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A World Cup Thread

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    #31
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    Hmmmm. So, pretty much, you're going to squat in front of the TV with a keg and not watch much of anything until it's all over?
    No, surely one of the countries of my heritage will come through in Russia for my family! No kegs, just stroopwafels , empanadas, and pasta for us.

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      #32
      24 hours ....

      Comment


        #33
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        24 hours ....
        Keep it in your pants dude!

        Comment


          #34
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          Keep it in your pants dude!
          Oh that ain't going to happen. Put on a raincoat.

          Comment


            #35
            It's Art

            Soccer is the beautiful game. The beautiful game is also the world game. Around the globe, soccer provides hundreds of millions of children with many of their earliest experiences of beauty.

            With the World Cup about to open in Russia, it’s worth acknowledging this. What is everyone so excited about? Another dumb game? Certainly. The possibility of national glory? Sure. Absurd theatrics, repulsive sums of money, a stupendous capacity for distraction? All that, and more. But also — and I’m an art critic, so I defend my right to say this — a hankering after beauty. A profound and terrible yearning for an excruciating, off-the-couch-and-on-your-knees moment of sheer aesthetic bliss.

            Examples? Try Cristiano Ronaldo’s levitating bicycle kick goal for Real Madrid against Juventus. Or Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s ridiculous first goal for the Los Angeles Galaxy — the one that looped over the goalkeeper’s head and swerved into the net from just inside halfway. Better yet, Gareth Bale’s stupendous bicycle kick goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

            Anyone — even non-soccer fans — can admire the beauty of such moments. Each World Cup offers up a few more. And because the audience is so vast, these beautiful feats imprint themselves into a global memory bank. You remember where you were when you saw them. (The most recent World Cup, in 2014, boasted Robin van Persie’s flying header, James Rodriguez’s volley off his chest, and Tim Cahill’s gorgeous cross-goal volley.)

            Still, true soccer fans know these rare, electrifying moments are but a small component of the game’s overall aesthetic appeal. As with anything deeply and satisfyingly artistic, it can take years to appreciate these other parts. Formations, tactics, match management, the choreographed ebb and flow of specific games, the particular style of certain teams, the temperaments of players — these are among the ingredients that make the beautiful game not just beautiful but artistic.

            Art is about specificity. There is no point talking about it in the abstract. It’s the same with soccer. You have to watch a specific game unfold to grasp its unique aesthetic. And just as with art, you need to know a little about how that particular game intersects with the sport’s wider romance.

            https://www.washingtonpost.com/enter...=.aa39000e5506

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              #36
              And, we're off.

              Nothing artistic in Russia's 5-0 clobbering of Saudi, though.

              Comment


                #37
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                And, we're off.

                Nothing artistic in Russia's 5-0 clobbering of Saudi, though.
                It will be one of their two only wins. Putin probably slipped FIFA a bonus payment to make sure they had an easy first match. Наслаждайтесь им, пока у вас есть его товарищ

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                  #38
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  It will be one of their two only wins. Putin probably slipped FIFA a bonus payment to make sure they had an easy first match. Наслаждайтесь им, пока у вас есть его товарищ
                  I don't speak French or whatever, but Google translate tells me that means, "Enjoy it while you have his friend." I still don't understand it.

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    I don't speak French or whatever, but Google translate tells me that means, "Enjoy it while you have his friend." I still don't understand it.
                    Russia needs to enjoy their few victories while they have them. They won't last, although I wouldn't put bribery of refs past Vlad either. They doped half their Olympic team, even their Para olympians. Who the fuk does that?

                    different poster

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      Russia needs to enjoy their few victories while they have them. They won't last, although I wouldn't put bribery of refs past Vlad either. They doped half their Olympic team, even their Para olympians. Who the fuk does that?

                      different poster
                      The NFL

                      Comment


                        #41
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        The NFL
                        Good point. At least the Federal government here doesn't get involved. Russia's doping scandal was state sponsored. Oh wait, the Trump did have a few things to say...

                        Comment


                          #42
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          I don't speak French or whatever, but Google translate tells me that means, "Enjoy it while you have his friend." I still don't understand it.
                          If you can't recognize Cyrillic you need to watch more old 007 movies, or The Americans

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Hey, coaches!

                            Just a list of stars playing in the WC:

                            Ronaldo 6ft 1, 84kg
                            Messi 5ft 6, 68kg
                            Stirling. 5ft 6, 69kg
                            Hazard 5ft 7, 74kg
                            Neymar 5ft 9, 68kg
                            Isco 5ft 10, 75kg
                            Griezman 5ft 8, 70kg
                            Salah 5ft 9, 71kg

                            Average height 5ft 8.5
                            Average weight 72kg

                            Comment


                              #44
                              https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-41549709

                              "Based on research by the CIES, which excludes seven countries (none of whom qualified), only two of the 10 shortest teams - Spain and France - will qualify for Russia 2018.

                              The height of footballers does not necessarily reflect the national trend. Dutch men are the tallest in world, but their football team is currently one of the shortest in Europe.

                              So it's certainly true that in the run-up to the World Cup, some of the tallest teams in Europe were in form this year.

                              But it's difficult to say whether these teams were successful because of their stature".

                              But face it, the Germans are beasts.

                              Comment


                                #45
                                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                                Just a list of stars playing in the WC:

                                Ronaldo 6ft 1, 84kg
                                Messi 5ft 6, 68kg
                                Stirling. 5ft 6, 69kg
                                Hazard 5ft 7, 74kg
                                Neymar 5ft 9, 68kg
                                Isco 5ft 10, 75kg
                                Griezman 5ft 8, 70kg
                                Salah 5ft 9, 71kg

                                Average height 5ft 8.5
                                Average weight 72kg

                                And this is important how?

                                Comment

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