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USA moves on!

by BoiseBYU · 6/23/2010

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BoiseBYU
I will see to it that my first grandchild is named Landon! And the second, Donovan! Take that PAC 10 refs!!!!!!!
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CougarClaw
What a game!



Algeria played amazing defense and props to their goalie who staved off a barrage but USA played their hearts out. I dont' mind being an hour late for work today.



One interesting factoid about World Cup Soccer. US went from not qualifying to Group winners in 1 second.I Feel bad for Slovenia which also had a great world cup and probably won't be sending Donovan a Christmas Card this year.



This game easily could have been 3-1. But it was always the US.
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scott715
How many times did we miss an open goal? Twice? How many times we hit the crossbar? No idea. But then we were fortunate that their shot in the crossbar and didn't go in. We next play 2nd place of group D. It could be Ghana, Germany or Serbia who play at 2:30 EST today.
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SpiffCoug
That is why soccer is so awesome! You can go from the depths of depression to peaks of joyous celebration in one split second!
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CougarClaw
I do have to say, I have two favorite World cup scenes so far.



Michael Bradley running off the pitch after scoring the Equalizer against Slovenia

http://media.mlive.com/michigan_soccer/photo/michael-bradley-celebrates-vs-sloveniajpg-22db19325aa52854_large.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">



and watching the South Korean players break down and crying on the pitch after tying Nigeria for the qualification for the first time in their non-hosting history.
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M
Mars


Am I the only one...?



USA tied (how UnAmerican!) two low-scoring, ugly games (1-1 and 2-2) and barely won the 3rd game by just a single goal. 2 of those opponents were terrible, and the other one (England) turned out to be very mediocre.



What I'm saying is, all 4 of them suck and deserve to go home.

Since when is a record of 1-0-2 against weak competition something to celebrate? Consider me very not-sold (and double that when the sport's terrible rules and reffing -which make the PAC-0 refs seem fair- are added in).



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On the bright side, at least "Evictus" was a good movie. :D
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SpiffCoug
Yes, you are the only one who can't appreciate drama, high stakes and excitement.
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Mars
kitic77 wrote:
Yes, you are the only one who can't appreciate drama, high stakes

1-1 scores equal drama, excitement? More like "snoozefest".

"High stakes", when multiple ties equals winning? Bah. I like real sports.
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CougarClaw
Mars wrote:
Yes, you are the only one who can't appreciate drama, high stakes

1-1 scores equal drama, excitement? More like "snoozefest".

"High stakes", when multiple ties equals winning? Bah. I like real sports.


I was thinking the other day about 'real' sports. Soccer is the only one I know of where the players play for two halves of a full 45 minutes WITHOUT A BREAK. Compare that to basketball, baseball or football where players regularly sit, drink, and sub-in.



Certainly there is plenty of jogging and even walking in soccer, but in a game that doesn't allow any more than 3 substitutions, they get no water, one short half to rest, and everything else is running and sprinting.



oh, and when they get hit in the head, it's usually by someone else's head or by a knee, and that's all WITHOUT a helmet.



Soccer is definitely growing on me this year as a true sport.
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SpiffCoug
Mars wrote:
Yes, you are the only one who can't appreciate drama, high stakes

1-1 scores equal drama, excitement? More like "snoozefest".

"High stakes", when multiple ties equals winning? Bah. I like real sports.

The scoreline is not what made it high stakes. The fact that it is the World Cup and the US needed to win is what makes it high stakes. The fact that the US got an extremely late goal to get that win and advance is what made it dramatic and exciting. Were the previous 90 minutes somewhat of a "snoozefest"? Possibly. But only if you didn't want to consider what was on the line. And the excitement and jubilation of that one moment more than made up for. At least to this fan.
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scott715
How about the two goals that the refs took away from us? Maybe you prefer Cricket with all of the scoring or ping pong.



Oh by the way I have watched the last 1 and half matches and thought they were very entertaining. Of course it helps to know something about soccer.
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Mars
CougarClaw wrote:
I was thinking the other day about 'real' sports. Soccer is the only one I know of where the players play for two halves of a full 45 minutes WITHOUT A BREAK. Compare that to basketball, baseball or football where players regularly sit, drink, and sub-in.

There are breaks... whenever the ball goes out of bounds, or there's a penalty, a goal, or an injury. ;)



Besides, how is soccer's pace much different than hockey, rugby, or lacrosse?
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Mars
scott715 wrote:
How about the two goals that the refs took away from us?

What was the other goal?



Oh, and for the record, I prefer football and basketball. :D
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kiwibacon
Mars wrote:



Oh, and for the record, I prefer football and basketball. :D

Then maybe visit the football and basketball threads instead of thread crap?... :D
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Schmoe
Well, this has been the dumbest thing I've seen Mars post in quite some time (the Ironman 2 movie review was a close second), but at least it didn't contain the "F-word"... ;)
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CougarClaw
Mars wrote:
There are breaks... whenever the ball goes out of bounds, or there's a penalty, a goal, or an injury. ;)



Besides, how is soccer's pace much different than hockey, rugby, or lacrosse? [/color]


but the players don't get to sit on a bench for 5-10 minutes, have a cup of gatorade and have a heater/A/C unit blowing on them till there ready again.



Soccer is at least as aerobic as Hockey, but hockey players sub in like its nobodies business not to mention they play multiple periods and have time outs. I can't say I've watched a full game of lacrosse.



One of the most amazing things to me about World Cup is that the entire nation can get behind a team, much like the Olympics, but on a more treacherous path. All our petty Lakers/ Celtics, Big 12/Pac-10, Yankees and those other MLB teams, all those differences are put behind us and we cheer as a nation.



You don't hear "USA, USA, USA" at a basketball game.
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Mars
CougarClaw wrote:
the players don't get to sit on a bench for 5-10 minutes, have a cup of gatorade and have a heater/A/C unit blowing on them till there ready again.

There are no 2nd-string players? Dang, I hope we don't suffer any injuries...
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SpiffCoug
Mars wrote:
the players don't get to sit on a bench for 5-10 minutes, have a cup of gatorade and have a heater/A/C unit blowing on them till there ready again.

There are no 2nd-string players? Dang, I hope we don't suffer any injuries...

Actually our depth has been key in the first three games. You have a 23-man roster. 20 of those are "field" players. The US has used 18 of those players. Props to Coach Bradley for effectively tagging guys to come in and produce. He's made great substitutions and had starting lineups. Everyone who has been asked, has stepped up and met the challenge. Even guys who bring dread to fans like me who closely follow the national team - guys like Jonathan Bornstein and Damarcus Beasely - have come in and held their own.
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