OT: Final results of MGoBlog World Cup Bracket Predictor; Also, overall snowflakes on tourney
Here are the final results of the ESPN bracket:
http://games.espn.go.com/world-cup-bracket-predictor/2014/en/group?groupID=54759
I'll toot my horn and note that I finished in 2nd based on tiebreaker. I didn't want Germany to win, but I figured it would be inevitable.
So: final thoughts on the game and tourney in general?
It was a blast. See you again in four years.
Signed,
America
Good tournament; good action throughout. Every game, save for a few obvious ones early and the Brasil representation at the end, was good and entertaining futbol.
America represented themselves well, in my humble opinion. I understand there are opinions on our team in regards to how we're still no where near the elite teams but even addressing the issues we have, we're building and gaining some ground. I hope we can become a final 8 team by 2016.
*This from a fairweather soccer/futbol fan. I don't watch on a regular basis but I've played many years of soccer, growing up and onto travelling teams during junior high so I understand the game fairly well. I'll try to get myself to watch more European futbol in the near future.
Die Mannschaft!
C'mon, we all know your a HUGE fan of Mannschaft.
I don't think too many non-Germans have a problem with them waving their flags and whatnot. It's really Germans themselves who have hangups over it, having been scarred from the Nazi experience into thinking that any display of patriotism must be evil.
(BTW, "Vive la France" isn't a sports cheer. It's something politicans say. French sports fans would say "Allez les Bleus" - Go Blue.)
Great tournament, and the best team won.
FINAL RESULTS, I GOT SECOND GUYS!!!
To be fair to myself, I just happened to think about it after Germany won...I just wanted to look because I couldn't remember if I had them beating Argentina or Belgium.
Really good tournament, and the right team won. Russia will be interesting in 4 years, just from a viewership perspective, and then hopefully even come to their senses and gets the game out of Qatar.
After seeing Sochi and their expenses, I'd love to have Putin pay my firm $5 billion for a $1 billion stadium
Thought it was a very entertaining game, but I wish there were a few more goals. Also, I wish dives were called a little more often, but unfortunately they are hard to determine in real time.
I finished 106th! I'm having a party!
I'm surprised Messi won the Golden Ball over James Rodriguez or Arjen Robben. Messi was fantastic in the group stage but then pretty quiet thereafter.
Whats up with Russia getting the World Cup right after they get the Olympics? Same thing with Brazil.....
This has happened many times.
Mexico got the 1968 Summer Olympics and 1970 World Cup.
West Germany got the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1974 WC.
The U.S. got the 1994 WC and '96 Olympics.
Japan got the 1998 Olympics and co-hosted the 2002 WC.
I'm hearing Qatar is also the favorite to land the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Best place to have the games.
has better atmosphere, more traveling fans.
The U.S. is due for an olympics and a world cup. I was hoping for a Chicago 2016 olympics. It would have been huge for the midwest.
How would it have been huge for the Midwest?
Recent history has demonstrated that these kinds of events generate little to no long-term economic benefit, while leaving the host city/cities with a bunch of expensive white elephant stadiums that taxpayers are stuck paying off for years.
I could go for the World Cup because (unlike most countries) the U.S. actually has the stadiums in place already, but I'm fine with not hosting the Olympics again for a long time.
I dont think that would be the case for the US these days because they actually have the sports and entertainment infrastructure to use stadiums they already have or continue using ones they build for the event. They wouldnt be building one in the middle of the jungle.
never seen so many beautiful women in one place. I'm definitely going to Russia in 2018.
Just go to Brazil.
Just go to Colombia.
Calli preferred.
Robben is Dutch, not Belgian.
But Seriously; Another Lesson Learned: Before you copy and paste on MGoBlog, be sure that you've added in all your corrected text. And proofread, proofread, proofread!
Apologies to Arjen Robben, Man of the Match in three of the Netherlands' wins, including the third place match. (Some have speculated that in two years, he'll be competing for the Dutch again in Brazil in the Olympics in both football/soccer -- as one of the three overage players allowed on the U-23 team -- and in non-platform diving.)
Chicago already has a lot of the stadiums in place. Northwestern, Loyola, Chicago State, NIU, UIC, Depaul, Illinois, Notre Dame, Wrigley, US Cellular, Soldier Field, United Center, Allstate Arena, Sears Centre, etc.
Yeah, what's a couple million tourists anyways? We've got McDonalds, it'll be fine.
The Olympics don't boost tourism. While they're going on, there is an increase in first-time visitors, but this is offset by a massive decrease in regular visitors, who stay away those two weeks to "avoid the crowds". After the Games, there is never much of a difference from before. Politiicans always claim the first-time visitors will fall in love with the city and want to go back, but there is little evidence of this happening in any of the recent host cities.
I imagine that all Olympic host cities had a bunch of existing sports venues before they got the Games. The problem is that a lot of them weren't appropriate for the sports the Olympics has. For example, what good do Wrigley and U.S. Cellular do, when baseball has been dropped from the Olympic program? Also, some of the sites you mentioned are too far away to be useable. The IOC expects most venues to be in a compact, walkable area. Going all the way to South Bend? Forget it.
In the end, you have two weeks of fun and then you're left with a huge bill to pay off. And contrary to what organizers claim, there is rarely any increase in tourism or economic investment in the years that follow. Hosting the Olympics is an egotrip for local politicians, nothing more.
I'm not sure the ego trip is the whole story. There's a lot of money to be made if you land a construction contract or happen to own or control the right real estate and as a former Chicagoan I can tell you that that's a form of power most Chicago politicians understand very well.
Best MGoBlogger won too (me!)
6th Place! Alll righttttttt