A couple of great matches today. I watched Mexico v Sweden. That one had the wife, kids and all her side of the family pretty excited. Just saw the end of Germany v S Korea. Another stunner.
(The 3 years I spent coaching kids soccer taught me how to really enjoy the sport. Don’t watch as I used to but I’ll probably be following this one to the end.)
Germany getting eliminated as the #1 rated team and the winner of the 2014 World Cup was s shocker...but then, most of the "top" teams have struggled in this WC, some eliminated, others barely squeaking into the Round of 16, which should set up some interesting matches.
I've watched a lot of the matches the last couple of weeks...good stuff.
I'm not a soccer/football/fusball follower the rest of the time, but I use to play back in my school years, made the varsity team as a freshman, and my dad use to both play and referee a lot back in the old country...so it's always in the blood.
The World Cup is a major sporting event because of the 4-year cycle...and it's always entertaining. The sport is not everyone's cup of tea, especially to those who like to see constant scoring in a sporting event. Soccer is requires a lot of patience to play and watch...and the tension is what makes it exciting, waiting for those 1-2 goals that can come out of nowhere, and often in the last minutes. A couple of games in this WC were decided in the 90th minute....intense stuff. Plus...it's a non-stop game. Those guys are super conditioned to run back-n-forth like that.
I also like it because it is one of very few televised sporting events that is NOT commercial laden, with an advertisement being jammed in at every opportunity. Even when there is a foul or injury stoppage...they don't cut to a commercial. It's only during half-time.
That's one of the reasons I stopped watching American Football...just WAY too much commercialism jammed in, and they adjusted rules to satisfy the advertisers.
So you watch a 1 hour Football game that takes 3+ hours to play...
...and well over an hour is all commercials.
Anyway...it's going to be a crazy finish to this World Cup...no team is being viewed as the heir-apparent.