This will only confirm my sister's suspicions that I'm turning into a frat boy, but man oh man am I excited for the World Cup.
It's ages away, I know, but in between Red Sox reading sessions, I'm visiting the FIFA/Yahoo site to sort out this enormous globally-ballyhooed sporting even in which I've taken no interest previously. It's weird and likely related to the playing of indoor soccer and subsequent association with actual soccer fans, not to mention the far away dream that is a season in which my skin does not become a dried-up husk.
It's especially funny because my understanding of the rules/positions/etc. to 11-a-side outdoor soccer is hazy at best. That hasn't stopped me from trying to work out which team I'll support (aside from the USA, I guess). Perhaps Switzerland. Kind of an underdog (they didn't qualify in '98 or '02). Argentina. Too obvious? Maybe Spain or Ghana.
I honestly have no idea what the shit is going on. Were my mother not 3000 miles away, she'd likely feel my forehead for a fever.
On a semi-related note, I had an epiphany in the radiologist's office the other day. I was sitting there, bored out of my skull, feeling all keyed up because I didn't really know what would happen next or how the procedure worked. And since I didn't have the insider treatment that I get at my mom's hospital in NH, I was left in the plebian waiting room without a clue, in the queue with everyone else (boy does that suck). And I realized that the main reason for my unease was that I'd never done anything like take a soccer ball to the hand before. Because the most strenuous thing I did as a kid was turn the page in a Civil War-era historical fiction novel. So, this is what it's like to be sporty (-ish... I mean, I'm not jogging every day nor have I swapped beer for Gatorade. Let's not get carried away). You hurt yourself, get X-rays, apply Icy-Hot. It's a whole new world.
AP image from fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
16 comments:
Well you know I'm pulling for the U.S. Come on, international sports are the only time we can all root for America without feeling dirty and weird.
Then my choices would be:
Portugal
Serbia and Montenegro
Ghana
and for you, Switzerland
There are gonna be a lot of teams to like this year. Oh and England.
Spain? gross. come on.
The U.S. plays ghana in the group stage, so i don't think you should pull for them, at least not the second round, if they make it. may i suggest croatia? i always pull for italy, but i can't this time until after the group stage. it's pretty easy, i find, to pick a team in each match. and then to say really, really racist stuff about the opposing team. watch out, mexico.
Ah yes. I forgot about Ghana being in our group. Croatia isn't a bad idea, nor Italy. Though, I'm sure it'll come down to whatever teams are in the games that I can actually watch. I'm not convinced that I would derive enjoyment from a gamecast online.
Croatians are fascists! Uh. I didn't just say that.
Serbia's the former Yugoslav team that needs our support.
I mean if Bosnia were an option I'd totally pick them (or Slovenia obviously), but between the Serbs and the Croats, well easy choice. This is a weird conversation.
This is a weird conversation.
I wish Ireland had qualified. I'd feel like a traitor rooting for England.
well, a friend of mine down here is a big fan of argentina, so i'll probably pull for them as well... in my view, all the balkan states need our support against bitch finesse teams like france and the netherlands. sheena, you can't root for england. the world cup is one of the few arenas in which international hatred is accepted and encouraged. thus the US/Mexico rivalry, the england/argentina rivalry, uh... the france/deoderant rivalry.
I'm not rooting for England. I'm way into the England/Argentina rivalry.
I was in France when they won the Euro cup in '00 or whenever that was. They went nuts.
I'm totally for England over Argentina. The Argentines cheat and England has very funny, offensive songs about the Argentines' mothers.
Also, they tried to steal the Falklands.(Sings)Enga-land, Enga-land, Enga-land. England,England.
I'm a Netherlands supporter. Van Nistelrooy can score goals blindfolded and hogtied. And Edwin van der Saar is like 9 feet tall.
Oder Deutschland...mit Oliver Kahn
xox
mom
Well, Van Nistelrooy clearly has the best name in professional sport. He plays for Man U, yes?
The Dutch are also pretty crazy about the soccer. They paint themselves orange.
If I were Dutch, I'd paint myself orange too. They just play very exciting soccer--organized and attack oriented.
oh, screw the dutch. hey, pick a name for your stupid country. you can't have that many names. oh, you're from holland? no, the netherlands? and you're called the dutch. i don't think so.
like we should talk. we're a state made of states. we're american but everyone calls us yanks. what's the difference?
... and for the record, they picked a name: the netherlands. people just call it holland because (a) it's easier to say and (b) the province is the cultural center of the country.
on a slightly related note, how come england, scotland, ireland, and wales all get to compete for the world cup seperately, but only send one combined team representing the UK to the olympics? the UK is a country comprising countries. if anyone needs to make up their fucking mind(s) it's them.
Don't go lumping the Republic in with the North. The Republic of Ireland is a sovereign nation and therefore sends its own athletes to the Olympics and its own team to the World Cup (when they qualify).
They're separate countries, but one United Kingdom. It's because the Welsh and the Scots could never get their shit together to get rid of the frickin' English like the Irish did.
I'm not sure about the olympics, though. I'd love to see scotland take on england in the olympics.
Did you know Hong Kong gets its own Olympic team? Isn't that great? Let's stop all this feuding and fussing.
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