OT: moderately amusing
Ron Spiegelhalter
the folks at The Onion, I did find this moderately amusing...
http://www.satirewire.com/news/may02/world_cup.shtml
enjoy,
ron
fearthesmeenusimmons
"Ron Spiegelhalter" <r...@mktrading.orgASM> wrote in message
news:_R7Q8.1322$CZ4.5...@news1.news.adelphia.net...
I did! (It's true, too...)
ftss
drumzspace
> the folks at The Onion, I did find this moderately amusing...
> http://www.satirewire.com/news/may02/world_cup.shtml
Looks like everyone's jumping on the
"let's-make-fun-of-America-because-they-don't-riot-over-football"
bandwagon! Hey kids! Collect 'em all! The BBC Sports site had this
"rewrite" of an American sportwriter's World Cup article. I know
British humo(u)r is stereotypically dry, but this qualifies as
positively sub-Saharan:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/usa/newsid_2051000/2051390.stm
*yawn*
The ironic thing, of course, is that we're actually progressing fairly
nicely in the World Cup (for now) while biggies like Mexico, France,
and Argentina (HA HA HA) are beaten and knocked out. And YES, I
actually want England to kick the ever lovin' shite out of
Brazil...but I ain't gonna dye my hair or throw chairs over it.
"Quite a scene. Tear gas canisters bouncing in the door!"
-Renee, bartender at Cafe Alto in Amsterdam, on the post Ajax victory
riot on the Leidsplein, May 5, 2002
np: The Mooney Suzuki - "Electric Sweat"
.ben.
http://www.digitaldisgrace.com
http://www.mp3.com/soulpagoda
Si
"drumzspace" <drumz...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c9f21c05.0206...@posting.google.com...
> Looks like everyone's jumping on the
> "let's-make-fun-of-America-because-they-don't-riot-over-football"
> bandwagon! Hey kids! Collect 'em all!
Well, perhaps, but there are certain newsgroups (nothing to do with
football) full of Americans bleating about what a crap sport football is and
how baseball players show far more athleticism and that the rest of the
world is basically stupid to be interested in football and if the Americans
actually cared they'd kick everyone else's ass and, and, and...
Nothing wrong with a little friendly rivalry, is there?
Besides, the fact remains that all over the world, people are going bonkers
about the world cup, while most Americans seem not to even realise that it's
happening at all. As you state below, the irony is that the US are doing
pretty damn well, with plenty of non-Americans cheering for them...
> The BBC Sports site had this
> "rewrite" of an American sportwriter's World Cup article. I know
> British humo(u)r is stereotypically dry, but this qualifies as
> positively sub-Saharan:
>
>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/usa/newsid_2051000/2
051390.stm
>
> *yawn*
Well, as you say, British humour is stereotypically dry, but here in Ireland
we've found this article sufficiently funny that I've received email
forwards of it a few times already. If you don't find it funny, fair enough,
but I do...!!
> The ironic thing, of course, is that we're actually progressing fairly
> nicely in the World Cup (for now) while biggies like Mexico, France,
> and Argentina (HA HA HA) are beaten and knocked out. And YES, I
> actually want England to kick the ever lovin' shite out of
> Brazil...but I ain't gonna dye my hair or throw chairs over it.
>
> "Quite a scene. Tear gas canisters bouncing in the door!"
> -Renee, bartender at Cafe Alto in Amsterdam, on the post Ajax victory
> riot on the Leidsplein, May 5, 2002
Ah yes, the stereotype of the football hooligan always rears its ugly head.
They exist alright, these hooligans, but most people just love the sport and
love to cheer for their nation. Sure enough, a lot of us get pretty
passionate about it, but most don't resort to violence or rioting. Did you
see any footage of the Irish fans? They all get drunk and sing like mad, but
there's never any trouble. We're pretty proud of that.
Si
fearthesmeenusimmons
"Si" <sstro...@hotmail.com> wrote
> Well, perhaps, but there are certain newsgroups (nothing to do with
> football) full of Americans bleating about what a crap sport football is
and
> how baseball players show far more athleticism and that the rest of the
> world is basically stupid to be interested in football and if the
Americans
> actually cared they'd kick everyone else's ass and, and, and...
That sux...As an American who thinks Baseball is an infinitely superior
spectator sport to [American, NFL type] Football, & for that matter an
a.m.m-k'er who seems to be the only member of this newsgroup with the sense
to understand the immense gastronomic AND ethical & moral superiority of
Creamy Peanut Butter over that Crunchy atrocity that passes itself off as
Peanut Butter, I resent anyone having any sense of the correctness of their
ideas over anyone else, when it's obvious that *I'm* the one who determines
all such things.
Wait...that went adrift...I think I meant to say, to each his own.
ftss
Adrian Clark
> The BBC Sports site had this "rewrite" of an American sportwriter's World
> Cup article. I know British humo(u)r is stereotypically dry, but this
> qualifies as positively sub-Saharan:
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/usa/newsid_2051000
> /2051390.stm
I wouldn't say it's particularly dry. It's just old-fashioned "let's
throw some cliches together and make people laugh" humour. Yes we know
the Americans use funny words to describe their strange version of
rugby, but a small paragraph would get the point across.
> The ironic thing, of course, is that we're actually progressing fairly
> nicely in the World Cup (for now)
*Very* nicely... the Koreans have been accused of getting rather
favourable decisions from the referees, which always happens. But the
USA are booed whenever they touch the ball, and they're still
progressing against all odds. This is amazing - the first time I've ever
cheered the USA in a sports event!
I think we Europeans (and certain South Americans) with our cynical,
conceited attitude to football, could learn a lot from how the USA and
Korea have approached the whole thing.
Adrian
--
|| THE | "If you can say it, ||
|| SPAGHETTI FACTORY | you can play it" ||
|| http://www.spaghetti-factory.co.uk | - Frank Zappa ||
Doug Boucher
reason - ALL sports bore the living hell out of me. I appreciate that
there's people who dedicate their lives to doing this stuff and there's lots
of skill and discipline and concentration involved in most sports, but I
can't think of anything more mind-numbingly horrible than wasting my time
actually *watching* this shit. OK, I'm a close-minded ignorant asshole and
haven't got a clue, I accept that. But if I'm going to watch a sport, they
should come up with one where the winner is the only guy left alive at the
end. I wanna turn on the tube and see a dozen people armed only with
baseball bats stuck in a cage with a rabid killer rhino. You get points
whenever you hit the rhino hard enough to make him stop chewing on you for 5
seconds. If the dozen people were congressmen or record executives, I'd
watch it every week and cheer the rhino and stuff. THAT would keep me
interested. A bunch of guys kicking a ball around? Fuck that! I want
violence! Blood! Pain! Go rhino! Rhino, rhino, he's our man! If he can't
bludgeon them to hell and back, no one can! Yaaaaaaaay RHINO!
The fact that I personally suck giant donkey balls at every sport known to
man has nothing whatsoever to do with my loathing of them. Nope, nothing at
all.
Dougie
Adrian Clark
> Ah yes, the stereotype of the football hooligan always rears its ugly head.
> They exist alright, these hooligans, but most people just love the sport and
> love to cheer for their nation.
Indeed. It's a shame the hooligans even have to be mentioned, as it's
such a tiny minority, even among the main offending countries (England,
Germany, Holland, Italy). But there y'go... someone always has to spoil
it. Not this time, though (fingers crossed).
> Sure enough, a lot of us get pretty
> passionate about it, but most don't resort to violence or rioting. Did you
> see any footage of the Irish fans? They all get drunk and sing like mad, but
> there's never any trouble. We're pretty proud of that.
And you should be. In fact, judging by what I've seen on TV, all the
fans have been great. This man...
http://www.observer.co.uk/worldcup2002/story/0,11031,726522,00.html
... really annoys me (halfway down the page when he gets going). There
have been more articles in the actual newspaper, and his basic
philosophy seems to be "It's great that all these countries have such
passionate supporters, but if you're English, you should be ashamed and
show political correctness by supporting someone else". Utter idiot.
Hagrinas Mivali
"Si" <sstro...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:aes55u$iti$1...@kermit.esat.net...
>
> "drumzspace" <drumz...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:c9f21c05.0206...@posting.google.com...
>
> > Looks like everyone's jumping on the
> > "let's-make-fun-of-America-because-they-don't-riot-over-football"
> > bandwagon! Hey kids! Collect 'em all!
>
> Well, perhaps, but there are certain newsgroups (nothing to do with
> football) full of Americans bleating about what a crap sport football is
and
> how baseball players show far more athleticism and that the rest of the
> world is basically stupid to be interested in football and if the
Americans
> actually cared they'd kick everyone else's ass and, and, and...
>
> Nothing wrong with a little friendly rivalry, is there?
>
> Besides, the fact remains that all over the world, people are going
bonkers
> about the world cup, while most Americans seem not to even realise that
it's
> happening at all. As you state below, the irony is that the US are doing
> pretty damn well, with plenty of non-Americans cheering for them...
The irony as I see it is that there is a large group of Americans who are
interested in Soccer. And they were largely rooting for Mexico. Since
people from other lands are more likely to care about Soccer, and since the
US has such a large Mexican population, it's not surprising that so many
Americans who are interested are of Mexican heritage. Why they would root
for Mexico over the US is beyond me, but when the local TV crews try to find
Americans who are interested in the game, they find them. But they are not
rooting for US.
Hagrinas Mivali
"Doug Boucher" <eatmy...@dicksmack.com> wrote in message
news:YViQ8.81390$zh2.18...@twister.neo.rr.com...
>
> The fact that I personally suck giant donkey balls at every sport known to
> man has nothing whatsoever to do with my loathing of them.
But that's your problem right there. As a participant, it will kill you.
Even as a spectator, you should stick to beer and hot dogs.
Hagrinas Mivali
"Adrian Clark" <sfo...@totalise.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1fe2tfz.5hvryj1dhzu5nN%sfo...@totalise.co.uk...
> Si <sstro...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Ah yes, the stereotype of the football hooligan always rears its ugly
head.
> > They exist alright, these hooligans, but most people just love the sport
and
> > love to cheer for their nation.
>
> Indeed. It's a shame the hooligans even have to be mentioned, as it's
> such a tiny minority, even among the main offending countries (England,
> Germany, Holland, Italy). But there y'go... someone always has to spoil
> it. Not this time, though (fingers crossed).
>
all sports are riot free, and we never have a riot actually break out in the
stands. I think part of the reason may be that many of us didn't know we
had a soccer team, and even those who did know can't name a single player.
Not just on our team. On any team. Unless you count Pele.
Adrian Clark
> Here in the US, we never have a riot after a soccer game. In fact, almost
> all sports are riot free, and we never have a riot actually break out in the
> stands.
I often wonder why. Obviously with US football and baseball, there's
less of a nationalistic aspect, because not so many countries play those
sports, but football (soccer) violence works on a local level in Italy,
Britain, Argentina and numerous other countries.
There's grinding working class poverty in those countries, but then
there is in the US. People are passionate about their soccer teams, and
maybe that passion can, in certain minds, be twisted into hate. However,
as far as I'm aware, you're all equally passionate about your baseball,
football or basketball teams.
I'm sure people must have written papers on this, but I have absolutely
no idea what causes this difference. I've only been to one American
sporting event (a baseball game in Seattle) and I was just amazed to see
people openly drinking beer in their seats - no alcohol can be consumed
within sight of the pitch in our football grounds. Yet there was no
drunken brawling.
Weird. Wonderfully refreshing, but weird.
Adrian
PS: On the downside, the cheers and chants were all a little too
wholesome for someone used to "The referee's a wanker" and suchlike. And
they started a Mexican wave, which actually stopped play. If anyone did
a Mexican wave over here, they'd get a good slapping... ;-)
Claude Kuhnen
Clark) wrote:
>
>I'm sure people must have written papers on this, but I have absolutely
>no idea what causes this difference. I've only been to one American
>sporting event (a baseball game in Seattle) and I was just amazed to see
>people openly drinking beer in their seats - no alcohol can be consumed
>within sight of the pitch in our football grounds. Yet there was no
>drunken brawling.
>
thats weird! Here in Freiburg the guest teams are always "welcomed" at
the train station by the local police and escorted to the stadium.
There were bad riots in Germany in the mid 80s but now it's a lot
calmer.
Claude "saw Fever Pitch yesterday" Kuhnen
fearthesmeenusimmons
"Hagrinas Mivali" <fakeus...@sbcglobal.net> wrote
> Here in the US, we never have a riot after a soccer game. In fact, almost
> all sports are riot free, and we never have a riot actually break out in
the
> stands
While that's true, there have been many local riots in cities that have won
major league championships, I can even think of a few (Detroit after the
Pistons beat my Trailblazers in '90, SF after the 49'ers won their 1st Super
Bowl in '82, others) where there were a few fatalities, still I agree with
your point that American fans are better behaved than fans from other parts
of the world, & I have no idea why that is...
ftss
Ron Spiegelhalter
>
> Well, perhaps, but there are certain newsgroups (nothing to do with
> football) full of Americans bleating about what a crap sport football is
and
> how baseball players show far more athleticism
Well that kills their argument right there. I mean, I yawn widely at the
thought of watching a socc... I mean football game, just as I do at the
thought of watching any group of men chasing each other around on a field.
But even I must admit that playing the game is probably the most physically
demanding thing one could possibly do (apart from raining down sulphur,
perhaps). Baseball? Hell, *I* could play baseball without breaking a
sweat, weather permitting.
oh, and the sulphur reference is worth five points...
ron
fearthesmeenusimmons
"Ron Spiegelhalter"
> Baseball? Hell, *I* could play baseball without breaking a
> sweat, weather permitting.
Maybe so...but not at 1 billionth of the level it's played in the bigs...
ftss
Dave Wilcher
"Ron Spiegelhalter" <r...@mktrading.orgASM> wrote in message
>
> oh, and the sulphur reference is worth five points...
Let it never be said that your anal retentive
attention to detail never yielded positive results.
dave
drumzspace
> football) full of Americans bleating about what a crap sport football is and
> how baseball players show far more athleticism and that the rest of the
> world is basically stupid to be interested in football and if the Americans
> actually cared they'd kick everyone else's ass and, and, and...
I hardly think idiot Americans on newsgroups are the reasons behind
the BBC article, but if you say so... ;)
> Nothing wrong with a little friendly rivalry, is there?
Absolutely not! But I find it funny that the U.S. is singled out for
not being as manic as the rest of the world over the World Cup. But I
guess it's one of those kooky Americanisms, like...not using the
metric system and not spelling flavor with a "U".
> Besides, the fact remains that all over the world, people are going bonkers
> about the world cup, while most Americans seem not to even realise that it's
> happening at all. As you state below, the irony is that the US are doing
> pretty damn well, with plenty of non-Americans cheering for them...
Sure. I'm one of those Americans that *probably* wouldn't have known
that the World Cup was starting if I hadn't been inundated with World
Cup brainwashing on the BBC last month in Europe. Literally, you'd
turn on the Beeb and it would be: "Our top stories tonight: Nuclear
devestation iminent on the Indian subcontinent; eighteen killed in a
Tel Aviv market by a Palestinian suicide bomber; BUT FIRST! Will
David Beckham recover from his injury to hit the pitch in the upcoming
game? Nigel Weatherbottom reports live from Japan!" Ick.
> Ah yes, the stereotype of the football hooligan always rears its ugly head.
> They exist alright, these hooligans, but most people just love the sport and
> love to cheer for their nation. Sure enough, a lot of us get pretty
> passionate about it, but most don't resort to violence or rioting.
No argument here that it's a stereotype...in fact for a few years when
the Chicago Bulls were winning championships people would riot in
Chicago to "celebrate" their team's win by burning down businesses in
their neighborhoods, so sport riots are not entirely alien to the U.S.
But the frequency of European football riots are much higher, and you
can pretty much set your watch to them. But since football is the
most popular sport in the world, it stands to reason that there would
be a greater number of people willing to break stuff for their
favorite team. Well, in that case...God Bless America! There's ONE
violent trend you can't pin on us! :)
> Did you
> see any footage of the Irish fans? They all get drunk and sing like mad, but
> there's never any trouble. We're pretty proud of that.
Hey the Irish rock- no argument. Put me in any foreign urban
environment and I can find a cold pint of Guinness and a Jameson on
the rocks in less than an hour. This, I promise you! :)
.ben.
(who's only sport addiction is Formula One)
http://www.digitaldisgrace.com
http://www.mp3.com/soulpagoda
Adrian Clark
> thats weird! Here in Freiburg the guest teams are always "welcomed" at
> the train station by the local police and escorted to the stadium.
> There were bad riots in Germany in the mid 80s but now it's a lot
> calmer.
Yeah, things are much better here than in the 80s, whereas Italy just
gets worse and worse. The police tend to stay in the background here,
although there is massive police presence, especially at local grudge
matches. In Italy, they seem to go to the other extreme, actively
discouraging the visiting fans.
> Claude "saw Fever Pitch yesterday" Kuhnen
I still haven't seen that. Great book, though.
Adrian
TAPKAE
> I'm sure people must have written papers on this, but I have absolutely
> no idea what causes this difference. I've only been to one American
> sporting event (a baseball game in Seattle)
That零 more than I've been to. Sorry for your loss.
> and I was just amazed to see
> people openly drinking beer in their seats - no alcohol can be consumed
> within sight of the pitch in our football grounds. Yet there was no
> drunken brawling.
The guys go beat their wives at home...
>
> Weird. Wonderfully refreshing, but weird.
Maybe their children too... 'tis truly a bummer.
> PS: On the downside, the cheers and chants were all a little too
> wholesome for someone used to "The referee's a wanker" and suchlike. And
> they started a Mexican wave, which actually stopped play. If anyone did
> a Mexican wave over here, they'd get a good slapping... ;-)
A Mexican wave? Is that like we have here when 50 illegal aliens rush the
border fence and make a break for it?
e
Cooler than sh*t!
TAPKAE
com exec:
>> Baseball? Hell, *I* could play baseball without breaking a
>> sweat, weather permitting.
Yeah, but can a human man play baseball without steroids anymore?
Ron Spiegelhalter
Oh granted, absolutely. Even Jordan couldn't hit a baseball. But playing
soccer at that same suck-ass level I'd be dead in seven minutes, that's what
I meant.
ron
Sheryl W
Robert Seeberger
"Hagrinas Mivali" <fakeus...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:A_nQ8.2787$qL7.12...@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
blocking their view.
<G>
xponent
Balls And Sports Maru
rob
Adrian Clark
> > I've only been to one American
> > sporting event (a baseball game in Seattle)
>
> That's more than I've been to. Sorry for your loss.
Heh! I went in the spirit of international, cross-cultural
open-mindedness (and the tickets were stupidly cheap) but, to be honest,
it was the most mind-numbing sporting event I've ever seen.
We gave up and left after 2 hours and went to one of Seattle's fine
brewpubs instead.
> > Yet there was no
> > drunken brawling.
>
>
> The guys go beat their wives at home...
LOL!
Adrian
Si
"Adrian Clark" <sfo...@totalise.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1fe2tfz.5hvryj1dhzu5nN%sfo...@totalise.co.uk...
> And you should be. In fact, judging by what I've seen on TV, all the
> fans have been great. This man...
>
> http://www.observer.co.uk/worldcup2002/story/0,11031,726522,00.html
>
> ... really annoys me (halfway down the page when he gets going). There
> have been more articles in the actual newspaper, and his basic
> philosophy seems to be "It's great that all these countries have such
> passionate supporters, but if you're English, you should be ashamed and
> show political correctness by supporting someone else". Utter idiot.
Yes indeed!!! This is an article that's just chock full of utter bollocks!!!
Si
Si
> I hardly think idiot Americans on newsgroups are the reasons behind
> the BBC article, but if you say so... ;)
Heh heh, you got me there!!
> Sure. I'm one of those Americans that *probably* wouldn't have known
> that the World Cup was starting if I hadn't been inundated with World
> Cup brainwashing on the BBC last month in Europe. Literally, you'd
> turn on the Beeb and it would be: "Our top stories tonight: Nuclear
> devestation iminent on the Indian subcontinent; eighteen killed in a
> Tel Aviv market by a Palestinian suicide bomber; BUT FIRST! Will
> David Beckham recover from his injury to hit the pitch in the upcoming
> game? Nigel Weatherbottom reports live from Japan!" Ick.
Indeed!! We in Ireland had literally wall-to-wall coverage of Roy Keane (the
Irish captain) being sent home by Mick McCarthy (the Irish manager). It
dominated every newspaper, every TV news show, every conversation. Threats
of nuclear war and stories of suicide bombings took a back seat. Being
passionate about football is one thing, but this got pretty silly.
> No argument here that it's a stereotype...in fact for a few years when
> the Chicago Bulls were winning championships people would riot in
> Chicago to "celebrate" their team's win by burning down businesses in
> their neighborhoods, so sport riots are not entirely alien to the U.S.
> But the frequency of European football riots are much higher, and you
> can pretty much set your watch to them. But since football is the
> most popular sport in the world, it stands to reason that there would
> be a greater number of people willing to break stuff for their
> favorite team. Well, in that case...God Bless America! There's ONE
> violent trend you can't pin on us! :)
Actually, my one time at a sporting event in the US was a baseball game in
New York. It was such a pleasant experience -- a real family day out. I was
greatly impressed. It certainly would make you think about the general
atmosphere at footie matches in the UK / Italy / wherever. We could
certainly learn something!!
> Hey the Irish rock- no argument. Put me in any foreign urban
> environment and I can find a cold pint of Guinness and a Jameson on
> the rocks in less than an hour. This, I promise you! :)
Now that's REAL sporting talent!!!
Si
Rick Booth
> Hagrinas Mivali <fakeus...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> Here in the US, we never have a riot after a soccer game. In fact, almost
>> all sports are riot free, and we never have a riot actually break out in the
>> stands.
>
> I often wonder why. Obviously with US football and baseball, there's
> less of a nationalistic aspect, because not so many countries play those
> sports, but football (soccer) violence works on a local level in Italy,
> Britain, Argentina and numerous other countries.
Actually, I don't think this is about nationality. I think it's about
sport.
> I've only been to one American sporting event (a baseball game in
> Seattle) and I was just amazed to see people openly drinking beer in
> their seats - no alcohol can be consumed within sight of the pitch in
> our football grounds. Yet there was no drunken brawling.
You should try cricket, or rugby, here in .uk, where exactly the same is
true. I was at the Test on Saturday, and several people (mostly wearing
football shirts <g>) had drunk themselves into unconciousness. But there
was no trouble, or ever any possibility of trouble.
And it's not about interest levels - admittedly, we don't take our other
sports as seriously as cricket, but "$sport hooligan" works only for
"$sport=association football" pretty much anywhere, afaik. I have no
idea why, but it helps me feel better about my complete disinterest in a
game that *half the country* stayed off work to watch this morning.
> If anyone did a Mexican wave over here, they'd get a good slapping...
Again, not in cricket <g>.
- rfb
--
ri...@rfbooth.com http://www.rfbooth.com/ My opinions are.
To set aside my fears over the car going bang I have built an ingenious
squirrel trap from a cat basket, some elastic bands, two cable ties, a
cork and a piece of string -- Adrian Foden seeks lunch, in #ukmg
Gavin
anointment utensil, Si <sstro...@hotmail.com> poots forth...
>Indeed!! We in Ireland had literally wall-to-wall coverage of Roy Keane (the
>Irish captain) being sent home by Mick McCarthy (the Irish manager). It
>dominated every newspaper, every TV news show, every conversation. Threats
>of nuclear war and stories of suicide bombings took a back seat. Being
>passionate about football is one thing, but this got pretty silly.
The front cover of the Daily Mirror here today (i.e. on the morning of
the England vs. Brazil game) is a near blank page, with a tiny English
flag in the centre, with the words: "This page is cancelled. Nothing
else matters".
--
sprinkling the dust of the Grand Wazoo, I remain,
Gavin Smith
--
Sheryl W
>
> "Adrian Clark" <sfo...@totalise.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:1fe2tfz.5hvryj1dhzu5nN%sfo...@totalise.co.uk...
> > Si <sstro...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Ah yes, the stereotype of the football hooligan always rears its ugly
> head.
> > > They exist alright, these hooligans, but most people just love the
sport
> and
> > > love to cheer for their nation.
> >
> > Indeed. It's a shame the hooligans even have to be mentioned, as it's
> > such a tiny minority, even among the main offending countries (England,
> > Germany, Holland, Italy). But there y'go... someone always has to spoil
> > it. Not this time, though (fingers crossed).
> >
> Here in the US, we never have a riot after a soccer game. In fact, almost
> all sports are riot free, and we never have a riot actually break out in
the
Not including PeeWee sports, eh?
Chris Ingalls
Despite the fact that I have practically no interest whatsoever in
sports (much to the chagrin of my jock father), I have to say that if
I were a fan I would probably watch soccer and/or basketball. Most
American sports, IMHO, are dead boring...especially football!
Basically because it's five seconds of action, followed by a minute or
two of standing around, followed by five seconds of action, followed
by endless play-by-play analysis, followed by a barrage of
commercials, followed by two seconds of action, etc etc etc. The ratio
of fun/tedious is painfully lopsided. Soccer and basketball (again,
IMHO), seem to have more continuous action and therefore I can stand
to watch that stuff for at least five minutes or so (before switching
over to Law & Order, of course).
Chris
TAPKAE
>>> I've only been to one American
>>> sporting event (a baseball game in Seattle)
>>
>
>> That's more than I've been to. Sorry for your loss.
>
> Heh! I went in the spirit of international, cross-cultural
> open-mindedness (and the tickets were stupidly cheap) but, to be honest,
> it was the most mind-numbing sporting event I've ever seen.
>
> We gave up and left after 2 hours and went to one of Seattle's fine
> brewpubs instead.
A far more civil thing, and one we should aspire to do more of. Now, it they
would just ban TV in public places, we'd move a long so fast...
TAPKAE
> Yes indeed!!! This is an article that's just chock full of utter bollocks!!!
And full of bullshit as well!
Antal Adriaanse
> The front cover of the Daily Mirror here today (i.e. on the morning of
> the England vs. Brazil game) is a near blank page, with a tiny English
> flag in the centre, with the words: "This page is cancelled. Nothing
> else matters".
Well, "Football is coming home", and home is not England.
AA
TAPKAE
> Despite the fact that I have practically no interest whatsoever in
> sports (much to the chagrin of my jock father), I have to say that if
> I were a fan I would probably watch soccer and/or basketball. Most
> American sports, IMHO, are dead boring...especially football!
> Basically because it's five seconds of action, followed by a minute or
> two of standing around, followed by five seconds of action, followed
> by endless play-by-play analysis, followed by a barrage of
> commercials, followed by two seconds of action, etc etc etc. The ratio
> of fun/tedious is painfully lopsided. Soccer and basketball (again,
> IMHO), seem to have more continuous action and therefore I can stand
> to watch that stuff for at least five minutes or so
Word.
John Schroeder
hit just above .200 in double A, which is two rungs below the majors. With
him never having played baseball past the high school level, to walk into
Double A and actually make contact is a major feat. He is a amazing athlete.
>
> Oh granted, absolutely. Even Jordan couldn't hit a baseball. >
> ron
>
>
Adrian Clark
> Actually, I don't think this is about nationality. I think it's about
> sport.
But the *real* violence is only connected to the football in that it
takes place in the same locations and on the same dates. Far-right
politics are generally more of a driving force behind it than either
team's performance. And this is true, AFAIK, in all the worst-case
countries - England, Argentina, Italy, Holland, Germany.
(Although England, Germany and Holland fans seem to behave worse at
international events, whereas Italy and Argentina have more of a
domestic problem).
> You should try cricket, or rugby, here in .uk, where exactly the same is
> true.
Good point, although I think I'd find both about as interesting as
baseball!
> > If anyone did a Mexican wave over here, they'd get a good slapping...
>
> Again, not in cricket <g>.
What, you mean they wouldn't get a slapping or it just wouldn't happen?
Adrian
Claude Kuhnen
Clark) wrote:
>Rick Booth <richar...@umist.ac.uk> wrote:
>
>> Actually, I don't think this is about nationality. I think it's about
>> sport.
>
>But the *real* violence is only connected to the football in that it
>takes place in the same locations and on the same dates. Far-right
>politics are generally more of a driving force behind it than either
>team's performance. And this is true, AFAIK, in all the worst-case
>countries - England, Argentina, Italy, Holland, Germany.
very true, at least for Germany :-( While the prototype of the violent
soccer fan is a less educated guy who votes for right wing parties
there are also guys who go there to kick each other's asses and who
don't even buy tickets. In Germany this is mostly the case for
international games (like at the World Cup in France where german
hooligans almost killed a police man (see
http://makeashorterlink.com/?S57820B11).
I think it is interesting that there's never trouble coming from
french fans (at least I can't remember it) - and this in a country
where riots occur frequently in the the maghrebinian quarters of the
bigger cities (e.g. New Year's Eve in Strasbourg, just one hour from
where I live) and everybody goes on strike about 5 times a year.
>
>(Although England, Germany and Holland fans seem to behave worse at
>international events, whereas Italy and Argentina have more of a
>domestic problem).
>
True - again - I can only speak for Germany.
Claude
Hagrinas Mivali
"Robert Seeberger" <rceeb...@houston.rr.com> wrote in message
news:lawQ8.20846$Tu6.2...@typhoon.austin.rr.com...
>
The donkey does not have to be attached.
Hagrinas Mivali
"Claude Kuhnen" <SP...@claudekuhnen.de> wrote in message
news:ajl6huorgtpobugv0...@4ax.com...
I can't believe that you Germans actually managed to beat us ;-)
Adrian Clark
> Adrian Clark heard this from a drunken, unemployed, washed up dot com exec:
> > We gave up and left after 2 hours and went to one of Seattle's fine
> > brewpubs instead.
>
>
> A far more civil thing, and one we should aspire to do more of. Now, it they
> would just ban TV in public places, we'd move a long so fast...
While we were in the pub (on Pike Place IIRC) we glanced up from our
beers to see the game still going on TV. And we'd walked from Safeco
field back to the city centre in the meantime...
Adrian
PS: Awwww... England and the USA go out of the World Cup on the same
day, nicely avoiding any unpleasant feelings of envy in these
pan-Atlantic newsgroups...
Ellen Brenner
Mmmmm ... donkey balls ... it's amazing what you can buy at stadium
concession stands these days, innit?
/the duck
("Yes, I have a liberal arts degree ... you want fries with that?")
--
Ellen Terris Brenner
http://www.mizducky.com
Seattle, WA, USA
" ... the axis of pain/pleasure sheared the arc of desire ... "
Adrian Clark
> I can't believe that you Germans actually managed to beat us ;-)
Under rather controversial circumstances (sorry, Claude!) too - a German
defender handled the ball on the goal line. As the BBC's co-commentator
David Pleat blurted out in the heat of the moment, "it was that
last-gasp hand-job on the line"!
Even if the match had been totally dull, that line alone would have made
it worthwhile...
Hagrinas Mivali
> Hagrinas Mivali <fakeus...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> > I can't believe that you Germans actually managed to beat us ;-)
>
> Under rather controversial circumstances (sorry, Claude!) too - a German
> defender handled the ball on the goal line. As the BBC's co-commentator
> David Pleat blurted out in the heat of the moment, "it was that
> last-gasp hand-job on the line"!
>
> Even if the match had been totally dull, that line alone would have made
> it worthwhile...
>
Let's be honest here. Despite the loss, how many here thought that the US
actually played better than Germany in the game? Oh, I forgot. We don't
get to see it in the US until tomorrow.
Tom Yost
My criteria for sports participation considers only sports during
which you can drink beer while playing... golf, bowling, billiards,
etc. In fact, baseball/softball qualifies.
I thought it funny to find out there are a few major league baseball
players that smoke cigs!
Tom
Claude Kuhnen
Right, you guys played better and Frings did indeed handle the ball
(but he didn't move his hand, right?).
But let's be fair, all the soccer players who play in the european top
teams play about 50 - 60 times a year and I guess this is one of the
reasons why a) there's so few european teams left in the tournament
and why our team plays not the most attractive footsoccerball in
history (but then we never did).
Claude
Claude Kuhnen
<SP...@claudekuhnen.de> wrote:
>there are also guys who go there to kick each other's asses and who
>don't even buy tickets.
that should have been " ... go there only to kick ..." sort of like a
"Fight Club" type thing.
CK
Dave Wilcher
"Ellen Brenner" <mizd...@drizzle.com> wrote in message
news:1024680665.295805@yasure...
>
> Mmmmm ... donkey balls ... it's amazing what you can buy at stadium
> concession stands these days, innit?
"Wren's livers! Jaguar earlobes! Wolf Nipple Chips! Get 'em while they're
hot - they're lovely..
Otter's noses?"
dave
Bill Tindall
> There's grinding working class poverty in those countries, but then
> there is in the US. People are passionate about their soccer teams, and
> maybe that passion can, in certain minds, be twisted into hate. However,
> as far as I'm aware, you're all equally passionate about your baseball,
> football or basketball teams.
I fear we may still be in the Self-Destructive-Moron stage,
acting with self-humiliating public buffoonery, and are not yet
sufficiently evolved to turn our mindless agression toward others.
> ... and I was just amazed to see
> people openly drinking beer in their seats - no alcohol can be consumed
> within sight of the pitch in our football grounds. Yet there was no
> drunken brawling.
When was the last Pimm's riot at Lord's? Baseball is more like
Cricket than Soccer, but American Football is not so terribly far
removed, especially in terms of semi-sublimated violence, and I think
it's only a matter of time before we see alchohol-fueled idiocy become
an issue here.
> Weird. Wonderfully refreshing, but weird.
Just like Pimm's!
Cheers,
Bill T
Adrian Clark
> > Weird. Wonderfully refreshing, but weird.
>
> Just like Pimm's!
Which reminds me - Wimbledon starts tomorrow, and we haven't bought any
Pimms yet...
Gavin
forth...
Sigh. Sad, but true. I feel like the little kid who accidentally kicked
his ball over the neighbour's fence.
"Excuse me? Mister Brazil? Can we have our game back?"
Rick Booth
>> > If anyone did a Mexican wave over here, they'd get a good slapping...
>>
>> Again, not in cricket <g>.
>
> What, you mean they wouldn't get a slapping or it just wouldn't happen?
There was a mexican wave at the test match last weekend. I even
participated, a little.
- rfb
--
ri...@rfbooth.com http://www.rfbooth.com/ My opinions are.
Damn damn DAMN! Hot flaming *fucknuggets*! Can we go again? Don't
worry, I'll get it this time... don't mention Satan.... don't mention
Satan..." -- Paul Simpson impersonates Adrian Clark, in ukmg
Owy
> participated, a little.
I just read that as a "mexican test wave"- I thought for a moment that this
involved the sequential imaginary standing up and sitting down of assembled
folk- this would be tricky, wouldn't it? Imagine trying to sequence all that
imagination...
OWY.
NP- Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet- _Box_