**Official USA vs Germany World Cup Match Thread**

[|Zach|]

USA vs Germany | Recife | Group G | 11 CT | ESPN

This is the big one.

If the United States ties or wins they advance to the knock out stage of the World Cup. There are also scenarios that are not that outlandish that let them move on if they lose but **** those scenarios.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Cochise

Why does every sport have to be like every other, where you get instant gratification, where there is some sort of a trickle of payoffs every few moments, etc? Can't sports be different and appreciated for their uniqueness, like music or film or beer or women? Why do we have this attitude that if I go unentertained for 2 straight minutes I'm turning it off...?

For that matter, what's the problem we Americans seem to have with a draw? A long game is played where a detailed battle is played out, and at the end of 90 minutes (and sometimes extra time) it's decided that there was nothing much to separate the two on that day, that they both performed equally well. Why is that such an offense...?

Every sport doesn't have to be tuned to "You will have one who wins everything and one who loses completely at the end of a predefined block of time today".

I think the point in soccer originally when you had recreational clubs playing each other was to measure the skill of the clubs against each other, not to get a result that day. If you drew, then your club and the neighboring town's club could be considered about even that day and that was fine.

I know it's American to want to see blood and guts and someone cheered and someone else humiliated, and plenty of explosions throughout, but this game isn't like other games.

I just wish more replies were like yours instead of "OMG YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND AND ARE AN IDIOT!!!" On the other hand, I acknowledge that the original complaints weren't exactly eloquent prose either.

I'm the type who respects the game of soccer, respects fans of the game, and even tries to pay attention to the big events and get to a Rapids game once every year or two. But I have trouble really getting into it for many of the reasons mentioned by the "trolls" in the thread (flopping, ties, mildly arbitrary extra time, slow pace, etc.). So I get both sides of the "argument". But I get frustrated when the core message when anyone criticizes the game (or even the team itself in this case) is basically "GTFO".

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I just wish more replies were like yours instead of "OMG YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND AND ARE AN IDIOT!!!" On the other hand, I acknowledge that the original complaints weren't exactly eloquent prose either.

I'm the type who respects the game of soccer, respects fans of the game, and even tries to pay attention to the big events and get to a Rapids game once every year or two. But I have trouble really getting into it for many of the reasons mentioned by the "trolls" in the thread (flopping, ties, mildly arbitrary extra time, slow pace, etc.). So I get both sides of the "argument". But I get frustrated when the core message when anyone criticizes the game (or even the team itself in this case) is basically "GTFO".

Personally, I never called anyone an idiot for not understanding. I called them idiots for choosing not to understand.

For giving their favorite sports a pass, and bashing on soccer for the very same thing. More specifically bagging on the USMNT for moving on the way they did. More years than not, teams benefit from the result of another teams game to move into the playoffs. It's the same thing, they just refuse to equate the two.

I don't really care about the tie argument, b/c it's a matter of opinion.

[SPATCH]

I just enjoy watching the old guard sports fans continue to say things like, "it will never happen in America" or "I've been hearing the same thing for 30 years."

Meanwhile, the sport continues to grow right under their nose. They're oblivious.

Maybe it's a generational thing. After all, the demographic in which soccer is gaining the most popularity is young people.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by SPATCH

I just enjoy watching the old guard sports fans continue to say things like, "it will never happen in America" or "I've been hearing the same thing for 30 years."

Meanwhile, the sport continues to grow right under their nose. They're oblivious.

Maybe it's a generational thing. After all, the demographic in which soccer is gaining the most popularity is young people.

For the moment "young people" like it.

In my anecdotal experience, my age group of people in the mid 20s, a possible half of the people I know might go out of their way to watch the USMNT but aren't big on MLS or EPL/Seria A/BL soccer.

I'd stake my reputation that this is also the case for many social circles in my age range.

Thing is, even for people like me and the few who will go out of our way to watch the World Cup, we still are bigger supporters of pro or college football.. Followed by baseball (mostly a casual fandom) or basketball. Eventually, my generation will start (deliberately) having children and they will probably continue to consume these sports and will expose these younglings to those sports more so than soccer.

People who are huge soccer acolytes (to the point it's their only sport preference) my age seem to be self-serving hipster douches who think themselves more worldly (or something) as well as people who grew up playing the sport from YMCA to high school or even college.

And again, I'd also stake my rep on saying that my generation -even from bum**** rural Missouri- has been exposed to soccer from a young age in terms of recreational playing and we still gravitate towards the American-born sports moreso than soccer.

The MLS will grow, sure. And the USMNT will grow stronger as more "athletes" find their niche in the game more than they have in the past..

But American culture is predicated on football, basketball or baseball in terms of prevalence... and until there's a "Tuesday Night Soccer" available to 90% of household televisions and watched regularly by tens of millions of those TVs (or tablets / smartphones what have you) then I'm going to doubt the sport will ever supplant basketball in terms of popularity.

It may supplant football.. if the sport becomes watered down due to injury concerns.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I just wish more replies were like yours instead of "OMG YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND AND ARE AN IDIOT!!!" On the other hand, I acknowledge that the original complaints weren't exactly eloquent prose either.

I'm the type who respects the game of soccer, respects fans of the game, and even tries to pay attention to the big events and get to a Rapids game once every year or two. But I have trouble really getting into it for many of the reasons mentioned by the "trolls" in the thread (flopping, ties, mildly arbitrary extra time, slow pace, etc.). So I get both sides of the "argument". But I get frustrated when the core message when anyone criticizes the game (or even the team itself in this case) is basically "GTFO".

DaFace, if I said something that insulted you, I apologize. Like I stated in my previous post, this thread is much less full of idiocy than it was 2010.

[|Zach|]

Calmer than you are.

[DTLB58]

I tried watching today. (Germany match) but my god, that was so boring and frustrating to me as I pretty much 99.9% thought it was gonna be.

I mean seriously 1-0? People stood on their feet crammed against one another for 90+ minutes watching what appeared to be an extremely undermanned team in the U.S. Who couldn't even come close to scoring.


But I left the TV on for the entire game and probably an hour after listening to Bob Ley on ESPN after to give it a fair chance but Never again. I'd rather take a nap.

[|Zach|]

I can't even begin to be salty...this team really did a great thing. So many people have had to move the goal posts to to continue to criticize them it's great.

That and their next game is winnable.

This is rarefied air for US Soccer I think even better than this being a good place is the idea of them building from this performance in the future already locking down Kilnnsman for another cycle.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by notorious

You are creating a ****ed-up narrative in your head that doesn't exist.

Maybe some other people are bagging on your sport, but when I came in here stating that "American's have a hard time grasping ties" you attack me.

Just to be clear, I did not say you were reeruned. I did not attack you.

Just your posts in this thread.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

I tried watching today. (Germany match) but my god, that was so boring and frustrating to me as I pretty much 99.9% thought it was gonna be.

I mean seriously 1-0? People stood on their feet crammed against one another for 90+ minutes watching what appeared to be an extremely undermanned team in the U.S. Who couldn't even come close to scoring.


But I left the TV on for the entire game and probably an hour after listening to Bob Ley on ESPN after to give it a fair chance but Never again. I'd rather take a nap.

I have no problem with this post. None whatsoever. (well, a few minor points, but I wont nitpick)

You gave it an honest chance and thought it was boring? Fine, good for you for trying.

At least you didn't post something idiotic like Americans don't understand ties or advancing out of the group of death is somehow not impressive because your last match of 3 was a loss.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Just to be clear, I did not say you were reeruned. I did not attack you.

Just your posts in this thread.

I am used to people being soccer haters but....usually they are more self aware they are doing it. Haha.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by alnorth

I have no problem with this post. None whatsoever.

You gave it an honest chance and thought it was boring? Fine, good for you for trying.

At least you didn't post something idiotic like Americans don't understand ties or advancing out of the group of death is somehow not impressive because your last match of 3 was a loss.

Yes.

And I know when a game isn't a glowing endorsement of the sport. This wasn't an awful game at all. But it wasn't one of those matches that inspires people to know more.

[TripleThreat]

Soccer may not be the most popular viewed sport in America but it is however the most played, and that's a statistic that many people do not realize. The amount of clubs, competitive play, tournaments that are played at all age levels beats out baseball and football any day of the week.

So if we are talking about popularity contest, soccer wins in the fashion of what sport is played most. Football and baseball win in online viewing and television ratings

[Silock]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

I tried watching today. (Germany match) but my god, that was so boring and frustrating to me as I pretty much 99.9% thought it was gonna be.

I mean seriously 1-0? People stood on their feet crammed against one another for 90+ minutes watching what appeared to be an extremely undermanned team in the U.S. Who couldn't even come close to scoring.


But I left the TV on for the entire game and probably an hour after listening to Bob Ley on ESPN after to give it a fair chance but Never again. I'd rather take a nap.

This was a bad match to watch, in all honesty. The Germans weren't too interested in piling on in the scoring, and we were absolutely gassed from playing in the middle of a rainforest on Sunday.

I don't know if you will, but the next match should be far more interesting and fun to watch. Hell, the Portugal game was incredibly exciting.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by alnorth

ething idiotic like Americans don't understand ties or advancing out of the group of death is somehow not impressive because your last match of 3 was a loss.

This one is killing me. In a country that uses RPI and the BCS rankings with complicated computer algorithms as well as just gut instinct of the powers that be to determine who "advances" into knockout play for our sports, we act like the soccer system is some insanely difficult puzzle with no logic to it. It's a beautiful example of ethnocentrism and myopia.