How Do You Feel About The World Cup

[TotallyOz]

The BF wanted to be sure I paid UBC when I was away from Thailand. Why? The World Cup of course. He had not touched the TV in 3 months. But, now he wants to watch all the games late at night with his friends. When the UBC bill came, he SMS me to make sure I knew there was a bill that needed to be paid. I found this poll on live journal and thought it was great.

[Guest fountainhall]

Any idea how much the UBC HDTV World Cup package costs? I somewhat naively assumed it was free to Gold and Platinum subscribers.

[Guest RichLB]

I've got the Platinum Package on UBC and I can't find the World Cup on UBC. Luckily, the cable system in my condo carries it - channel 36 in English and 35 in Thai.

[Guest gay_grampa]

I've got the Platinum Package on UBC and I can't find the World Cup on UBC.

It's on the Thai channels ( NBT True channel 5 )

[Bob]

Being one of those damned yankees, football (soccer to me) is simply boring (but, then again, I don't think too differently about baseball or American football). I realize the players are tremendous athletes and many of them are fine male specimens too but, in the end, it's still rather boring to me.

 

I also don't get the fan fervor over it - the fights and occasional riots - when what you're doing is watching a lot of over-paid guys run around a grassy field.

 

So, to spice it up - and to get me watching more - I'd suggest they widen the net (so there's more scoring) and, perhaps, have them play naked. Then I'd watch!

[Guest]

The poll looks like it has been written by an American who had no appreciation of Football.

This is THE biggest global sporting competition of all.

 

I'll tick the "I quite enjoy watching many of the games and some of the players are cute box", if there was one.

 

The Uruguay goalkeeper looked quite fit, as do many of the North & South Korean players.

[ChristianPFC]

I don't care, I don't watch, it's something I have to endure every four years.

 

I ticked "I don't care about the game, but I'll watch the cute players." because it's the closest match to what I think. Cute players? I don't know, even if, too many clothes!

 

The only ball game I ever enjoyed watching was an all-male mainly-Thai beachvolleyball match at Jomtien gay beach.

 

I hope it doesn't spoil my imminent holiday in Thailand. Imagine having to explain to every acquaintance that I don't care!

[Gaybutton]

I don't care, I don't watch

I'm with you. I couldn't care less about it either. I didn't vote because from among all the choices, none fit the bill for me. I've learned that whenever I write a poll I always leave an option for "other." No matter how thoroughly I think I've covered every possibility, there's always somebody who has something different from what I thought of.

[atri1666]

Same me. I dont care about 44 legs running for one ball and i dont watch

[Guest painai]

Football is the king of sports. It's fantastic, every night. The 1am games are too late for me, though. Too bad.

[Guest fountainhall]

The poll looks like it has been written by an American who had no appreciation of Football.

I thought so too - but it mentions "pub" which is surely not in common American usage.

 

football (soccer to me) is simply boring

Maybe you should give 5-day Test match cricket a try?

 

I also don't get the fan fervor over it - the fights and occasional riots - when what you're doing is watching a lot of over-paid guys run around a grassy field.

You obviously did not watch the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and South Korea when South Korea reached the semi-finals. For weeks that entire nation was gripped by an extraordinary mass fever you would not find with any other sport (not even when half of Japan is glued to their TV sets watching one of their baseball stars play in the American leagues).

[KhorTose]

Go America. Predict that America will once again be in the final 8.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Football is the king of sports. It's fantastic, every night. The 1am games are too late for me, though. Too bad.

When did football become the king of sports? The International King of Sports is a multi event competition and the Sport of Kings is polo.

[Guest fountainhall]

the Sport of Kings is polo.

Presumably because you need a king's ransom to be able to participate

[Guest]

Maybe you should give 5-day Test match cricket a try?

 

Five day test cricket is fascinating & compares very favourably with some of these "new" sports like football. Has a substantial international following too.

[Guest]

I find the sport of Croquet the most amazing on earth. I am quite good at it.

[Guest fountainhall]

Five day test cricket is fascinating & compares very favourably with some of these "new" sports like football. Has a substantial international following too.

I used to enjoy it - and even went to a few matches at the Oval in London when I worked there. But I always think that to anyone brought up on a diet of stop/start sports like baseball and American football, or faster flowing shorter sports like soccer and rugby, 5-day cricket must seem incredibly boring.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Many years ago I sat for an hour at the Commons in Cambridge watching a cricket match (test?) I have had a more enjoyable time watching paint dry or grass grow. YAWN!!!!!!

[Guest fountainhall]

Many years ago I sat for an hour at the Commons in Cambridge watching a cricket match (test?) I have had a more enjoyable time watching paint dry or grass grow. YAWN!!!!!!

You were lucky! That was more like a pleasant afternoon diversion. A Test-match is an international game played in large capacity grounds, usually over 5 whole days!

[Guest tdperhs]

Clearly an overhyped waste of money and national resources to prove what? That people from one country will sell their loyalty to another country for the privilege of kicking a ball around on some third country's front lawn? Anybody who wastes a second of his time following this crap...

Ooops, lost track of time. The game starts in 30 minutes and I haven't washed my "USA ALL THE WAY" beer stein, my "GO USA" World Cup T-shirt is still at the laundry and they close at 9 p.m. Christ, I hope it's dry. And if I don't get to the bar at least 10 minutes before the game, I will pay hell getting a seat.(There is one visitor from Slovenia going to be there.)

 

More of my opinion of the World Cup later.

[KhorTose]

The game starts in 30 minutes and I haven't washed my "USA ALL THE WAY" beer stein, my "GO USA" World Cup T-shirt is still at the laundry and they close at 9 p.m. Christ, I hope it's dry. And if I don't get to the bar at least 10 minutes before the game, I will pay hell getting a seat.(There is one visitor from Slovenia going to be there.)

 

More of my opinion of the World Cup later.

 

We were robbed. I think the world cup definitely needs better officials.

[Guest fountainhall]

I think the world cup definitely needs better officials.

Soccer in general needs better officials. Remember the way France just scraped through qualifying - thanks to a patently obvious goalmouth hand ball from Thierry Henry? France gained millions as a result, and poor Ireland were left out. Video technology would have picked that up since the officials failed to do so, but the President of FIFA is adamantly against anything that holds up the run of play. Go figure!

[Guest]

Soccer in general needs better officials. Remember the way France just scraped through qualifying - thanks to a patently obvious goalmouth hand ball from Thierry Henry? France gained millions as a result, and poor Ireland were left out. Video technology would have picked that up since the officials failed to do so, but the President of FIFA is adamantly against anything that holds up the run of play. Go figure!

 

Cricket often uses video technology. This may involve the umpires referring the decision to a "third umpire" with a TV screen or each team having the opportunity to refer maybe 2 decisions per innings. If the decision is referred to the TV umpire and the umpires sides with the team making the "referral", then the referral is not deducted from the quota.

 

The decision making by video is not infallible, but it does improve matters.

 

To improve decision making, professional football should have at least 2 more officials on the goal line and major decisions like goals, penalties and red cards should be referred to a TV ref. This does not need to slow the game down at all, as the time can replace that wasted where the players surround the referee arguing.

Only the team captain should be allowed to question decisions -anyone else should receive a yellow card. Even if that means booking half the team in one go. They would soon learn.

 

One more thing - rule changes or major changes to the ball etc should first be proven out in some minor league, not rolled out for the world cup. It is madness to use a ball with completely different characteristics for the showpiece global tournament.

[Guest fountainhall]

One more thing - rule changes or major changes to the ball etc should first be proven out in some minor league, not rolled out for the world cup. It is madness to use a ball with completely different characteristics for the showpiece global tournament.

I read that the 'new' ball was used in the German, Austrian, Swiss, Portuguese and American leagues in the last 3 months of last season. They were also available to all national sides from February on and were used by the French and Argentine sides. But judging from the number of shots I have seen go far beyond the point intended by the striker, especially all those soaring over the goal, it seems to fly higher and stay longer in the air than most others, and most of the players just are not used to it. As you suggest - madness!

[Guest fountainhall]

In their 2 matches so far, England has performed abysmally. So much so that one man of God, the Bishop of Croyden near London, has penned two prayers. The first is merely: "Oh God!" The second has a little more substance: "God, who played the cosmos into being, please help England rediscover their legs, their eyes and their hunger: that they might run more clearly, pass more nearly and enjoy the game more dearly. Amen."

 

Bishop of Croydon offers prayers for the England team - Telegraph

 

Words fail me!