the boys in green move on!!!

[bduff54]

Ireland have qualified for the final 16 with a 3-0 win over saudi arabia!! They play spain on sunday. You'll never beat the irish, you'll never beat the irish!!!!!!1

[bduff54]

the french are wasters, what a disgrace they have been!

[shiva2999]

The french are waiters. Oh, garcon!

[CalBillsFan]

BDuff-
Its great that ireland moved on. Its good to see them in the round of 16 without keane. I hope he is sitting at home beating himself up right now.

[bduff54]

roy keane has ruined his chance of greatness. they have already offered mick mccarthy a four ear extension. i am in toronto reeves

[bduff54]

yeah it sucks. i will be getting up at 4:00 am to watch england tonight!

[eyedog]

bduff sleep well tonite and pass on your world cup. i have just the picks for you. red sox over the rockies and the tigers over the expos in the bases. what happened to cameroon. i didn't watch the game but seen they lost 2-0 i believe.

[BogusTrumper]

Hi Duff. Welcome back. I'm sorry Toronto is out of the playoffs but I'm glad that Ireland is still in it for the World Cup. Don't you have any good Irish players to use for your avatar?

[BogusTrumper]

Did you see this?

http://www.time.com/time/columnist/stein/article/0,9565,260792,00.html

[bduff54]

good call bogus i will get robbie keane in there for ya! sorry eyedog that game went to shambles cards everywhere, i hope you took the england one though

[BogusTrumper]

Originally posted by reeves84
Great Article Bogus. There is also series on ESPN on the web, page 2.

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/davies/020611.html

Its fun

3. This is The World Cup of Hair -- And speaking of Toda, how about these haircuts? This tournament is going to be more popular with hairdressers than women's figure skating in the Olympics. Clint Mathis (Mohawk), Inamoto (peroxide), Taribo West (pointy bam-bam pigtails), David Beckham (shaggy-mulletty-Mohawky thing), Fredrik Ljungberg and Toda (red roosters), Zinedine Zidane (monk), Stig Tofting (bouncer). Young men with way too much time on their hands.


:D

[bduff54]

that article is stupid. joel stein is an idiot

[Figurita20]

Originally posted by bduff54
that article is stupid. joel stein is an idiot

Ditto bduff, the guy doesn't have a clue, what football stands for.

[bduff54]

he just brushes soccer off and says that americans don't have time for it. well a soccer game with full coverage takes 2 hours. a football game/baseball/hockey take atleast 3 hours, North america seem to have time for those

[EricStratton]

Welcome back BDuff. Congrats to your boys in green. I won't pretend to fully understand the allure or big time soccer but what I've seen seens exciting.

I was in an English bar in south florida last weekend and everyone seemed pumped up as hell for the English team, the feeling rivaled anytime I've watched a baseball or football game in a bar and the game didn't start for 7 or 8 hours.

Your trip went well I hope?

[bduff54]

great trip eric!

[BogusTrumper]

Originally posted by bduff54
he just brushes soccer off and says that americans don't have time for it. well a soccer game with full coverage takes 2 hours. a football game/baseball/hockey take atleast 3 hours, North america seem to have time for those

Well that's not all he says. He also says that American's don't even know where some of the countries in it are which is, unfortunately, true. When the Gulf War broke out most of them didn't even know where Kuwait is.

The "we don't have time" stuff is all tongue in cheek

[Player6600]

Originally posted by BogusTrumper
Did you see this?

http://www.time.com/time/columnist/stein/article/0,9565,260792,00.html

Great article and 100% true.

[bduff54]

so what are you saying player?? Americans are basically just ignorant? is that what your saying. you should be ashamed that most of your country has never heard of senegal or cameroon!

[Player6600]

Originally posted by bduff54
so what are you saying player?? Americans are basically just ignorant? is that what your saying. you should be ashamed that most of your country has never heard of senegal or cameroon!

I think you're taking him out of context. What he is saying is that we have no real connections to those countries which is true. By the way if you could have told me where in Africa Senegal was before th World Cup then I would be very proud of you.

[bduff54]

i know it is in africa and was under french rule which is more than most would know. i have know connections to tunisia but i still know where it is. The article is horrible it makes americans look like lazy bums "nachos"?

[Player6600]

I think you're reading too much into it. He's referring to the european culture where there are so many countries that are intertwined in the continent. You're Irish you know how easy and close it is to travel to most countries there. You can fly anywhere in Europe on a charter for $99

[BogusTrumper]

So Senegal beating France was a big deal. The US has never been under anyone's rule except Britain's and they're our best friends now. It's hard to get worked up over it. Player gets it.

[bduff54]

i see what your saying it's just the arrogance of the article that gets me mad. "the day we start watching is the day we win it"? The USA will probably never win the world cup !

[bduff54]

it just baffles me how such and international massive even could go unwatched! My mum hates all sport and even watches the world cup

[John]

I don't think the cultural and GEOGRAPHIC differences are well understood on either side of the Atlantic.

And, BTW, the article was written "with attitude" to be funny, so don't take its tone too seriously.

Geography plays such a huge part in this equasion. Travel three hours south of London and you are in France - a different country with a totally different culture and history. Travel three hours south of Buffalo and you are in Pennsylvania . . .

Europeans can't understand that only 25% of Americans have Passports. What they don't see is that you don't need a passport to travel to almost a complete range of vacation opportunities within the US. Want to go to the beach? Florida, California and the carolinas fill the bill - the trip is shorter and no international travel. Want an exotic beach? Hawaii.

Where does a Brit go to the Beach? South of France, Spain, and increasingly, Florida. Passport required for each trip, with distinctly different cultures in each place.

A similar discussion could be had if one wanted to go skiing . . .

Americans are less aware of international issues because so much can be done here without ever leaving the US. This looks like arrogance to Europeans, who don't understand the ramifications of being self contained and so far removed physically from other cultures.

Its also why Americans don't "get" events like the world cup, and the significance of Senegal beating France or England avenging Argentina. IMHO, its more about geography than arrogance.

Our lack of international knowledge does make me cringe on occasion, however. Recent example: The country song about 9/11 (title and artist unknown, as I am not a country fan) that says "I'm not sure I could tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran". Do we really NEED to broadcast our ignorance in a song with bad grammar?

:rolleyes:

[bduff54]

it is dissapointing that americans feel that way. Don't they want to explore the world. sure you can go to florida and have a nice beach but they wouldn't be speaking italian or spanish and you wouldn't be trying all types of foods! i don't get it!

[eyedog]

bduff is an irish mum similar to my american mom? here we were brought up on football,baseball, basketball, and to some extent hockey. soccer was a non entity up until approx. 20 yrs. ago. most high schools didn't even have soccer teams. thus the american culture overall does not relate to and identify with it at this time. it is starting to catch on and i would not be surpised if this younger generation embraces it more and the world cup becomes more popular here in the next 20 yrs.

[John]

That's exactly what I mean BDuff!!!!

Americans would say why would I want to go to a place where I can't speak the language, no one will understand me and I won't even know what I'm eating, when I can go to Florida and see Disney World and the Trip is shorter and less expensive!

IMHO, American and Europeans come at this from opposite ends.

[bduff54]

don't you think that is lame john?? i think traveeling and experiencing different cultures is one of the most important things in life. it saddens me too hear that people are content going to florida over spain.

[eyedog]

it's a lot easier on the pocketbook to book florida.

[EricStratton]

Before you paint us all with the same brush BDuff remember this. For a Spainard or Dane to travel to Paris or Berlin he only has to load the car or catch a train. For a hayseed in Iowa he has to get on a jet and that costs big cash. Vacation time is also at a premium, usually 2 weeks, sometimes 3.

Add all that up and add in the fact that America (include Canada since the trip is easy) is such a big country with so many different diverse parts it many folks choose, right or wrong, to keep there travels here.

[bduff54]

ofcourse eyedog but thats not the point. obviously if money is an issue then florida would be nice but if you can affor to go to spain why would you go to florida. win anything on the picks i gave you? the expos beat the tigers lastnight! need any more world cup picks?

[eyedog]

i always need some good picks. lately i wouldn't be able to travel to south buffalo. got any winners?

[BogusTrumper]

Originally posted by bduff54
i see what your saying it's just the arrogance of the article that gets me mad. "the day we start watching is the day we win it"? The USA will probably never win the world cup !

Ummmm . . . that may have been his point.

And once again, he was just joking.

[John]

I think its less "lame" in the context of an American upbringing than it seems to Europeans raised on a European upbringing. Experiencing different cultures in Eurpoe can ba done on a weekend without changing timezones. For the most part, not so here in the States.

Also, a comparison of Spain to Florida:

Beaches - White Fla sand vs. dirt with rocks; Edge FLA

Accomodations - US hotels vs. Spanish hotels; Edge FLA

Amusement parks - Not a contest; Edge FLA

Travel costs - For an American, of course; Edge FLA

Length of travel - Again for an American; Edge FLA

Adjusting to timezones- For an American; Edge FLA

Topless sunbathing - Edge Spain, but not as big as you would think given the older women who sunbathe topless!

Experiencing language and culture the predates the existance of the US - Edge Spain.

My point is that there is a lot about FLA that a lot of people would find superior to Spain. Only if you are interested in the culture in the first place would you incurr the extra costs and inconvienience of flying overseas six timezones to visit Costa del Sol.

As I say, Americans and Europeans come at this from different ends of the spectrum.

[bduff54]

well canadians don't think liek that at all. people here go to Australia. malyasia, thailand everywhere. canadians are well recieved tourists unlike some! It would bore me to death sitting in steubenville ohio for the rest of my life and travelling to fla because in johns opinion it is easier!

[John]

Originally posted by bduff54
canadians are well recieved tourists unlike some!

Yanks not being well received as tourists only adds to the problem, doesn't it.

Originally posted by bduff54
It would bore me to death sitting in steubenville ohio for the rest of my life and travelling to fla because in johns opinion it is easier!

The population of Stubenville is 20,000 - so not too many people do that!

And to be clear, people are not travelling to Europe because of what I think, I'm trying to explain why Americans aren't interested in travelling to Europe in the first place (for better or worse)...

[EricStratton]

You know Duff, I'm sure there are plenty of Canadians that have never traveled to Europe, Asia or Austrailia. Simply because you are well traveled doesn't mean the rest of your countrymen are the same.

As far as traveling domestically being easier, it damn sure makes a difference. The price alone makes staying in the States or Canada a winner.

[bduff54]

your right Eric, people in saskatchewan and NWT rarely go anywhere but from my experience in the toronto area, many people seem to travel alot!

[Blue_Bandana]

bduff,

I've read that there a many more Canadian kids that play soccer than play hockey in Canada. That being the case, why isn't Canada more of a powerhouse in the soccer world.

[bduff54]

don't know blue bandana, the players just don't seem to develop into stars. Canada;s best homegrown talent was owen hargreaves but he chose to play for England instead of Canada. if they all do that Canada will never make the world cup