still find it.

If America was the best soccer team in the world I would still think it's boring. 

[Spekkio]

Soccer is actually extremely intense in terms of endurance and has plenty of good gameplay, setting up shots, etc. It's boring to you because America usually sucks at soccer hard because it's a European sport. It's no more boring than sitting through a baseball game or hockey game. Perk is that time never stops...no timeouts or bullshit like that. Play to the end and hope you can get a goal. It's boring to the impatient. Also one of the first sports ever....come on, kick the ball into this area and it's a goal....see who has the most at the end. Incredibly boring and stupid, what an awesome approach. You must not be into sports.

They can censor w/e they want. You can still find it.

The skill of the American team is irrelevant; soccer is simply not fun to watch. They have a net as wide as your mom's vagina and only manage to put about 8 shots on goal a game in 90 minutes worth of playing time. The rest of the time is spent piddling around in the middle of the field bouncing a ball back and forth aimlessly.

I am not denying that soccer requires a large amount of endurance for the players, but this has little to do with its entertainment value. And while you tout soccer's lack of stopping time, that stopping time is what makes sports enjoyable to many people. At what point in a soccer game do I get up to go get a beer? I can't do it between innings, between 15-20 minute quarters, when the ball changes possession, or when there's a time out. Nope, I have to sit glued to the TV hoping I don't miss the 15 seconds of a soccer game where something eventful happens. There actually is a study around the 'net somewhere that Americans prefer sports like football, baseball and basketball because there is a clear-cut back and forth, and the breaks in the action are predictable enough to get a beer, make some food, or drain the lizard. I'm not saying that's why I like those sports, but it rebuts the argument that soccer is better entertainment simply because it has no stoppage time.

Additionally, I don't deny that you can find some bootleg copy of a replay on the 'net; that doesn't change the fact that FIFA is the only sports organization that is obnoxious enough to ban legitimate sports media outlets from replaying highlights. It's like there's some German guy with a blowout haircut on the other end going "fuk u americans, only FIFA site has replays" with fucking techno music in the background.