Futbol

[GoCubsGo]

I find it interesting (hypocritical) that FIFA has required American stadiums to take corporate sponsors off their names for the World Cup. There is no shortage of examples where the guys who run FIFA are corrupt. I guess they couldn't shake down these entities with their hands out.

You are late to the FIFA greed and corruption party.

So even though I certainly liked it better when stadiums were named "Three Rivers" and "Candlestick Park", "Mile High" etc., it does seem that with the rise of sponsored names, that Lumen Field is, at least for the current contract the official legal name of the Seahawk's home field. Why is it they aren't using those names for the World Cup games? Surely it can't be that FIFA sees their product as non-commercial. And probably non-political? Right, that's the ticket.

And did the corporate name sponsors who paid millions for the naming rights get a vote here? ($625 million from SoFi - to be called "Los Angeles Stadium" during arguably one of the biggest events held there.)

More corruption?

FIFA does this because of its "clean stadium" rules: stadium names that contain corporate sponsors are temporarily replaced unless that sponsor is an official FIFA partner. The same policy has been used at previous World Cups and other major international tournaments

[O Really]

Well I can understand why FIFA would want it, I just don't understand why the venues out up with it. I'd be like "hey we've got these major sponsors that have paid millions and committed long term to millions more so that we can have a top of the line stadium. You're here every four years, if that, and we don't even have any guarantee you'll ever be back again. Welcome to Lumen and SoFi stadium. Or not. "

[Vrede too]

Well I can understand why FIFA would want it, I just don't understand why the venues out up with it. I'd be like "hey we've got these major sponsors that have paid millions and committed long term to millions more so that we can have a top of the line stadium. You're here every four years, if that, and we don't even have any guarantee you'll ever be back again. Welcome to Lumen and SoFi stadium. Or not."

Automatically less than every four years.

Guesses:
It's not just FIFA wanting it. Seems to be their longstanding policy.
Depends on the contractual sponsorship language.
The sponsors aren't sending a penny to FIFA.
FIFA has hundreds of stadiums to choose from, including largely un-sponsorsed college ones.
At hundreds of millions per game the stadiums are not going to fight for their sponsors. Neither will I. I find it refreshing.

[Vrede too]

I'm 11-13-10 so far


Mon 6/22

1:00 PM Dallas Stadium
Argentina (-1.5) vs Austria, go futbol.
Messi does it again. He becomes men's World Cup all-time leading scorer, having scored all 5 of Argentina's goals. GOAT. 2-0

5:00 PM Philadelphia Stadium
Go France (-2.5) > Iraq
Was delayed, weather I assume. 3-0
I'm 12-13-10 so far

8:00 PM New York New Jersey Stadium
Go Senegal > Norway (-0.5)
2-3
I'm 12-14-10 so far

11:00 PM San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
Go Jordan > Algeria (-0.5)
1-2
I'm 12-15-10 so far

Tues 6/23

1:00 PM Houston Stadium
Go Portugal (-2.5) > Uzbekistan

4:00 PM Boston Stadium
GO Ghana > England (-1.5). Sorry, O Really

7:00 PM Toronto Stadium
Panama vs Croatia (-1.5), go futbol

10:00 PM Estadio Guadalajara
Colombia (-0.5) vs Congo DR, go futbol

[O Really]

So it should come as no surprise to anyone here that I'm not a soccer fan. But I can understand for anybody who is, the World Cup is a big deal. What I don't understand is why somebody would pay big bucks to see Obscure Country #1 play Obscure Country #2 to a thrilling 1 nil.

[Vrede too]

I'm 12-15-10 so far

Tues 6/23

1:00 PM Houston Stadium
Go Portugal (-2.5) > Uzbekistan
5-0
I'm 13-15-10 so far

4:00 PM Boston Stadium
GO Ghana > England (-1.5). Sorry, O Really
0-0
I'm 13-15-11 so far

7:00 PM Toronto Stadium
Panama vs Croatia (-1.5), go futbol
0-1

10:00 PM Estadio Guadalajara
Colombia (-0.5) vs Congo DR, go futbol
1-0
Group K: Colombia will advance with 6 points

Group A: Viva Mexico! will advance with 6 points
Group B: O Canada will advance with 4 points
Group D: USA USA USA will advance with 6 points
Group E: Deutschland über alles will advance with 6 points
Group I: France & Norway will both advance with 6 points

I'm 13-15-11 so far

Wed 6/24

3:00 PM BC Place Vancouver
GO Canada > Switzerland (-0.5)

3:00 PM Seattle Field
Simultaneous games within easy driving distance?
GO Bosnia and Herzegovina (-1.5) > Qatar

6:00 PM Miami Stadium
Go Scotland > Brazil (-1.5)

6:00 PM Atlanta Stadium
Morocco (-2.5 ) vs Haiti, go futbol

9:00 PM Estadio Monterrey
GO South Africa > South Korea (-0.5)

9:00 PM Mexico City Stadium
Go Czechia > Mexico (-0.5)

[Vrede too]

So it should come as no surprise to anyone here that I'm not a soccer fan. But I can understand for anybody who is, the World Cup is a big deal. What I don't understand is why somebody would pay big bucks to see Obscure Country #1 play Obscure Country #2 to a thrilling 1 nil.

1 - nil can be very thrilling.

My guess, the stands include:
Citizens, descendants of citizens and others fans of the countries playing;
Locals and semi-locals (like me to Atlanta) who may never get another chance to see a WC game;
Kids groups donation recipients;
Corporate blocks of tix.

[O Really]

So Premier League is the best in the world, then some European leagues, then a short tier down MLS. Is it really a noticeably better game between Berserkistan and Boondocks than you would see in the MLS, or, for undoubtedly less money take a flight to England to watch Arsenal play Man City?

[O Really]

Round trip Atlanta-London $800ish. Scalper tickets $200, nice hotel $600 for 3 days. How much were those WC tickets again?

[Vrede too]

$4K to get in the stadium.

So Premier League is the best in the world, then some European leagues, then a short tier down MLS. Is it really a noticeably better game between Berserkistan and Boondocks than you would see in the MLS, or, for undoubtedly less money take a flight to England to watch Arsenal play Man City?

Depends on the value you place on national pride, and how much money you have to burn.

Trick question. MLS has Messi, the GOAT.

As for quality, England has never won the European Championship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro ... ip#Results

[O Really]

I may have not been clear. I only picked Arsenal and Manchester because they were the onlyteams that came u. Mediately to mind, and didn't really know there was such a thing as "European Championship". Pick any favourite team you like. I'm just offering an example of how it seems such a much better deal to go to England, Spain or wherever to see a match of a team you actually follow than to pay thousands to see teams nobody knows. And no, I guess I just "don't get it"

[supesalemgr2]

I may have not been clear. I only picked Arsenal and Manchester because they were the onlyteams that came u. Mediately to mind, and didn't really know there was such a thing as "European Championship". Pick any favourite team you like. I'm just offering an example of how it seems such a much better deal to go to England, Spain or wherever to see a match of a team you actually follow than to pay thousands to see teams nobody knows. And no, I guess I just "don't get it"

I have never been a big soccer fan. However, in the mid 60's there was a professional league formed. The Atlanta Chiefs were one of the teams. I acknowledge I attended a couple of games and found soccer in person was enjoyable.

[Vrede too]

I may have not been clear. I only picked Arsenal and Manchester because they were the onlyteams that came u. Mediately to mind, and didn't really know there was such a thing as "European Championship". Pick any favourite team you like. I'm just offering an example of how it seems such a much better deal to go to England, Spain or wherever to see a match of a team you actually follow than to pay thousands to see teams nobody knows. And no, I guess I just "don't get it"

This is shaded by your dislike of soccer. One could easily ask the same questions about the Super Bowl, Wimbledon, Bristol, March Madness finals, the Masters, Indy 500, NBA or NHL finals, World Series, etc. People spend money on stupid stuff, always have always will.

Full disclosure: I've been to one Women's March Madness game - 1st round, in Missoula, reasonable ticket price The Lady Griz got trounced.

[Vrede too]

I'm 13-15-11 so far

Wed 6/24

3:00 PM BC Place Vancouver
GO Canada > Switzerland (-0.5)
1-2. Oh no, a home loss . Canada still beats out Bosnia and Herzegovina for Group B 2nd.
https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/standings/

3:00 PM Seattle Field
Simultaneous games within easy driving distance?
GO Bosnia and Herzegovina (-1.5) > Qatar
3-1 "Bosnia moves top among 3rd-place teams" Okay. Qatar goes home.
I'm 14-16-11 so far

6:00 PM Miami Stadium
Go Scotland > Brazil (-1.5)
0-3

6:00 PM Atlanta Stadium
Morocco (-2.5 ) vs Haiti, go futbol
4-2. I am happy that Haiti scored its only 2 goals of the WC, perhaps its only WC goals ever. It goes home.
Brazil and Morocco both move on with 7 points each.
I'm 15-17-11 so far

9:00 PM Estadio Monterrey
GO South Africa > South Korea (-0.5)
1-0. First advance for South Africa ever.

9:00 PM Mexico City Stadium
Go Czechia > Mexico (-0.5)
0-3. Mexico is the first team with 3 wins, quite the coup for a host . Czechia goes home.
I'm 16-18-11 so far

Thu 6/25

4:00 PM New York New Jersey Stadium
Go Ecuador vs Germany (-1.5)

4:00 PM Philadelphia Stadium
Simultaneous games within reasonable driving distance?
Go Ivory Coast (-2.5) > Curacao

7:00 PM Kansas City Stadium
Go Netherlands (-2.5) > Tunisia

7:00 PM Dallas Stadium
GO Sweden > Japan (-0.5)

10:00 PM San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
GO Australia > Paraguay (-0.5)

10:00 PM Los Angeles Stadium
GO Turkiye > USA (-0.5)

The earliest games had spreads of -0.25 or -0.75, which made no sense to me.

[Vrede too]

I'm 16-18-11 so far

Thu 6/25

Changed my mind before the game started, but Germany scored a goal at 2' , before I could post this change.
4:00 PM New York New Jersey Stadium
Go Germany (-1.5) > Ecuador
Ecuador scored at 9' to equalize, 1-1
1-2 upset, I jinxed them. Germany still wins the group.

4:00 PM Philadelphia Stadium
Simultaneous games within reasonable driving distance?
Go Ivory Coast (-2.5) > Curacao
Ivory Coast scored at 7', 1-0. is going on this afternoon? Did O Really gripe the games into being more exciting? 2-0. Ivory Coast advances . First time?
I'm 17-19-11 so far

7:00 PM Kansas City Stadium
Go Netherlands (-2.5) > Tunisia
2-0 Netherlands wins Group F with 7 points Tunisia goes home

7:00 PM Dallas Stadium
GO Sweden > Japan(-0.5)
1-1. Japan takes 2nd in Group F with 5 points.
I'm 18-19-12 so far

10:00 PM San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
GO Australia > Paraguay (-0.5)
0-0 at HT.
0-0 FT
Australia still advances with a 4 point tie.

10:00 PM Los Angeles Stadium
GO Turkiye > USA (-0.5)
1-1 just 10' into the game
2-1 at HT. I just copy and paste 'Turkiye', but it's funny to hear US announcers say 'Turk-eee-yay'.
TURKEY wins 3-2 with a goal at 90'+8' it's still eliminated. USA USA USA still wins the group thanks to the tie in the other game.

The earliest games had spreads of -0.25 or -0.75, which made no sense to me.

[GoCubsGo]

Wow.

[Vrede too]

Wow.

Took luck for USA USA USA to win the group.

I'm 19-19-13 so far

Fri 6/26

3:00 PM Boston Stadium
Go Norway > France (-0.5)
Norway's camp is in Greensboro, NC

3:00 PM Toronto Stadium
Go Senegal (-1.5) > Iraq

8:00 PM Estadio Guadalajara
GO Spain (-1.5) > Uruguay

8:00 PM Houston Stadium
GO Cape Verde (-0.5) > Saudi Arabia

11:00 PM BC Place Vancouver
Go Belgium (-2.5) > New Zealand. Strategic choice

11:00 PM Seattle Field
Simultaneous games within reasonable driving distance?
GO Iran > Egypt (-0.5)

[O Really]

Sometimes you luck out despite yourself. Some time ago, Lady I and I planned a little excursion to LA. Nothing big, just catch a few tourist sites like La Brea, etc, nice dinner, night view from Griffin. That was going to be this week. But here comes Lady Luck and starts the warehouse fire that spread smoke all over the city, leading us to change our plans to Big Bear instead. We had no idea that USA USA was playing in SoFi last night and that the city would be overrun with soccer fans of various types and different degrees of drunkenness. And a lot of them would be doing it at viewing spots around Union Station, only a couple of miles from where we would have been staying.

But instead we have been treated with clear blue skies, modest crowds (for a popular resort town the week before July 4) and several good views of one or maybe both the resident eagles. I couldn't tell Shadow from Jackie, but it was not the little ones flying yet. We've got one more day to see if they try it.

[Vrede too]

But instead we have been treated with clear blue skies, modest crowds (for a popular resort town the week before July 4) and several good views of one or maybe both the resident eagles. I couldn't tell Shadow from Jackie, but it was not the little ones flying yet. We've got one more day to see if they try it.

If carrying a fish she was probably Shadow.


Shadow brings 7 fish, Jackie brings one, a small argument between Jackie and Shadow 23.06. @FOBBVCAM

[O Really]

In one viewing there was a fish. It's not public exactly where the nest is, but in general it's a little north of Fawnskin and they fly back and forth over the bay there on their way in and out. So you can hang out around the marina or a little park over there and almost assured a sighting.