A good buddy of mine loves it, and sort of as a tribute to him, i
watched my first game ("match") late the other night - Korea vs. US -
when i happened to stumble on the beginning of the live broadcast.
Stayed up way too late to see it through, and suffered the next day as a
result, but i saw it.
Here's my impression...
run, kick, run, kick, run, run, run, kick, kick, kick, get tripped, fall
down, writhe in simulated agony, then miraculously recover and run and
kick some more. one guy even got a huge gash on his head but was able
to quickly rejoin play with a hat-bandage on his head. like busy ants
they scramble all over the place ceaselessly and someone eventually gets
it into the goal net, but seemingly by accident more often than plan.
watching them scramble becomes dizzying. the game seems almost to be
about whose legs and lungs give out first.
and then the clock runs out, but it's tied so they play on for some
additional amount of time. but then that time runs out, and it
just...ends. clunk. yay! a tie! i've wasted 2 hours of my life for
a...tie!
then, remarkably, the contestants tear off their sweaty shirts and give
them to their opponents, who put them on!
(and i won't go into the bizarre behavior and dress of the audience, who
sang in unison at incredibly high volume for the entire time.)
as a contrast, there's a pastime in the US, also popular in other parts
of the world. in it, there is no clock - the game continues until the
contest has been resolved. and the crowd cheers when something
noteworthy happens on the field, or as encouragement, and sit quietly
enjoying themselves during the rest of the time.
i dunno, maybe soccer isn't always like the match i saw, but it sure
didn't grab me this time!
On Wednesday, June 12, 2002, at 06:09 AM, Jon Glass wrote:
>
> on 6/12/02 1:51 PM, Rich Lindsay at rich_at_www.thisoldnewt.com wrote:
>
>> with the vast nationalities represented in this community I thought
>> we=20=
>>
>> could have some fun with the World Cup.........
>
> Do you mean.... that someone in the US is actually...... paying.....
> attention to the World Cup????!!!!!!!!! Unbelievable!! Rich, you must
> be the
> first and only!!!
> --
> Jon Glass
> Krakow, Poland
> <jonglass_at_usa.net>
> <glasshaus5_at_aol.com>
>
> 'A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely
> overthrow
> the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy.
> While the
> people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose
> their
> virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first
> external
> or internal invader." -- Samuel Adams
>
>
> --
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