Cowboys stadium

[Hostile]

Strike one??????????? You lost me.

When you swing and miss, it's called a strike.

 

[bbgun]

But the World Cup was not PUSHED onto the US, the Federation in charge of Soccer in the US applied to hold it.

Every country that wants to hold the World Cup has to apply for it, and go through a bid and selection process (much like the Olympic Games, and even the Superbowl).

Of course they applied for it. It's a prestigious, money-making event. And I said the game in general is pushed on stubborn Americans, both from within and without--usually by US TV execs with dollar signs in their eyes. The Cup is a mere tool for said indoctrination.

The feeling of resentment was from many countries who wanted to host the World Cup but lost out to the US, who in general terms have little interest.

Thanks for confirming my worst suspicions.

However, most of the ill feeling was directed towards FIFA (the Worlds governing body), rather than the US.

This seems to contradict what you wrote above. Like I said, Americans don't expend much energy wondering why their native sports aren't embraced overseas. Or denigrate those who refuse to "get with the program." I get a kick from knowing that Wembley will be hosting real matches in front of capacity crowds, but if the NFL never expands beyond the hard-core British fans, I'm fine with that.

This Steve Sailer column from 2006 expresses what a lot of us feel.

One World Cup

Soccer gives American elites the chance to celebrate nationalism in other countries but not ours.

By Steve Sailer

Just as Brazil, soccer’s dominant nation, has been the “Country of the Future” for, roughly, ever, the quadrennial arrival of another month-long World Cup reminds us that, for Americans, soccer is the Sport of the Future and always will be. Every four years Americans get lectured that the World Cup is the biggest single-sport competition on Earth and that we’ll no doubt be hopping on this global bandwagon Real Soon Now.

Yet during the first weekend of the 2006 event, more people in America watched the World Cup on foreign-language networks such as Univision than on English-language ABC. Univision has paid $325 million for the Spanish-language rights in America to the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, while Disney (ABC and ESPN) chipped in only $100 million for the English-language rights to these same 128 games. NBC, in contrast, bought the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics for $2.2 billion.

Lately, though, a soccer-crazed fraction of our post-nationalist verbal elite has switched tactics and now implies that Americans will never get excited about soccer as a spectator sport because we just don’t deserve “the beautiful game.” In the new anthology The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup, novelist Dave Eggers contends that watching soccer on TV hasn’t caught on here because “people of influence in America long believed that soccer was the chosen sport of Communists. … If you were soccer, the sport of kings, would you want the adulation of a people who elected Bush and Cheney, not once but twice?”

This World Cup in Germany offers the soccerati the opportunity to flaunt their cosmopolitanism as they elucidate the exhilarating subtleties you likely missed in that Croatia-Japan nil-nil draw because you prefer native pastimes such as baseball, basketball, or, God forbid, NASCAR. The “celebrate diversity” folk want America to become athletically homogeneous with the rest of the world. To them, the tepid American response to the World Cup is evidence of our bigotry, our xenophobic failure to get with the global program. As Kevin Michael Grace says, their slogan would be “One people, one world, one sport,” if they weren’t so freaked out by all the host-country fans waving German flags. Ironically, while the World Cup is an occasion for globalist preening in the U.S., in the rest of the world it’s a prime locus for jingoism.

The rest of the article can be read here:
http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_07_17/article.html

 

[Zaxor]

I have lived overseas since 1982 and have yet to meet anyone who is even remotely agitated that Americans call it soccer...nor have I meet anyone who really gives a **** if soccer is played in America or not....

So I must conclude from the evidence presented that it is mostly people in America who are given other Americans grief over calling it soccer... and that said people are also the ones who are lamenting it not having a more prominent place in American society.

Now I am not saying that someone, someplace in Europe, does not think like the article pointed out...but it is nowhere near as rampant as this article seems to make it...

 

[DallasEast]

[FONT=helvetica,arial]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/news/2000/07/09/stadium_disasters_ap/#more[/FONT]
[FONT=helvetica,arial]Major stadium disasters[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica,arial]Updated: Wednesday May 09, 2001 6:56 PM[/FONT]


NEW YORK (AP) -- Following is a list of major stadium disasters:

April 5, 1902 - Glasgow, Scotland; 25 killed and 517 injured when the West Stand at Ibrox Park collapses during an international between England and Scotland. The game ends in a 1-1 draw but is later stricken from official records.

March 9, 1946 - Bolton, England; 33 people are killed and over 400 injured when a wall collapses at Burden Park before an English FA Cup match between Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City. The collapse crushes fans together and sparks a stampede.

March 30, 1955 - Santiago, Chile; Six died when 70,000 tried to jam into the stadium for the finals of the South American soccer tournament. Argentina beat Chile 1-0.

May 24, 1964 - Lima, Peru; 318 people are killed and another 500 injured in riots at National Stadium after Argentina beats Peru in an Olympic qualifying match. The pandemonium breaks out when the referee disallows a Peruvian goal in the final two minutes.

June 23, 1968 - Buenos Aires, Argentina; 74 peopleare killed and over 150 injured following a first-division game between River Plate and Boca Juniors when fans trying to leave the stadium mistakenly head toward a closed exit and are crushed against the doors by other fans unaware of the closed passageway.

Jan. 2, 1971 - Glasgow, Scotland; 66 people are killed and 140 are injured when brriers in Ibrox Stadium collapse near the end of a match between Celtic and Rangers and fans are crushed. The incident occurs when fans leaving the stadium are met by a group trying to return after hearing that Rangers had scored an equalizer.

March 4, 1971 - Salvador, Brazil; A fight and a wild rush broke out in the grandstands, killing four and injuring 1,500.

Feb. 17, 1974 - Cairo, Egypt; Crowds attempting to enter a club game broke down barriers and 49 people were trampled to death.

Oct. 31, 1976 - Yaounde, Cameroon; After a penalty kick was awarded to Cameroon in a World Cup qualifying match vs. the Congo, the Congolese goalie attacked the Gambian referee. A fight broke out and the president of Cameroon, watching the game at home on television, sent in paratroopers by helicopter. Two bystanders died.

Dec. 6, 1976 - Port-au-Prince, Haiti; At a World Cup qualifier between Haiti and Cuba, the visitors scored and a Haitian fan set off a firecracker. Fans thought it was gunfire and panicked, knocking down a soldier, whose gun went off and killed a small boy and girl in the crowd. Further panic caused two people to be trampled to death, and one man died jumping over a wall. The soldier committed suicide.

Oct. 20, 1982 - Moscow; 340 are reportedly killed at a European Cup match between Soviet club Spartak Moscow and Haarlem of the Netherlands. Police are blamed for pushing fans down a narrow, icy staircase before the end of the match. When a late goal is scored, exiting fans try to re-enter the stadium and create a "human mincer." Moscow officials dispute the claims made in the publication of the Soviet Sports Committee, saying only 61 died and police did not push fans.

May 11, 1985 - Bradford, England; 56 people die when a cigarette stub ingnites a stadium's wooden terrace section and fire engulfs the structure.

May 29, 1985 - Brussels, Belgium; 39 people are killed at the European Champions Cup Final at Heysel Stadium when riots beak out and a wall separating rival fans of England's Liverpool and Italy's Juventus of Turin collapses.

March 10, 1987 - Tripoli, Libya; 20 people are killed when paic-stricken fans flee knife-wielding ruffians and trigger the collapse of a wall. (This report conflicted with those from the Libyan state news agency JANA, which said two people were killed and 16 were hospitalized.)

March 12, 1988 - Katmandu, Nepal; At least 93 peole are killed and more than 100 injured when fans fleeing a hailstorm stampede into locked stadium exits.

April 15, 1989 - Sheffield, England; 95 people are crushed to death at an English FA Cup semifinal game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, when police open gates to alleviate crowding outside Hillsborough Stadium. The resulting rush of people onto the already filled terrace sections traps fans against riot control fences ringing the field.

Jan. 13, 1991 - Orkney, South Africa; at least 40 people are killed, most of them trampled or crushed along riot-control fences that surround the field, when fans panic and try to escape brawls that break out in the grandstan.

May 5, 1992 - Bastia, Corsica; 17 people are killed and 1,900 injured when a temporary grandstand, erected to increase the capacity of the stadium from 8,500 to 18,000, collapses before a French Cup semifinal match between four-time defending league champion Olympique Marseille and second-division Bastia.

June 16, 1996 - Lusaka, Zambia; Nine soccer fans were crushed to death and 78 others injured during a stampede following Zambia's victory over Sudan in a World Cup qualifying game.

July 14, 1996 - Tripoli, Libya; A riot at a soccer match involving a team controlled by a son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi killed or injured up to 50 people. No exact figures were reported in the Libyan-controlled press.

Oct. 16, 1996 - Guatemala City; At least 78 people died and about 180 others were injured during a stampede at a stadium before a World Cup qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica.

April 23, 2000 - Monrovia, Liberia; At least three reported dead and others injured as thousands of fans forced their way into an overcrowded stadium for a World Cup qualifier between Liberia and Chad.

July 9, 2000 - Harare, Zimbabwe; Twelve people die after a stampede at World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

April 11, 2001 - At least 43 people were killed at a football match between South Africa's two biggest teams. The stampede began as a crowd tried to get into Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg to watch the match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

April 29, 2001 - Another stampede killed eight people in Lubumbashi, Congo.

May 6, 2001 - Several soccer fans were killed and hundreds others injured Sunday when part of the roof of a stadium grandstand caved in during a game in northeastern Iran. Two people died and a third was in critical condition at a local hospital, Asghar Samarbakhsh, deputy sports director for Mazandaran province, said. The number of dead was in dispute.

May 6, 2001 - Fighting broke out among fans at a match in Ivory Coast, killing one person and injuring 39.

May 9, 2001 - A stampede at a packed soccer match between two of Ghana's leading teams killed at least 100 people Wednesday night, hospital officials said. Accra's Hearts of Oak was leading Assante Kotoko 2-1 with five minutes left in the game when Assante supporters began throwing bottles and chairs onto the field, witnesses said. Police then fired tear gas, creating panic in the stands.

***

 

[FCBarca]

btw..FcBarca: wheres ronaldinho going? barcelona gave deco away to chelsea. gave dos santos to tottenham i'm not liking next season very much.

Saga of Gaucho is a disappointing one although not an altogether unfamiliar one when it comes to prolific Brasilian footballers...'When' he is fit and has his mind right, few can rival what he can do with a ball...Unfortunately, success can often times breed complacency and in Ronaldinho's case, poor work habits.

I hate the idea of seeing him go but I like Guardiola's plan to have fit players play and seeing Eto'O and Ronnie out of plans...They did not give their all the last 2 seasons and if you don't, 'Mes que en club' tells you all you need to know...Sell 'em...Money says he plays at the San Siro next season but we'll see.

Deco is a terrific player, watching Euro 2008 showed he hasn't lost anything but like the the other 'fat cats' at the Nou Camp, Deco is part of the 'problem' in not giving maximum effort...I am glad he is gone as well despite knowing full well he will still provide greatness for Chelsea...I want players who are proud to wear the shirt and will play hard all the time.

Dos Santos being sold came as a bit of a surprise for me too but seeing that Guardiola doesn't figure him into the plans, I trust Pep...He sees these young guys more than any fan does and if he looked to sell him that should tell us something...I hope it doesn't come back to haunt the club...Krkic is the future, IMHO

Keita, Alves, Caceres, Pique et al are good signings which should help turn things around...I still think 2 significant signings remain, midfielder and striker (Perhaps among Hleb, Adebayor, Arshavin and Villa)...It will be a better season this year, I believe

 

[FCBarca]

Once again, that is EXACTLY what bbgun said. You are validating his post which you set out to refute.

I should care whether they care if I care about soccer? The problem with that is I don't care if they care.

Not what the original poster claimed, poster said resentment stemmed from not embracing the beautiful game...I said nothing about embracing the game...As I've subsequently said, doubtful anyone outside the US cares whether Americans embrace the game or not...I said if there's any resentment, it's more about the fact that we created a different word for the game that 95% of the world uses...Hardly the same thing

 

[Hostile]

Not what the original poster claimed, poster said resentment stemmed from not embracing the beautiful game...I said nothing about embracing the game...As I've subsequently said, doubtful anyone outside the US cares whether Americans embrace the game or not...I said if there's any resentment, it's more about the fact that we created a different word for the game that 95% of the world uses...Hardly the same thing

Below you are going to find the post you quoted that I first claimed you validated his claim. I'm going to bold the claim so you can see it for yourself.

I honestly think much of the world hates/resents us because we haven't embraced their "beautiful game." They practically had a coronary when we hosted the World Cup, as if some sort of blasphemy was being committed. We don't (relentlessly) push baseball on other countries or wonder why they don't "get it." The same cannot be said of the soccer fanatics.

You have since that time twice said basically the exact same thing he said. In other words he was absolutely correct.

The ORIGINAL post is about a website with stadiums. Of course this is not what the ORIGINAL poster claimed. He wasn't making any claims. He was introducing his web site.

 

[FCBarca]

Below you are going to find the post you quoted that I first claimed you validated his claim. I'm going to bold the claim so you can see it for yourself.

You have since that time twice said basically the exact same thing he said. In other words he was absolutely correct.

The ORIGINAL post is about a website with stadiums. Of course this is not what the ORIGINAL poster claimed. He wasn't making any claims. He was introducing his web site.

The original poster according to how I worded it referred to bbgun, as you have correctly bold faced...However, he said nothing in that post much less the bold face type that echoes what I wrote...bbgun claimed that the world resents us because we haven't embraced the 'beautiful game'.

I pointed out it was far more likely that the resentment stemmed from the butchering of the name of the game rather that not embracing it...Still, as I contend, hardly the same thing