FIFA World Cup Soccer 2010

Final World Cup Thoughts (July 14)

A few last words on the 2010 World Cup, from a lifetime sports fan, but new soccer fan.

I DID NOT LIKE the bad Calls. I'm not a big fan of instant replay, think the calls should be up to the officials on the field, bla bla bla... But to have a ball clearly bounce a few FEET inside the goal and bounce back, a call like that in games where one goal is a lot, that should never happen. Put instant replay in for checking if a goal crossed the line.

FIFAWorldCupSoccer2010
I LIKED the format. Every 4 years, countries qualify to be one of the 32 teams. The cut to 16 teams is different, a round robin with 8 groups of 4 teams, who play each of the other 3 teams once. After the Group Of 16, it's similar to the NCAA March Madness playoff brackets, single elimination. But for most of the tournament there was at least one game on television every day.

I DID NOT LIKE all the diving and faking of injuries. I haven't seen so much diving since the old "Sea Hunt" show. Every time there was any slight contact someone falls on the ground and cries for their mommy! I think the championship game had even MORE acting than other games did, shame to see that in a big match!

I LIKED the game itself, a fairly simple rules game. I see why it's the main sport in the rest of the world. Watching quality players goaltend, "dribble", pass, and bend some of these rocket shots was great. The free corner kicks are cool, hmmm, wonder if that would work in basketball, a free pass in from the corner? Just don't understand how they over-kicked those corner kicks so many times.

I DID NOT LIKE the time clock counting UP. Extra Time, Additional time. Does anybody really know what time it is? (Does anybody really care?). It's weird enough that the clock runs UP. I mean, doesn't EVERYTHING count DOWN? New Year's Eve goes 3,2,1. It doesn't go like 31535998, 31535999, 31536000 HAPPY NEW YEAR!! But to not know how much "extra" time is left, as the referee keeps that "extra" time to himself, is very strange.


I LIKED that there are no television commercials during the game, they just play straight through. That might work against soccer though, as the Advertising industry must HATE that there are no commercials spots for them during play. Wish my DVR would sense games that run long, so it doesn't CHOP OFF THE RECORDING! grrrrrr. maybe it will by 2014, when they play in Brazil, and we can see the games live in prime time for a change!

I DID NOT LIKE the noise pollution known as Vuvuzellas. May this be the last time you hear that word, let alone the beehive horn sound these non-fan idiots make the entire game, every game. Stick that in your vuvuzella and blow it!

I DID NOT LIKE the handball goaltending. There was a ball going into the goal and a Uruguay defender, not the goalie, illegally blocked it with his hand. There was no goal counted, only a penalty shot (which Ghana missed), and a one game suspension issued, which the hand-ball defender gladly accepted. This is the same as in basketball, but at least there is a goaltending rule. So, if I am elected Commissioner :-) any shot that is clearly going to be a goal, and is blocked illegally, like that hand ball was, will count as a goal AND a red card (suspension).

But all in all, it was a fun tournament to watch, and I hope soccer can move up in the USA.

RANT OVER TILL 2014!!! Hmmm, ROADTRIP TO RIO???

Soccer... Is it Ready For Prime Time? (June 11)

To a soccer fan from anywhere in the world outside the USA, it might sound strange to even ask this question, because soccer (aka Futbol) is THE main sport in most other countries. But maybe 2010 is the World Cup that can actually capture sports fans here, I think it is...

Here are some questions I had because I was no big World Cup expert at all, just wanted to understand how it works better. If you have any questions, ask here and I'll post an answer, as I'll be updating the bracket results until the World Cup is finished in July.

What is FIFA World Cup? - The Federation International Football Association, runs the World Cup which plays in a different part of the world every 4 years, similar to the Olympics. These games are being played in South Africa. There are qualification games to become one of the 32 country teams to get into the World Cup.

How many games are played in Group matches? - There are 8 groups of 4 teams. Each team in this first "Group Play" round, has one game against each of the other 3 teams. The 2 best teams from each group move forward to the Round of 16. From there, it's similar to the NCAA basketball playoffs, going from 16 to 8 to 4 to 2 to the champions. So only the Group Play round is a different concept than most sports playoffs in the USA. I listed the Tie Breaker rules below, for Group Play.

Group Play Tie Breaker Rules "The ranking of each team in each group will be determined as follows:
a) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches;
b) goal difference in all group matches;
c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings will be determined as follows:

d) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
e) goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
f) greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;
g) drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee."