OK, as a sports fan I am admittedly a provincial bridge-and-tunnel guido (minus the thick accent and regional connotation, but with all of the cultural baggage and commuter scars). Im a guy whose walnut brain can easily and eagerly grasp Atlanta baseball and football and basketball stuff (and hockey, when we had it). I dont really understand a lot about the World Cup. For example, ties and losses are cheered as if they are victories, and teams may advance to the next round even when they lose. But there is something about the positivity of the soccer culture that appeals to me. I dont know from football hooliganism, but soccer fans seem to be cheering the beauty of a game well played (and if I fully understood what well-played means in soccer, Id cheer, too). And in soccer, a tie-breaking, winning goal in overtime isnt referred to as sudden death. Its called a golden goal, which makes me believe that George Carlin would have had a field day (pitch day?) with soccer. Anyway, there are no ties in the knockout stages of the World Cup. If teams are knotted after 90 minutes, they play an extra 30 (two 15-minute periods), scoring as many goals as they can, and the team with the most wins. If the two teams are still tied after that, the game is settled by penalty kicks. So, from here on, if the U.S. wants to keep advancing they have to beat the other team, beginning with Belgium today. Finally, here is something about the World Cup that I can easily grasp. Cmon, U.S.A., whip those waffles.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 14:43:47 +0000
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