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Originally Posted by DIYPatriot
Tim Howard was an absolute beast today, but that just wasn't enough. Sixteen saves? That's crazy. I believe that is the most in a single world cup match since they began keeping stats in the 1950's. We had our chances to take control but it just never manifested. At least the beer was cold down on Beale Street. Gonna lace up my blue suede shoes and eat my weight in Memphis BBQ. It was good to read Vincent Kompany's tweet a few moments ago. What a class act from Belgium's team captain. Gotta admire good sportsmanship in an era of prima donnas.
Regarding your rugby comments, above, I lived in Sydney for a while and grew to flat admire the sport. I followed the Souths primarily because the team I worked with were huge John Sattler fans. I played intramurals and we have a small club There's also a women's league that has been gaining momentum over the past few years in our area. My wife has been eyeing playing, but we enjoy our co-ed soccer too much to fully commit. She's 10 years younger than I and is an absolute athletic machine. Sometimes that has its benefits, but I don't particularly enjoy losing to her. It's bad enough that she outranks me by a wide margin.
The one thing I admired most about rugby, aside from how much fun I had playing, was the camaraderie among the teams after each match. Some of the best parties/bbq's I've ever attended were directly after we had roughed each other up and were covered in mud, grit and blood. We may not have won many games, but we were undefeated in our parties!
Good times. |
I do like the Souths, but also the Rabbitohs. I don't follow any team closely like my Seahawks and I prefer the international matches. But I'll either stay up late and watch live on DirecTV or DVR matches for later. A Brit SAS liaison spent a couple of months explaining the finer points of rugby to me during a season a couple of years ago. He was married with a couple of young children and explained that in the stands as spectators rugby is much more family friendly than is soccer. Rougher sport on the field, tamer in the seats.
I also learned cricket by watching in Dhaka with locals who spoke English and had the patience to explain it to this uncultured Neanderthal. As I said earlier, I think Americans gain a better appreciation of international sport while living/working abroad.
There is a whole other world of sports out there, and speaking that international language can really help an 18 (or anyone) in cross cultural communication in lands where you don't speak the local language. During an international tournament, try showing up to a local bar wearing that country's national jersey. It works.