Adopting a Red Headed Step-Child.

[Cheeta]

Too early?

Right.  We're out.   GAWD DAMIT!

After playing spoiler on Thursday for Morocco (or Belgium for that matter, LOL), it's time to consider where various V's energy will be commited going forwards. 

That is to say, who will you at this point adopt as your team in these finals?  You know, kinda like we've all be doing for the last 3 decades.

I, for one, have had France as my darkhorse.  Going to park my love over there. 

And, oddly enough, with England.  Just 'cause you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting ten people Eng-splaining the world of footie to you this time of year.  And it's just great fun tipping pints and poking holes in their world view.  If you don't know that already, trust me on this. 

Will hold a vote at The King's Head after our last match and see if we can come to a consensus amongst the usual suspects.

Discuss.  ☹️  

 

 

 

[scullion44]

France as darkhorse? How brave

[Metro]

Absolutely no one.

[InglewoodJack]

Waited 36 years for a World Cup and we got people already moving on to new teams before we’re even done playing games. Corny.

[RS]

11 hours ago, scullion44 said:

France as darkhorse? How brave

Yes, the defending World Cup champions are certainly not darkhorses.

1 hour ago, Metro said:

Absolutely no one.

Same. 

I'll watch the rest of the WC with interest as a fan of the game, and there are certainly teams I'd prefer to see succeed over others, but that's it.

[dyslexic nam]

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

Waited 36 years for a World Cup and we got people already moving on to new teams before we’re even done playing games. Corny.

Including TSN…

 

 

[TGAA_Star]

37 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

Including TSN…

 

 

Well there was expectation within the country so I guess I could see why TSN has gone this route

[Floortom]

I'll pull for any concacaf nation as this is a benefit for us...otherwise it would be cool for Messi to win.

[jonovision]

I have a few teams that I always pull for, but I care about them much less this year for obvious reasons.

I do hope Mexico advances and USA doesn't. I have a hard time explaining why I feel this way.

Edit: Oh yeah, anyone but Portugal.

Edited November 28, 2022 by jonovision

[BearcatSA]

On 11/27/2022 at 7:16 PM, Cheeta said:

And, oddly enough, with England.  Just 'cause you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting ten people Eng-splaining the world of footie to you this time of year.  And it's just great fun tipping pints and poking holes in their world view.  If you don't know that already, trust me on this. 

Man, you've hit the nail on the head 😂

I don't know if you have ever watched the follow up movie to Gervais's The Office, called David Brent:  Life on the Road, but there is a scene where the perpetually socially inept Brent tries to connect with his estranged band members as he talks out of his arse about the English national team's problems.  It always makes me think of my real life experiences which are similar to yours.

In the past, I have always wanted an African team to do well and though I won't be cheering for them on Thursday, my sense is that Morocco have the look of a team that could run to the semis.  They seem to have a home continent feel to them with their very strong supporters group here and their drive/commitment on the field.  I would love for us to deflate their tires with a result here.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

On 11/27/2022 at 8:16 PM, Cheeta said:

And, oddly enough, with England.  Just 'cause you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting ten people Eng-splaining the world of footie to you this time of year.  And it's just great fun tipping pints and poking holes in their world view.  If you don't know that already, trust me on this. 

Hard to seperate my views out because it would have taken something very strange growing up in rural Alberta for me to be a football fan - full stop - (period), without having English family.   They are my second national team, despite me disliking many of the players. 

So some somewhat futile attempts at some unbiased observations. 

- England supporters are super self-depricating  amongst themselves but like many, get super patriotic when challenged. 

-Second, they do a really good job of pretending they don't care until the quarter-finals or so.

- Third, like many people, they like their life experience to be valued.  They have legitimately grown up with football in their face all the time.  Football at school is very serious so most have played at some decent level. 

- Fourth, it very much hurts they invented the game and have only won it once. So they get super defensive. 

Hope that helps. Can't apologise for them but maybe explain. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[Cheeta]

On 11/27/2022 at 10:58 PM, scullion44 said:

France as darkhorse? How brave

LOL.  Yeah, wrong turn of phrase.

Maybe better put, I'm the only one I know who thinks they can really pull it off.   Amongst my non-V, non-RRR aquaintances not a one has France as their top four choice.  How much of that is because of various biases I don't know, but not a lot of love from, what I'll call "educated casuals", in my circles.  Have a traditional Xmas get together this weekend with a bunch of former team mates and this is going to come up.  See where that gets us.    

[Cheeta]

11 hours ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Hard to seperate my views out because it would have taken something very strange growing up in rural Alberta for me to be a football fan - full stop - (period), without having English family.   They are my second national team, despite me disliking many of the players. 

So some somewhat futile attempts at some unbiased observations. 

- England supporters are super self-depricating  amongst themselves but like many, get super patriotic when challenged. 

-Second, they do a really good job of pretending they don't care until the quarter-finals or so.

- Third, like many people, they like their life experience to be valued.  They have legitimately grown up with football in their face all the time.  Football at school is very serious so most have played at some decent level. 

- Fourth, it very much hurts they invented the game and have only won it once. So they get super defensive. 

Hope that helps. Can't apologise for them but maybe explain. 

I have a bit of fun but honestly I can rarely complain about the Old World footie fans I've met over the years.  Quite the opposite.  I don't follow SPL because my mentors came from Italy.

Sure, you'll get the odd prick but they come in stripes, checkers, and poka dots.  No English monopoly there.

Gawd, some of the 1st generation, trying-too-hard, part timers, though.  Fu'k me.  The only use I have for them is they give me a believable excuse for drinking.   

 

 

[RJB]

Honestly, I don't know.  I think it's fair that I'll root for concacaf, and have a few soft spots for some teams Korea, Australia, Japan, I am just looking for some good footy. 

[Ivan]

I'll support the Concacaf teams, and once the bitterness disappears, I'll root for Croatia.

[El Hombre]

World Cup?  After tomorrow the World Cup ceases to exist.  After tomorrow I start devoting all my time and energy to following one of the oldest and storied competitions in world football: CONCACAF Nations League.

Will Bonaire retain their dominance over the League C Group of Death?

Can mighty Belize pull out wins against Guatemala and Dominican Republic to save them from relegation from League B?

The intrigue!  The excitement!

[mrstepp817]

Aside from the USA and Canada I always pull for the Dutch....but I won't pull for them Saturday of course

[beachesl]

1st: Well, my adopted country is Argentina, and  you gotta love Messi.

2nd: Also, all surviving African teams (Canada's match tomorrow an exception).  They have been screwed with reffing and WC setup ever since the shameful German- Austrian draw in 1982, and you have to love their emotion and skill. I am hoping to see a measure of revenge against Uruguay by Ghana on Friday. 

[Califax]

USA, but maybe more so I was super glad Iran lost. 

pro west African sides, Messi for sentimental reasons and England

 

 

[PegCityCam]

It's quite literally a red (orange tbf) headed stepchild for me lol. My mom was born and raised in Holland and is as Dutch as double zout drop and stroopwafel so I really have no choice in the matter. We've visited a few times and I distinctly remember this one instance when my younger, very Dutch (duh) cousin mocked me incessantly for not having the slightest clue who Ajax were...he had posters all over his walls. I was around 12 at the time and was offended as I thought, as many Canadian boys do, that I knew everything about sports. Clearly not. It took me a long time to fully get into following football but my earliest memories of cheering for the Oranje with my mom go as far back as the De Boer brothers in '94/'98. I honestly won't be upset if the US win though as I know how huge it could be for the continued growth of the sport in North America. My brother lives in Durham and he says everyone's talking about it even there in basketball country.

Edited December 1, 2022 by PegCityCam

[Cicero]

Senegal...time for a new winner. Seriously though, with the number of young people in North and West Africa, it seems only a matter of time before an African team wins it. Or maybe the Saudi's, but they all seem to stay in their national league.

Maybe they should form a West African Super League to keep some of that talent at home.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Cicero

[An Observer]

11 hours ago, Cicero said:

Senegal...time for a new winner. Seriously though, with the number of young people in North and West Africa, it seems only a matter of time before an African team wins it. Or maybe the Saudi's, but they all seem to stay in their national league.

Maybe they should form a West African Super League to keep some of that talent at home.

Didn’t Pele say Africa would win the World Cup by 2000?  Poverty, corruption and a lack of infrastructure will probably continue to hold them back for another generation unfortunately.

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 hours ago, An Observer said:

Didn’t Pele say Africa would win the World Cup by 2000?  Poverty, corruption and a lack of infrastructure will probably continue to hold them back for another generation unfortunately.

Africa doesn't play in the World Cup, odd you'd think otherwise. Pele wasn't African either and did not understand.

The real question, more than any other, is that there is a massive dispersion of talent, fairly evenly distributed, across maybe a dozen or more quality national teams. So the error was always to talk about "Africa", because they were never going to take the field. 

Then they have a qualification process that is probably unfair and leaves amazing teams out, like Salah's Egypt this time. They really need to have larger groups first round, with more games; then do a second round or, like UEFA, have playoffs for 2nd placed teams in groups. Pressure from European clubs, and thus from UEFA, is one of the main factors conditioning a fairer qualification process, and maybe also reducing the importance for African sides of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[An Observer]

13 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Africa doesn't play in the World Cup, odd you'd think otherwise. Pele wasn't African either and did not understand.

The real question, more than any other, is that there is a massive dispersion of talent, fairly evenly distributed, across maybe a dozen or more quality national teams. So the error was always to talk about "Africa", because they were never going to take the field. 

Then they have a qualification process that is probably unfair and leaves amazing teams out, like Salah's Egypt this time. They really need to have larger groups first round, with more games; then do a second round or, like UEFA, have playoffs for 2nd placed teams in groups. Pressure from European clubs, and thus from UEFA, is one of the main factors conditioning a fairer qualification process, and maybe also reducing the importance for African sides of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Jeez. You are such a condescending butthead. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 hours ago, An Observer said:

Jeez. You are such a condescending butthead. 

Edited. You can always block instead of insulting someone.

Suggestion: next time put up a "Do Not Disturb, Pontificating about Africa" sign.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist