• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

FIFA World Cup 2014

#2,641
Tituscrow said:
I think you've got as much chance as any other nation that will never win it.

Just like Milton Keynes Dons will never win the Premier League.
Click to expand...

Just like Greece will never be European Champions? People would have said the same thing about the Dutch in the 1960s.

That's the cultural difference I'm talking about. I don't base my predictions about the future solely on the results of the past and present. Traditional American sports are on the decline and association football is on the rise in a huge way. It's a matter of a couple of generations before the US potentially has a world class team.

If Carlos Slim or Warren Buffett wanted to, they could buy MK Dons and make them English champions in a few years. I don't see it happening, but it can be done.
 
#2,642
I think that growing up with the game here probably means that Titus has forgotten more about football than any American will ever know, but on this occasion I'm going to agree to some extent (so it's a mere difference of opinion, rather than a cultural one). Greece won the Euros in 2004. Any team can win any tournament. That's what makes sports great.

I remember the shock when Boris Becker won at Wimbledon in 1985. All the experts were saying at the start of the championships that he'd stand a chance of winning it in the next three or four years. It took him two weeks.

I'm only posting this because the Holland CR game is so dull. Typical World Cup - there's so much to lose in the later stages that teams just stop playing with any flow or momentum.
 
#2,643
matante said:
Just like Greece will never be European Champions? People would have said the same thing about the Dutch in the 1960s.

That's the cultural difference I'm talking about. I don't base my predictions about the future solely on the results of the past and present. Traditional American sports are on the decline and association football is on the rise in a huge way. It's a matter of a couple of generations before the US potentially has a world class team.

If Carlos Slim or Warren Buffett wanted to, they could buy MK Dons and make them English champions in a few years. I don't see it happening, but it can be done.
Click to expand...

Greece were a half decent side in that tournament and whilst many never saw it coming, on reflection they deserved it.

They may not have been glamorous favourites, but they were a good side. Same with the Danes in 92.

I agree with Bill to a certain extent, but you don't fluke your way all the way to the title, even if you ride your luck in early rounds.

Nothing to do with cultural attitudes.
 
#2,645
Tituscrow said:
Greece were a half decent side in that tournament and whilst many never saw it coming, on reflection they deserved it.

They may not have been glamorous favourites, but they were a good side. Same with the Danes in 92.

I agree with Bill to a certain extent, but you don't fluke your way all the way to the title, even if you ride your luck in early rounds.

Nothing to do with cultural attitudes.
Click to expand...

No one saw it coming. No one would have said they could do it before they did it. That's the point.

And you're basing your opinion of future US teams on the history of the sport in the US. Cultural difference or not, you'll eat your words.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jrthebassguy
#2,646
matante said:
No one saw it coming. No one would have said they could do it before they did it. That's the point.

And you're basing your opinion of future US teams on the history of the sport in the US. Cultural difference or not, you'll eat your words.
Click to expand...

No I won't. As much as you'd love to believe it, the US will not win the World Cup any more than a whole raft of also-rans.
 
#2,656
MartinG1957 said:
Brazil Colombia; total bahookie gravy, they looked like two pub teams, aided and abetted by some of the most disgraceful refereeing I have ever seen - and I've seen some sh*te.

The only saving grace for that spineless nonsense would be if the officials were under FIFA orders which I could well believe, I would hope that no group of officials at this level are so pathetically poor, given that they are allegedly, the elite of their profession.
Click to expand...

The refs attend a FIFA seminar for a week or two prior to the world cup, where FIFA 'educates' them on how they want the laws interpreted during the tournament. I'm not sure how long they've been doing it but I know it was in place in 2010 as well as this one. It's been obvious from the first match that the refs were instructed not to give out yellows the way they were hand out left and right in 2010.

cheezewiz said:
And I also don't get what is up with the former US team players as commentators. Casey Keller isn't too bad, but Taylor Twellman, Eric Wynalda, and Alexi Lallas all come off as smarmy douchebags.
Click to expand...

Marcelo Balboa is on in Spanish and he's the worst one, basically the Spanish version of John Harkes.

"Marcelo, what does the US need to do in order to win this match?"

"The US needs to come out and play. They need to score a goal and they need to defend."
 
#2,658
Tituscrow said:
Japan won't win it either.

I remember Lineker going to play for Grampus 8. Not unlike Pele going to the Cosmos. A brief, superficial fling.

It will forever be in the domain of the Europeans and the South Americans.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't compare them to the Cosmos at all. Grampus 8 was founded in the '30s, is still around, and the league is growing every year. The whole pyramid in Japan is growing and they're exporting many players to top European leagues, especially Germany.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back