Posted on 07/09/2016 9:24:08 AM PDT by Rummyfan
The-Linesman-small-logoBy any honest reckoning, this European Championship has been a prolonged exercise in mediocrity. The football on offer has been the football of an underconfident, uptight, even neurotic, Europe.
Euro 2016 has been played under the shadow of the Islamist terrorism which devastated France last November and Belgium in March. While there have been no mass terrorist incidents in France in the course of the tournament, Istanbul’s international airport was attacked on June 28. Armbands were worn at the games after — including at Italy’s game last week to mourn nine citizens killed in an ISIL attack in far-away Bangladesh — and silence was observed.
The EU may not treat Turkey as part of Europe, but football has no such qualms.
Brexit happened in the midst of Euro 2016; and although it gave copy-writers a delicious punchline to describe England’s ousting by Iceland, it also hung over proceedings like acrid political smog. Football between Europeans could scarcely distract attention from the unraveling of Europe beyond the field of play.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.eu ...
I've watched a lot of the games - I'm in Italy, it's summer and there's not much else going on - and it's hard to recall a stand out game. All seem blah... One exception being the shootout at the end of the Italy - Germany quarter final. Of course that was preceded by 120 minutes of 1 - 1 monotony.
The teams look like they are NBA teams...
AKA, a typical soccer match.
NFL Europe is still in business? I thought it folded.
To my way of thinking, “miserable football” is a pretty good synonym for soccer in general.
There were a couple of surprises....like Iceland getting as far as they did....and the Wales team playing pretty good until the last game. I would say if you lined up all of the top twenty wage-earners of the league....they were all shockingly playing a marginal game. Some commented about watching the England squad arrive back home at the airport....and they all had out their I-Phones and checking their ‘status’.
At times it’s looked more like Monty Python’s ‘Philosopher’s Football’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6nI1v7mwwA
I liked the play in that one game where this really tall player in the black shirt completely outmaneuvered this guy in the red shirt and kicked that white ball into the upper right corner of the net while the goalie lunged in the opposite direction. Everybody with a black shirt on the field started flapping their arms and making funny noises. That was quite something to see as I sat at the bar eating my chicken wings and drinking my pilsner.
Yeah, my German brother in law has been trotting out the “hand-egg” meme on me for the last few weeks. My responses have ranged from “Oh, I say old boy, lets climb into our lorry, have a pint or two of some bitters, a few bangers and chips, smoke a fag or two and drive on the left side of the road to see the ‘hand-egg’ match.” Followed by a statement that the game in the USA is “soccer” and that in the USA, Football is a game actually played by men and not a bunch of folks posing as such while running.
This usually devolves to a statement from him like “the football I watch is the most popular sport in the world!” Which I usually respond by “Oh I know... You know what else is popular in the world? Poverty. And dictatorships. And stratified economic classes. Something being popular and that something sucking a$$ is not mutually exclusive, bro.”
He has not really come up with a response to that.
And a high scoring one at that!
Sarcastaball!
They could even up the excitement by scripting the fights:
They aren't using their hands anyway.
It is after all soccer, what does one expect?
Do you have any recollection of what you did in that past life?
Communist kickball has all the excitement of an old Soviet Politburo meeting.
It's too hard to score!
They should change the rules!
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