This is most definitely Muppet-worthy. It's the first time every we've advanced out of the Group Stage in two consecutive tournaments, and this time we did it in either the toughest or second-toughest group.
This is the equivalent of the Sweet 16 in March Madness.
I don't see it. I'll say it again. To get into this round we had to to surpass these two nations:
Ghana -
- GDP $90B (ranked 78)
- Population 25M (49th)
Portugal -
- GDP $243B (54th)
- Population 10.8M (80th)
US -
- GDP $16,700B (aka $16.7T) (1st)
- Population 318M (4th)
This would be like the Patriots storming the field after having a .500 season, or the Yankees celebrating a 90 win season by popping champagne, or Michigan beating Indiana in football. It's a nice accomplishent, but Muppets, man. Muppets.
or maybe Michigan Sweet 16 Muppets after beating South Dakota State and VCU, but we would never....Oh wait, never mind. Blouses!
Uruguay:
GDP: $58Billion
Population: 3.3 million (about the size of Connecticut)
133rd country in the world in population size. Arguably the best country in the history of FIFA except Brazil, which is on a different soccer planet.
How is this like the Patriots storming the field after a .500 season? The U.S. has never made it out of the group two cups in a row until now.
By "compelling" I mean "nonexistant". Perhaps I was too obscure in my analysis. I believe that we should not be excited about making the round of 16, beause a nation of our resources and economic power should be in the top 16 in this game. To repeate my original point, I am not saying we shouldn't be excited about the novelty of this step, but muppets are reserved for very special accomplishements, and this is not a special accomplishement.
I'm going to go ahead and guess you weren't that excited about beating VT in the Sugar Bowl either, because just another bowl game win isn't a "special accomplishment" for Michigan (regardless of, you know, the actual state of the program).
The Yankees and Patriots are perennial powers in their sports and leagues.
The US is no where near a power in this sport. Just because we're bigger doesn't mean shit to anyone with a brain; but your logic the US, Russia, China, and India would probably be the best in the world every year yet none of them makes the top 10.
In most strong soccer nations, it is the #1 sport by far; in some it is the only sport that matters. In America it's 7th or 8th at best. More American kids want to participate in the Indy 500 than the World Cup.
In France and Denmark they have high quality clinics working with kids very early, in Argentina and Uruguay they grow up playing it in the streets from the time they can walk til they can't. it's just not part of our cultural identity and that's why it's completely baseless to compare us to the Patriots or act like having lots of people should make the US a soccer power immediately even though 98% are like you and don't really care about it.
edit. embedding looks odd, this is in response to Rufus Xavier, obviously.
Really? Your argument is that because we're economically successful and have a large population we should be a dominant soccer country?
Wow. That is so ridiculously silly, I don't even know where to begin...I guess using your logic? (can we even call it that?) that India, China, and Japan should be dominating world soccer right now too.
Ridiculous.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/interactive/2013/dec/18/world-cup-2…
I don't think it's a major accomplishment to get out of the group stage when they have done it 3 out of the last 4 WCs. We're better than people think we are.
Here's some perspective: We made it to the "Sweet Sixteen".
Gues who did not: England, Italy, Spain, Portugal.
Pretty sweet indeed.
The USA got out of a group of death, played Germany pretty closely on minimal rest, and are through to the knockout round. In the biggest sporting event in the world.
They did what they needed to do, and now will likely face Belgium - a tough team, but absolutely beatable. So yeah, Muppets seem appropriate.
(I. I believe! I believe we! I believe we did back in! I believe we did back in! I believe we did back in!!)
It's what we do here. Debating whether a certain win is "muppet-worthy" is a time honored tradition here.
Let's not argue over whether muppets should or should not be deployed.
Let's just enjoy something good happening to a team that we all feel good about. Straight enjoying sports, without criticizing how much we should or should not be celebrating. Let's try that tactic and just see how it goes.
So far so good over here. Though that may be the extended happy hour talking...
Muppets for a World Cup game after a loss, huh. I guess my expectations for Muppets was directly related to the University of Michigan, period. Oh well.
Please let me know when soccer (er ... footbul) actually starts using a real clock for each half and removes the ref's bias when it comes to the simpliest of rules ... the TIME of the game.
Go Blue!
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