World Cup:2022 Qatar

Being an avid football fan i couldn't give a rats arse about this tournament to be honest.

 

Does it end up being like the All Star competitions we have in various pro sports here in the states? More of an exhibition and not highly contested.

 

Oh it'll be highly contested, best diver (pretending to be fouled) best actor (pretending to be hurt) best kicker (of other players) best complainer (to the ref)
Oh and maybe a little football too.

 

I remember watching the 1970 world cup in Mexico, and how the players lost pounds due to sweating in a game. Having watched 1966, and only British and European football on the telly, it all seemed a bit alien watching it in the heat of Mexico. Of course Qatar will be different to Mexico, lots of substitutes, maybe drinks breaks etc, and I'll know most of the big players, as they play for the big teams in Europe, it kind of takes away the wonder of it all now.

 

Trouble is, as we get older these events seem to come around so quickly. 1970 was my first World Cup, but I wasn't really fully into watching every game until 1974.

I was listening to Nasser Hussein and Mike Atherton talking about England's win in the T20 the other day and remarking that the ICC want to hold that version of the World Cup every two years!! This will definitely de-value the event in my eyes, it seems that money for the sports officiating body is more important than anything else now. In the case of Qatar, that included any sense of political awareness, decency or societal values.

 

FIFA react to criticism:

Infantino accuses West of 'hypocrisy' in speech

 

There's been talk recently of holding the world cup every two years which I think is ridiculous as that already happens if you consider the Euro's. I've been a football fan for many years and remember the "good old days" if I can be nostalgic, as you say money has become the dominant factor which I think reflects on the way the game is played now. I've become quite disillusioned with the sport and my previous post shows how I see it now, there's too much gamesmanship, cheating, unnecessary fouling to the point that I'm rapidly losing interest in top level football, I think I'd rather go and watch a Sunday morning game on the park.
Andy

 

Yep go and watch a non league game much more interesting
Cheaper and the food is sometimes pretty good plus you can chat to people

 

Grass Roots

 

I love football--the real kind that is, not the bizarre hypertrophied rugby which goes under the name of football here. I greatly enjoy watching old matches from the 60s and 70s on youtube as well as high school matches in my home town. But in recent years I have lost interest in the World Cup, which has become hideously bloated and prolonged. Like the Olympics, it seems to be an excuse for nationalism, corruption, and marketing. But the problems with the cup, and with the game in general, go back a lot further than people think. Remember the Battle of Bern? That was as early as '54. There were some dreadful cases of on-field violence in the '62 cup, and in '66 you had Pele getting kicked out of the competition and Nobby Stiles chopping down Jackie Simon. The 60s and 70s matches are fun to watch and there were many great players and teams then, but that was the period when ruthless defense, professional fouling, acting, etc., really began to choke the life out of the game. In the 70s, Alf Ramsey's England featured Norman Hunter and Peter Storey, sometimes in the same match. I saw an England match from that time in which Alan Ball, no less, was clearly acting. Like many here I don't expect much different from the Qatar cup and I don't expect to follow it. At times I think the World Cup, like the Olympics, should be abolished. I was sorry to see that the US team was drawn in the same group with England, though. I tend to root for England in world cups, and this cup could sorely try my loyalties.

 

Substitute hockey for football and you've summed up a lot of my interactions.

I gave up on hockey years ago, mostly due to the consistent failings of my local team (the Leafs).

How many ^&%$& building years can a team have?

 

I think that the Bonzos summed it perfectly

Bonzo Dog Band – Sport (the Odd Boy) Lyrics
Let's go back to your childhood [echo]...

The odd boy lay down by the football field
Took out a slim volume of Mallarme.
The centre-forward called him an imbecile.
It's an odd boy who doesn't like sport.

Sport, Sport, masculine sport.
Equips a young man for society.
Yes, sport turns out a jolly good sort.
It's an odd boy who doesn't like sport.

Dear Mr. Poxham, would you kindly excuse Steven from
Games today? He has had a nasty cold over the weekend and
Still has headaches and feels a bit snotty. I don't feel
He should be outside with the rougher type of boy, as he
Is a little delicate. Hoping you will understand, yours
Sincerely, Nellie Maynard, Mrs.

Give him a nice, cold shower.

 

Well I thought this was about the football (for the Americans, read soccer) World Cup, but being as we are deviating away, I'm a passing New York Jets fan, if you can be such a thing living 3,460 miles away. I saw them live for the first time last year at the Tottenham stadium, what a lovely stadium that is, when they lost to the Atlanta Falcons. How do you become a fan, well I use to watch channel four (UK) on a sunday night back in the early 1980's, where Nicky Horne presented, and was seduced by the long bombs thrown by quarterback Richard Todd (not that Richard Todd) to Lam Jones, and the wonderful one eyed Wesley Walker, legally blind in eye, or so we were told. When you added the New York Sack exchange to that with Marty Lyons and dancing Mark Gastineau, how could you not back the guys in Kelly Green. Of course little did I know I was signing up to a losing franchise, but it is what it is, and once chosen, well your stuck with them. Having a little purple patch at he moment, but I wont hold my breath.

 

Defensive line breaks

really what is going on

 

A benefit to some businesses as the tills start rattling, pubs, clubs, sports shops etc, but a headache to others as the sickies build up.
I'm told pupils at some schools are being allowed to watch the football,to avoid i suspect, truancy.

Graham.

 

American with new English boyfriend.