OT: Who in the World Cup do you root for now?
October 11th, 2017 at 10:44 PM ^
Tough call, Irish-German as well so tend to root for Germany, but also a Spurs fan so England and Belgium are other teams I hope do well.
October 12th, 2017 at 1:37 PM ^
It would be fun to see England have a deep run. That country would go bonkers.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:14 PM ^
For family/friend reasons.
I also enjoy the Iceland underdog story.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:27 PM ^
Allez Les bleus
October 12th, 2017 at 9:31 AM ^
You stole my comment.
October 12th, 2017 at 7:23 PM ^
Je suis desole
October 11th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
NOOOOBODY!!!!
(Did I do that right?)
October 11th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
Colombia!
October 11th, 2017 at 10:17 PM ^
.... game.
Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.
- Gary Lineker
October 11th, 2017 at 10:17 PM ^
joga bonita
October 11th, 2017 at 10:19 PM ^
I always root for Deutschland so it won't be any different. I even have a jersey.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:26 PM ^
-1 douche
October 11th, 2017 at 10:21 PM ^
Germany and France
October 11th, 2017 at 10:22 PM ^
Lucky for me, I was born well after the end of WW2.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:25 PM ^
Why would anyone watch the World Cup now? 1. It’s soccer and 2. USA is not playing...
October 11th, 2017 at 10:33 PM ^
why millions of Americans watch the EuroCup.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:42 PM ^
I like when people throw around "millions".
There are 326 million in the USA. A million people is 0.3% - nothing.
The largest soccer viewership in USA history, the womens world cup was 25 million or 7% of population.
111 million watched the Superbowl, or 34%.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:51 PM ^
Just to play devil's advocate, I'd argue a high percentage of soccer viewers more actively engage while watching vs the viewers of the super bowl, a sizable portion of whom just have the game on in the background during a watch party while not actually watching/caring about the game itself.
That being said I'm definitely not trying to argue that more people actively watch soccer than the super bowl.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:53 PM ^
And yet the EuroCup in 2016 still had bigger ratings than the CopaCup. There is still a draw for top international soccer competition even when the USA isn't playing
October 11th, 2017 at 10:47 PM ^
And the reason is....
October 12th, 2017 at 6:12 AM ^
You're telling me you've never watched any of the CFP then?
October 12th, 2017 at 9:20 AM ^
This hurts, but I appreciate the brutality of it.
October 12th, 2017 at 2:24 PM ^
well CFP is football and we are talking about soccer.
Are you trying to say that any playoff type event should be watched? Cuz I'm not watching single elimination chess tournaments any time soon, although that may be more exciting than a World Cup with no USA
October 12th, 2017 at 2:23 AM ^
past the first round of the knockout stage in years the US is in it.
Because some people like to watch good international soccer and want to see who wins the best tournament in sports.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:29 PM ^
...because there's only two things I hate in this world:
People who are intolerant of other people's cultures; and,
The Dutch!
GO NETHERLANDS!!!
October 11th, 2017 at 10:32 PM ^
What if I told you.....
October 11th, 2017 at 10:32 PM ^
Well this is awkward. Who wants to tell him?
October 11th, 2017 at 10:30 PM ^
I'll pick an African team with a nice feel good story. And England. I have a masters in English, so why not.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:35 PM ^
I am in a huge huge minority but i almost always root for England if they're not playing the US.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:31 PM ^
Poland and Iceland - and if they make it, Ireland and Peru.
October 11th, 2017 at 11:16 PM ^
Poland vs Russia final would be fun.
October 12th, 2017 at 11:41 AM ^
Poland as well.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:35 PM ^
Being a Chelsea fan, about 1/2 the team is or was Chelsea property. This way I can keep weep when I see KDB and Lukaku dominate.
October 12th, 2017 at 9:34 AM ^
I'm with you there! Hazard, Batsuyahi, and Courtois. KTBFFH!
October 11th, 2017 at 10:46 PM ^
Arguably top 2 best player in our generation. I prefer him to others because he seems to go about his business, rarely dives and I've never witnessed a game where he fakes an injury to draw a card. He seems like a classy player (Real Madrid fans will likely disagree) and he's delivered for his team. I'd like to see him win one to cap off his career. Sucks Pulisic will be watching from home. He's the best U.S. player I've seen and shows a lot of heart, unlike some of the other players on the pitch last night.
October 11th, 2017 at 11:18 PM ^
I agree with you on all points. I am rooting for messi in this one but I'll be keeping a close eye on all my Man City boys. Jesus Fernandinho and Ederson with Brazil, David Silva bosses games for Spain, Kompany and KDB along with Hazard and Lukaku make Belgium a very entertaining side. Aguero and Otamendi with Argentina, Gundogan and Sane for Germany, Stones, Sterling and Walker for England and Bernardo Silva with Portugal all make for a lot of games to watch.
October 12th, 2017 at 12:25 AM ^
"Arguably top 2 best player in our generation."
Huh?
The word you're looking for is "unquestionably." The word "arguably" really only applies to him when discussing his placing amongst Maradona and Pele.
Hard to understate how incredible it is that two all-time greats in Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo have risen and stayed head and shoulders above the rest together at arch-rival clubs for so long. Their talent, their performance, their impact... it's incredible. The only real disappointment is that neither has really played for a great WC side that could use their talents. Maybe Messi does something great next summer, but history is against him.
October 12th, 2017 at 1:41 AM ^
doesn't qualify as a great WC side? Messi was thissss close to getting that ultimate prize. Many contend that if he had won that WC, he could/should be considered the best of all time (with Pele or Maradona as the competition).
In 2006, they had the second highest odds (per oddsmakers) to win the WC and in 2010 they had the fourth highest odds.
They've always had a great WC side capable of winning it all (except maybe this year).
October 12th, 2017 at 2:21 PM ^
Thanks for the comment, this is good healthy discussion. I'm too young to consider Pele as part of my generation. He did most of his work in the 60s, early 70s. Others will argue that Maradona or/and Ronaldo are better players than Messi, partially because they've won trophies at the international level. I don't know enough about soccer to engage in those conversations.
"Maybe Messi does something great next summer, but history is against him", is all the more reason for me to root for him. Root for the underdog, and hope that one of the greatest of all time can bring home a trophy for his country. I assume he's a GOD in Argentina. Is there a bigger word for him if he brings home the world cup trophy?
*btw, I always enjoy reading your posts*
October 12th, 2017 at 3:55 AM ^
But also my wife is Argentinean, which pretty much makes me Argentinean (futbolisticamente).
When they lost to Germany in 2010, it was on her 30th birthday. It was.. not the best party of her life.
I'm still not over the 2014 final. I'll never be over the 2014 final. It ranks up there with a short list of Michigan' greatest football tragedies (which I shall not name here out of courtesy to the rest of you, but yeah, I know you have your list that likely overlaps significantly with mine). Losing the final in extra time, especially after completely blowing two gifted chances (Higuain and Palacio) during the match was devastating to the fans. I cannot imagine how it felt for the players. I've lost countless hours of sleep thinking about it, and I'm just some guy. Though Messi's face when receiving the Golden Ball kinda sums it up.
Then they went on to lose two consecutive Copa America finals, both on shootouts.
They're disorganized and are not likely to perform well unless they significantly change their approach. Most of their best players are about four years too old to excel. But with Messi, they have a chance. The guy deserves it. He's going to play his heart out. I hope he wins.
October 11th, 2017 at 10:46 PM ^
sorry double post
October 11th, 2017 at 10:58 PM ^
Bolivia.
October 11th, 2017 at 11:10 PM ^
La Furia Roja!
October 11th, 2017 at 11:12 PM ^
Go blue
October 11th, 2017 at 11:14 PM ^
Teams I will root for in order of preferance......Mexico, Germany, Poland, France, Spain. Pretty realistic chance the winner comes from that group so yea me !
October 11th, 2017 at 11:23 PM ^
Strong German heritage in my family. Grew up always hearing my grandparents speak the language to each other.
October 11th, 2017 at 11:37 PM ^
du hast nicht!
October 11th, 2017 at 11:28 PM ^
Island and Deutschland
October 11th, 2017 at 11:47 PM ^
this guy gets it