Mr.StayPuft wrote:JJ wrote:
Perhaps I'm expecting too much of this tournament to be decided on skill, and I should just acknowledge that the team who wins the cup has as much claim to being the best soccer squad in the world as the guy who wins the WSOP has to being the best poker player. Yes, you need talent, but you also need some absurd breaks.
Precisely. While in my recent soccer-watchings I have found that I am not as bored by the game itself as I used to be, but I simply can't understand why soccer players want to undermine their own game with such bullshit. What you mentioned about not trying to finish the play when fouled is a problem I've been having for some time, that soccer prides itself on being a passionate sport, indeed the
most passionate of sports, while the players involved do all they can to discourage passionate play (at least on the World Cup stage, I can't speak for league play). Did a bloody nose ever stop anyone from finishing a play in a backyard game? If you needed to exaggerate then there wasn't really a foul, or at least not one of any kind of significance. Just play the game.
You're right a bloody nose should not come in the way.
Remind me the rule about blood at basketball ?
If a player doesn't draw attention to the foul, even a non bloody one, he might really get hurt the next time. I suppose you were already watching one of your modern gladiators "game", but at the end of the game there was 2 yellow cards that should have been red.
I don't like to see matches like Portugal-Netherlands. That's not what football is about.
You're allowed to call it a sissy game because a player does not try to play after having his ankle twisted.
And once again :
JJ wrote:
You had two incidents out there (one on each side) -- one was called and the other wasn't.
Every single portuguese player "falling" in that area was not kicked, they just dived.
Prove me wrong.
I did send you the wonderful Ronaldo move.
JJ wrote:
The guy kicked him; I'll acknowledge that.
Hence the penalty.
JJ wrote:
I'm not for giving free goals to a guy who doesn't even try to play on but instead goes for the knee grab. [Have you ever watched hockey? A guy who gets tripped/mugged/hauled down still does his best to make a play. This is how sport should be.]
Again, a penalty kick can be stopped. It's far from a free goal.
Oh and you should play Doom or something. You obviously need some kind of discharge system, to get rid of your anger, your frustrations.
JJ wrote:And the other defender was (at least arguably) going to get to the ball before Henry could shoot. So we've turned a 50-50 chance at a random shot at the keeper into the decisive goal.
JJ wrote:
Most irrelevant remark of all. How could you know, the action was stopped by a f.o.u.l.
Did you ever see Henry run at full speed once ? He's a rocket.
JJ wrote:I'd root for Italy in the final (they qualified from the toughest region and played well against Germany), but they won an elmination game from a random bad call as well. (Does the luck factor have to be so everpresent?)

You're so right. On paper Brazil, Spain and Portugal are the weakest teams...
JJ wrote: I'm expecting too much of this tournament to be decided on skill, and I should just acknowledge that the team who wins the cup has as much claim to being the best soccer squad in the world as the guy who wins the WSOP has to being the best poker player. Yes, you need talent, but you also need some absurd breaks.

You're expecting it to make you like the game. You're right : Too much.
I'm not to say that poker is pure luck. but if you don't have loads of it, you will not win a WSOP/WPT.
ever.
I agree that the 1998 World Cup matches "looked" easy, but that's a draw. And if you have the nerve to argue that had to play great teams this year, you're hopeless.