1) I fear the ties and lack of goals are beginning to deter even semi-avid fans in the US, simply because they seem to be linked. Until the Brazil/North Korea game today, no game had featured a win where both teams scored. In 2006, that outcome had occurred 5 times by this point in the tourney.
Further, the popular tie outcome, a concept others have indicated is mind-blowing (I, of course, vehemently disagree), has now been the result of six of the first fourteen matches, nearly half. Compare again to 2006, when only three of the first fourteen ended without a winner. And finally, the goals, or lack thereof, down 15 overall from 2006, from 38 to 23, lead to fewer Play of the Day highlights and more people on the brink of wanting to like the beautiful game but teetering back towards boredom.
All tied up, in more ways than one.
But alas, I need not really care if Americans can never adapt to a game as foreign as soccer. My excitement has not waned, the intrigue level still well above the bar, wondering how all the scenarios will play out as we begin round 2 of the group stage tomorrow afternoon.
2) An interesting and comical snippet I overheard during the Slovakia/New Zealand game involved Slovak goalkeeper Jan Mucha, who just earned a contract with English Premier League club Everton. The Toffees, as they’re known, play in a suburb of Liverpool, so Mucha put two and two together and decided the best way to learn English was by listening to Liverpool’s very own Beatles. Why not, I’m sure people in Liverpool still talk that daily. Carry on, Mucha!
Mucha, thinking he could do this eight days a week.
3) I had to show physical proof to Shelley and Jen the other day that the People’s Republic of Korea, aka North Korea, actually had a team in the World Cup. A country where citizens have very few rights and are rarely allowed to leave the country, yet qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1966, makes for an amazing story. The Brazilians, their first opponents, and other teams have indicated that were looking forward to playing North Korea so that could get to know them better since only three of them play outside of North Korea. However, the North Korean government isn’t going to let that happen, choosing instead to have their players on lock down when they’re not on the pitch. And if you looked closely during the Brazil/North Korea game, you might have seen a small contingency of North Korean fans, a smattering of red mixed in with the sea of yellow Brasilia shirts. The fact that any North Koreans were in attendance was surprising given their situation. In reality, the North Korean supporters were imposters, paid by North Korea’s governmental regime to make it appear North Korea had fans. Unbelievable!
NOT REAL FANS!
4) While we’re still on the Brazil/North Korea game, perhaps you noticed the oddity that took place on the Brazilian side. As the announcer said while introducing the lineups: “In the era of squad numbers, you rarely get 1 to 11, but there you have it.” For the starting lineup of Brazil looked like this:
#1 Julio Cesar, #2 Maicon, #3 Lucio, #4 Juan, #5 Felipe Melo, #6 Michel Bastos, #7 Elano, #8 Gilberto Silva, #9 Luis Fabiano, #10 Kaka, #11 Robinho
Although it would be difficult to check, I would guess it’s rare, if ever, that this has happened in the World Cup, where 11 players with jersey number 1-11 take the field to start a game. Leave it to the Brazilians, always basic in approach and consistent in their play, to pull that off.
