[indiancardinal]

Apologies if this post is way off topic but I thought some Cardboarders might appreciate some football distraction:)

For those of you who want to take your mind off the dumpster fire that has been Stanford Football... the greatest show on earth kicks off  in less than an hour in Qatar. 64 games in 30 days. 

I believe the US kicks off its campaign against Wales Monday 11am PST

[indiancardinal]

Apologies if this post is way off topic but I thought some Cardboarders might appreciate some football distraction:)

For those of you who want to take your mind off the dumpster fire that has been Stanford Football... the greatest show on earth kicks off  in less than an hour in Qatar. 64 games in 30 days. 

I believe the US kicks off its campaign against Wales Monday 11am PST

[Mick]

Apologies if this post is way off topic but I thought some Cardboarders might appreciate some football distraction:)

For those of you who want to take your mind off the dumpster fire that has been Stanford Football... the greatest show on earth kicks off in less than an hour in Qatar. 64 games in 30 days. 

I believe the US kicks off its campaign against Wales Monday 11am PST

I like soccer. BTW, Oxford Brits coined the term, and the Americans merely imported their word for Association Rules Football a dozen years after rugby had been bastardized into American football.
Why Do Some People Call Football “Soccer”? | Britannica

America is in the same group with Wales, England and Iran. America plays England the day after Thanksgiving, Friday 11/25 at 11 a.m. PST and America plays Iran on Tuesday, 11/29 again at 11 a.m. PST.

England is currently ranked #5 by FIFA, America is #16, Wales is #19 and Iran is #20. It's considered the toughest group of the eight groups with the highest average ranking per team.
World Cup 2022: All the groups ranked | World Cup News | Al Jazeera

The Guardian, on the other hand, dropped all four teams in their article on the 32 teams at the WC, dropping England to #10, Wales to #17. America to #20 and Iran to #23.
World Cup 2022 power rankings: breaking down the final 32 | World Cup 2022 | The Guardian

England hasn't won in their last six matches. America has a very young, very talented and exuberant roster.
World Cup Power Rankings: How do all 32 teams measure up? | theScore.com

Stop me if this is too political, but 6,500 immigrant workers (of 2 million immigrant workers) have lost their lives building Qatar's stadiums. Qatar is a human rights disaster, but FIFA got paid. The United States, of all countries, initiated the corruption proceedings against FIFA:
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/co...IpEALw_wcB
https://www.britannica.com/event/2015-FI...on-scandal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_FIFA_corruption_case

[Mick]

Apologies if this post is way off topic but I thought some Cardboarders might appreciate some football distraction:)

For those of you who want to take your mind off the dumpster fire that has been Stanford Football... the greatest show on earth kicks off in less than an hour in Qatar. 64 games in 30 days. 

I believe the US kicks off its campaign against Wales Monday 11am PST

I like soccer. BTW, Oxford Brits coined the term, and the Americans merely imported their word for Association Rules Football a dozen years after rugby had been bastardized into American football.
Why Do Some People Call Football “Soccer”? | Britannica

America is in the same group with Wales, England and Iran. America plays England the day after Thanksgiving, Friday 11/25 at 11 a.m. PST and America plays Iran on Tuesday, 11/29 again at 11 a.m. PST.

England is currently ranked #5 by FIFA, America is #16, Wales is #19 and Iran is #20. It's considered the toughest group of the eight groups with the highest average ranking per team.
World Cup 2022: All the groups ranked | World Cup News | Al Jazeera

The Guardian, on the other hand, dropped all four teams in their article on the 32 teams at the WC, dropping England to #10, Wales to #17. America to #20 and Iran to #23.
World Cup 2022 power rankings: breaking down the final 32 | World Cup 2022 | The Guardian

England hasn't won in their last six matches. America has a very young, very talented and exuberant roster.
World Cup Power Rankings: How do all 32 teams measure up? | theScore.com

Stop me if this is too political, but 6,500 immigrant workers (of 2 million immigrant workers) have lost their lives building Qatar's stadiums. Qatar is a human rights disaster, but FIFA got paid. The United States, of all countries, initiated the corruption proceedings against FIFA:
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/co...IpEALw_wcB
https://www.britannica.com/event/2015-FI...on-scandal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_FIFA_corruption_case

[Phogge]

Old news. I worked on the Real Sports exposé of Qatar years ago. And still all the countries’ squads are there today. I spent a week in Qatar in 2003 surveying camera positions at the venues for the Asian Games of 2006. Pretty underwhelming but they imported millions of immigrants who were forced to work in the unbearable heat of the Middle East. They built beautiful venues and luxury hotels and thousands died because of it.

College and professional sports bleed your pocketbook. I have worked for six decades for all the federations and leagues so in a very small way I’m part of the hustle.

[Phogge]

Old news. I worked on the Real Sports exposé of Qatar years ago. And still all the countries’ squads are there today. I spent a week in Qatar in 2003 surveying camera positions at the venues for the Asian Games of 2006. Pretty underwhelming but they imported millions of immigrants who were forced to work in the unbearable heat of the Middle East. They built beautiful venues and luxury hotels and thousands died because of it.

College and professional sports bleed your pocketbook. I have worked for six decades for all the federations and leagues so in a very small way I’m part of the hustle.

[BostonCard]

The president of FIFA accused the west, especially Europe, of hypocrisy about human rights.  He has a point; it’s also whataboutism of the most self-serving variety. It can be true that the West has a terrible human rights record historically, and also try that Qatar is a human rights disaster, and attempts by these autocratic regimes to Sportswash their reputation with the World Cup (Russia, Qatar), Olympics (Russia, China), or golf (Saudi Arabia) are pretty disgusting.

Really not sure if I want to watch this spectacle.

BC

[BostonCard]

The president of FIFA accused the west, especially Europe, of hypocrisy about human rights.  He has a point; it’s also whataboutism of the most self-serving variety. It can be true that the West has a terrible human rights record historically, and also try that Qatar is a human rights disaster, and attempts by these autocratic regimes to Sportswash their reputation with the World Cup (Russia, Qatar), Olympics (Russia, China), or golf (Saudi Arabia) are pretty disgusting.

Really not sure if I want to watch this spectacle.

BC

[Phogge]

I was in France for the 1998 Cup. I can't imagine it could have been more fun in the stadiums than it was in bars, bowling alleys and in the street watching the games with inebriated Frenchmen and women.

That said BC, I'm not watching.

[Phogge]

I was in France for the 1998 Cup. I can't imagine it could have been more fun in the stadiums than it was in bars, bowling alleys and in the street watching the games with inebriated Frenchmen and women.

That said BC, I'm not watching.

[cardcrimson]

Qatar? I have to laugh. I sure Anheuser Busch is thrilled about the beer sponsorship they Clydesdaled up for.

 Fifa. What a joke. Politics. Man; tough to stay out of that conversation, but alas this site says no.

[cardcrimson]

Qatar? I have to laugh. I sure Anheuser Busch is thrilled about the beer sponsorship they Clydesdaled up for.

 Fifa. What a joke. Politics. Man; tough to stay out of that conversation, but alas this site says no.

[newguy]

just watched England beat Iran 6-2.  some of the Iranian fans booed their national anthem, and none of the Iranian players sang.  meanwhile, it was clear that some Englishmen were unaccustomed to singing God Save the King.

Iran's keeper suffered an apparent concussion early, but it took quite awhile for him to be replaced.  14 minutes were added at the end of the 1st half because of this.  10 minutes were added at the end of the 2nd half because of a new policy to make sure that a full 90 minutes are actually played, even when the game is a blowout.  

hoping we beat Wales, but they should not be underestimated.

Edit:  i just read that Japanese fans cleaned up the mess left by fans when the Ecuador-Qatar game ended.  and they've done this before.
https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/fifa-world-...ch-3540660

[newguy]

just watched England beat Iran 6-2.  some of the Iranian fans booed their national anthem, and none of the Iranian players sang.  meanwhile, it was clear that some Englishmen were unaccustomed to singing God Save the King.

Iran's keeper suffered an apparent concussion early, but it took quite awhile for him to be replaced.  14 minutes were added at the end of the 1st half because of this.  10 minutes were added at the end of the 2nd half because of a new policy to make sure that a full 90 minutes are actually played, even when the game is a blowout.  

hoping we beat Wales, but they should not be underestimated.

Edit:  i just read that Japanese fans cleaned up the mess left by fans when the Ecuador-Qatar game ended.  and they've done this before.
https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/fifa-world-...ch-3540660

[BostonCard]

I know that the NFL gets hit with the moniker “no fun league”, but this by FIFA is something else…

[tweet]https://twitter.com/espnfc/status/1594757542823198720?s=46&t=xVX1A527fjUoeiJRrfgmTQ[/tweet]

This after FIFA forbids (upon penalty of a yellow card) the wearing of a rainbow armband to designate captains for fear of offending the hosts.

BC

[BostonCard]

I know that the NFL gets hit with the moniker “no fun league”, but this by FIFA is something else…

[tweet]https://twitter.com/espnfc/status/1594757542823198720?s=46&t=xVX1A527fjUoeiJRrfgmTQ[/tweet]

This after FIFA forbids (upon penalty of a yellow card) the wearing of a rainbow armband to designate captains for fear of offending the hosts.

BC

[BostonCard]

To anyone watching, is this true, or just punny?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/natesilver538/status/1594774439962771456?s=46&t=xVX1A527fjUoeiJRrfgmTQ[/tweet]

BC

[BostonCard]

To anyone watching, is this true, or just punny?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/natesilver538/status/1594774439962771456?s=46&t=xVX1A527fjUoeiJRrfgmTQ[/tweet]

BC

[BostonCard]

Apropos nothing, you’ve been saying it wrong…

https://youtu.be/utP3PbWHZrU

BC

[BostonCard]

Apropos nothing, you’ve been saying it wrong…

https://youtu.be/utP3PbWHZrU

BC

[newguy]

To anyone watching, is this true, or just punny?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/natesilver538/status/1594774439962771456?s=46&t=xVX1A527fjUoeiJRrfgmTQ[/tweet]

BC

saw the whole game, Nate is wrong.  especially the foul in the penalty area, which Landon Donovan said was an obvious foul.
in other news, Saudi Arabia just beat Argentina, 2-1.  no joke.

[newguy]

To anyone watching, is this true, or just punny?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/natesilver538/status/1594774439962771456?s=46&t=xVX1A527fjUoeiJRrfgmTQ[/tweet]

BC

saw the whole game, Nate is wrong.  especially the foul in the penalty area, which Landon Donovan said was an obvious foul.
in other news, Saudi Arabia just beat Argentina, 2-1.  no joke.

[ca245]

The Saudis played a risky high defensive line, setting up only 10-15 meters past midfield.
 The effect is to compress the field of play. The analogy to US football is to put all defenders at the line of scrimmage when the other team’s offense is operating at the 50 yd line. If you can keep the offense contained, fine. But if the offense breaks through, there’s nothing but green grass.
Argentina broke through several times to apparently score, but did not time their runs right and were called for offsides by the VAR system. (The VAR system uses multiple high speed cameras to track the movement of each player and can catch a player who is just offside because of a body lean or extended arm.)
But credit to the Saudis: both their goals came on high quality shots and their goalie had several big saves.

[ca245]

The Saudis played a risky high defensive line, setting up only 10-15 meters past midfield.
 The effect is to compress the field of play. The analogy to US football is to put all defenders at the line of scrimmage when the other team’s offense is operating at the 50 yd line. If you can keep the offense contained, fine. But if the offense breaks through, there’s nothing but green grass.
Argentina broke through several times to apparently score, but did not time their runs right and were called for offsides by the VAR system. (The VAR system uses multiple high speed cameras to track the movement of each player and can catch a player who is just offside because of a body lean or extended arm.)
But credit to the Saudis: both their goals came on high quality shots and their goalie had several big saves.

[BostonCard]

Couldn’t help myself, but I watched the USMNT draw with England.  Good match despite the scoreless result.

BC

[BostonCard]

Couldn’t help myself, but I watched the USMNT draw with England.  Good match despite the scoreless result.

BC

[Hurlburt88]

Couldn’t help myself, but I watched the USMNT draw with England.  Good match despite the scoreless result.

BC

I did as well.   Both teams had chances!

[Hurlburt88]

Couldn’t help myself, but I watched the USMNT draw with England.  Good match despite the scoreless result.

BC

I did as well.   Both teams had chances!

[winflop]

Couldn’t help myself, but I watched the USMNT draw with England.  Good match despite the scoreless result.

BC

US was the better team especially in the second half. Getting a tie against one of the top teams in the world is a major accomplishment for US soccer.

Of course, if they don't beat Iran on Tuesday it's all for naught. Iran is no doormat. They are the highest ranked team from the Middle East. But if there's one team I want the US to wipe off the field it's Iran.

[winflop]

Couldn’t help myself, but I watched the USMNT draw with England.  Good match despite the scoreless result.

BC

US was the better team especially in the second half. Getting a tie against one of the top teams in the world is a major accomplishment for US soccer.

Of course, if they don't beat Iran on Tuesday it's all for naught. Iran is no doormat. They are the highest ranked team from the Middle East. But if there's one team I want the US to wipe off the field it's Iran.

[lex24]

Rooting for Jones…. To fumble 5 times.

[lex24]

Rooting for Jones…. To fumble 5 times.

[PVTree]

Rooting for Jones…. To fumble 5 times.

Coby Jones retired some 20 years ago so the only fumbling he'll do is stumbling over his words in the broadcast set. :)

[PVTree]

Rooting for Jones…. To fumble 5 times.

Coby Jones retired some 20 years ago so the only fumbling he'll do is stumbling over his words in the broadcast set. :)

[WindyCityCard]

After a couple of decades of following Stanford football (including a decade+ with season tickets), I stopped in fall 2021.  I get a lot more joy out of watching soccer, including yesterday's draw vs England. Totally agree with winflop that USMT was superior, especially in the 2nd half.

And yes, it must be said that Qatar is a human rights disaster and FIFA is an incredibly corrupt organization.

[WindyCityCard]

After a couple of decades of following Stanford football (including a decade+ with season tickets), I stopped in fall 2021.  I get a lot more joy out of watching soccer, including yesterday's draw vs England. Totally agree with winflop that USMT was superior, especially in the 2nd half.

And yes, it must be said that Qatar is a human rights disaster and FIFA is an incredibly corrupt organization.

[BostonCard]

Rooting for Jones…. To fumble 5 times.

I think this is in the wrong thread.

BC

[BostonCard]

Rooting for Jones…. To fumble 5 times.

I think this is in the wrong thread.

BC