If the government really is serious about identifying illegal immigrants, it soon will be provided a unique opportunity to record their whereabouts.
All the Department of Homeland Security has to do is monitor the city-by-city television ratings of this month's World Cup soccer tournament. Agents should be dispatched to any area in which the ratings reflect an unnaturally high level of interest. That likely signals a concentrated pocket of illegals.
No one who actually is from here cares about the most over-hyped, mind-numbingly boring event in the world. Nevertheless, ABC and ESPN will combine to broadcast all 64 games live and in high definition starting on Friday. High definition means that over the course of a 90-minute contest, both scoring chances can be viewed with crystal clarity.
There's no word yet on whether any of the games will be presented "commercial free." The networks usually make a big deal out of doing that. It's their way of telling us how important the World Cup is. Remember, there were no commercial interruptions when man first walked on the moon.
It makes sense, too. After 20-minute stretches of televised World Cup nothingness, an action-packed commercial definitely would seem intrusive.
Thirty years after soccer was supposed to be the next thing here, ESPN and ABC will attempt to "educate" as well as entertain American viewers during the World Cup, according to an article in Sunday's paper. The arrogance is astounding. The networks still are subscribing to the tired old chestnut that Americans aren't interested in soccer because we don't understand it.
All that tactical beauty is somehow slipping past us. We aren't smart enough to understand the nuances involved in the most popular game in the world.
In fact, just the opposite is true. We don't like soccer because we do understand it. And it's awful.
It's time to quit apologizing and tell the truth. When it comes to soccer, we're right, and the rest of the world is wrong. If they want to dance in the streets of Cameroon or Belgium over this stuff, fine. But the sport does not suit American taste, and we should stop feeling guilty about it.
Look, Americans are an industrious people. We use our hands. We catch footballs. We throw baseballs. We hit golf balls and tennis balls by gripping a piece of equipment. It is unnatural for us to put our hands behind our backs and try to "pass" a soccer ball to a teammate by bouncing it off our heads. We aren't circus seals, and no one is going to toss us a fish if we do it right.
It also offends our sense of fair play to watch a lone referee try to police an area the size of Rhode Island and then get blamed for the outcome by whichever team loses. And regardless of how passionate we are about our sports teams, we draw the line at pipe bombs.
Many spectators in soccer-crazed countries warm up for a big match by hitting their neighbor in the head with a brick. And as soon as little Nigel or Fiona is old enough, mum and dad take them out back and practice squishing them against a chain link fence.
No matter which country wins, rest assured that thousands will die in worldwide rioting. I'm going to pick up the satellite feed of The Hooligan Network, direct from Europe. They show split screen: the soccer game on one half, fans clubbing each other on the other.
Yes, America may be the only country that doesn't go goofy for soccer. We also are the only remaining super power. Don't you see a connection there?
In fairness, soccer is a great activity for little kids. It allows them to run around outside before their motor skills are fully developed and they can move onto something else. It's not bad at the high school level, either, because individual abilities vary greatly at that age, and weird play often occurs as a result.
Beyond that, it's unbearable. As the World Cup rolls around again, I refuse to apologize for saying I'd rather have a colonoscopy than watch a minute of it. Soccer is the rest of the world's problem. Let's not even fake it anymore.
Who cares if the French or Chinese think we are uncivilized? What's the big deal if opponents from the Middle East shake hands after a match? Their countries will be at each other's throats again the next day, anyway.
Perhaps ABC and ESPN will garner decent ratings when the tournament begins. For at least one government agency, the demographics of that audience could prove very interesting.
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 12:37 pm Posts: 7376 Location: Vlaardingen, Netherlands Gender: Female
ah, so many words to avoid having to admit the game goes over his head
groetjes,
Mirella (let's see what the US team does, maybe it will raise some more intrest if they win)
_________________ 93 Rdm2x 96 D L2x Ber Gro Ams Par Zür 00 L2x D Gla Man Car Par Pin Pra Kat2x Sal Lju Ver Ber Ham Ros L 01 BSB2x Sea2x 06 D Arn Ant Bern Bol Ver Mil Tor Pis Pra Ber Vie Zag 07 L Düs Nij Wer 09 L Rdm Ber Man L 10 D Belf L Ber 12 Am2x EV:Am2x
If the government really is serious about identifying illegal immigrants, it soon will be provided a unique opportunity to record their whereabouts.
All the Department of Homeland Security has to do is monitor the city-by-city television ratings of this month's World Cup soccer tournament. Agents should be dispatched to any area in which the ratings reflect an unnaturally high level of interest. That likely signals a concentrated pocket of illegals.
No one who actually is from here cares about the most over-hyped, mind-numbingly boring event in the world. Nevertheless, ABC and ESPN will combine to broadcast all 64 games live and in high definition starting on Friday. High definition means that over the course of a 90-minute contest, both scoring chances can be viewed with crystal clarity.
There's no word yet on whether any of the games will be presented "commercial free." The networks usually make a big deal out of doing that. It's their way of telling us how important the World Cup is. Remember, there were no commercial interruptions when man first walked on the moon.
It makes sense, too. After 20-minute stretches of televised World Cup nothingness, an action-packed commercial definitely would seem intrusive.
Thirty years after soccer was supposed to be the next thing here, ESPN and ABC will attempt to "educate" as well as entertain American viewers during the World Cup, according to an article in Sunday's paper. The arrogance is astounding. The networks still are subscribing to the tired old chestnut that Americans aren't interested in soccer because we don't understand it.
All that tactical beauty is somehow slipping past us. We aren't smart enough to understand the nuances involved in the most popular game in the world.
In fact, just the opposite is true. We don't like soccer because we do understand it. And it's awful.
It's time to quit apologizing and tell the truth. When it comes to soccer, we're right, and the rest of the world is wrong. If they want to dance in the streets of Cameroon or Belgium over this stuff, fine. But the sport does not suit American taste, and we should stop feeling guilty about it.
Look, Americans are an industrious people. We use our hands. We catch footballs. We throw baseballs. We hit golf balls and tennis balls by gripping a piece of equipment. It is unnatural for us to put our hands behind our backs and try to "pass" a soccer ball to a teammate by bouncing it off our heads. We aren't circus seals, and no one is going to toss us a fish if we do it right.
It also offends our sense of fair play to watch a lone referee try to police an area the size of Rhode Island and then get blamed for the outcome by whichever team loses. And regardless of how passionate we are about our sports teams, we draw the line at pipe bombs.
Many spectators in soccer-crazed countries warm up for a big match by hitting their neighbor in the head with a brick. And as soon as little Nigel or Fiona is old enough, mum and dad take them out back and practice squishing them against a chain link fence.
No matter which country wins, rest assured that thousands will die in worldwide rioting. I'm going to pick up the satellite feed of The Hooligan Network, direct from Europe. They show split screen: the soccer game on one half, fans clubbing each other on the other.
Yes, America may be the only country that doesn't go goofy for soccer. We also are the only remaining super power. Don't you see a connection there?
In fairness, soccer is a great activity for little kids. It allows them to run around outside before their motor skills are fully developed and they can move onto something else. It's not bad at the high school level, either, because individual abilities vary greatly at that age, and weird play often occurs as a result.
Beyond that, it's unbearable. As the World Cup rolls around again, I refuse to apologize for saying I'd rather have a colonoscopy than watch a minute of it. Soccer is the rest of the world's problem. Let's not even fake it anymore.
Who cares if the French or Chinese think we are uncivilized? What's the big deal if opponents from the Middle East shake hands after a match? Their countries will be at each other's throats again the next day, anyway.
Perhaps ABC and ESPN will garner decent ratings when the tournament begins. For at least one government agency, the demographics of that audience could prove very interesting.
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 12:47 pm Posts: 9282 Location: Atlanta Gender: Male
I honestly don't know why people are so angry on both sides of this argument.
I'm into guitars, home theatre, and damn near every sport out there available to me. The average person has no clue whatsoever about the stuff I know or care about but it makes no difference to me.
I love soccer, I loved playing it, I love watching it. I don't really give a crap if anyone in America likes it or not.
I love hockey especially playoff hockey so I'm one of the 930K on average that actually watched monday night and I will be tonight too.
Soccer is cheap easy to learn rules to and very very hard to master it's also impossible just as it is in football or baseball or golf or tennis or race car driving for the average lay person to understand the speed of the game the difficulty and the level of skill involved. Thusly soccer is popular throughout the world because people grew up playing and watching it. The US has created it's national sports. the NFL and College Football are perhaps the most fantastic events to watch on TV, because they set up beautifully for the medium.
There are still idiots in every sports bar you go to that believe if it weren't for that mean coach or what have you they were talented enough to be in the "show" or be a stud in the NFL. Those people are quite misled, the same goes for soccer, there are a lot of very good players out there than can't hold ronaldo or ronaldhino's (sp) jock, but the average guy out there thinks, man I could do that. Same with golf. Like it or not about 90% of you lie out of your heads about your golf game, PGA players really are absolutly freakishly good at what they do, and even they shoot 85 occasionally.
Baseball is boring to many, as is Soccer, and hockey because many people can't see the puck or don't know what's going on, and in the case of soccer they just don't appreciate the style of play or work in the midfield.
It's no skin of my ass, I don't care, soccer will NEVER NEVER NEVER be the 3rd most popular sport in the US to watch on TV, but thousands and thousands play it regularly and that suits me just fine.
I really don't know why it bothers people so much. The world cup is a great event in the world of sports, as are the NHL and NBA finals at least this year. Let's enjoy it while baseball is in it's boring months and we are all anxiously awaiting football training camp.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 3:31 pm Posts: 2423 Location: White Hart Lane Gender: Male
That article is a load of old bollocks. The real reason why the US doesn't 'get' Football (I fucking refuse to call it soccer) is actually because they are so fucking bad at it.
Yeah they're ranked fifth in the FIFA world rankings, but these ranking are based on how many games you win. Now if your local Pub team were stuck permanently in a group with El Salvador, Canada & the mighty Honduras they'd be fifth too.
If there was the slightest chance of Team USA winning anything, ever then more people would watch it.
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 pm Posts: 19826 Location: Alone in a corridor
parchy wrote:
I think it's funny how riled up the world gets because we invented our own games and didn't latch onto what everybody else plays.
Is it really that big a deal? (I'll answer for you: no) Who the hell cares?
Like I said: I really couldn't care less for which sports you guys play and follow and which you don't. What bothers me is that (dare I say) typical American arrogance coming out of that article. It's so.... aaaaaah. There's a reason I wanted to go to Canada and not to the US.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:14 am Posts: 8662 Location: IL
spaggy boy wrote:
That article is a load of old bollocks. The real reason why the US doesn't 'get' Football (I fucking refuse to call it soccer) is actually because they are so fucking bad at it.
or maybe, just maybe we are bad at it because no one plays it unless they get cut from the high school football, baseball, basketball, wrestling, AND track team... soccer is the bottom of the list here in the states... it might outshine cross-country... might
and trust me, the girls arent flocking to the boys that can kick the little white ball around... it's just not appealing to the kids in the States, and im quite thankful for that
Quote:
If there was the slightest chance of Team USA winning anything, ever then more people would watch it.
I think it's funny how riled up the world gets because we invented our own games and didn't latch onto what everybody else plays.
Is it really that big a deal? (I'll answer for you: no) Who the hell cares?
Like I said: I really couldn't care less for which sports you guys play and follow and which you don't. What bothers me is that (dare I say) typical American arrogance coming out of that article. It's so.... aaaaaah. There's a reason I wanted to go to Canada and not to the US.
What I think is funny is that all of the sudden this arrogant a-hole who represents maybe 5% of the population who have an opinion on the matter is the 'typical' American.
I could listen to some ridiculous 'out there' Belgian dude who thinks that everybody who doesn't... I don't know, do something uniquely Belgian... is the dumbest person on the world and then assume that the Belgians are arrogant pricks, but I'm not stupid, and I don't eat up what the world feeds me.
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 pm Posts: 19826 Location: Alone in a corridor
parchy wrote:
Angus wrote:
parchy wrote:
I think it's funny how riled up the world gets because we invented our own games and didn't latch onto what everybody else plays.
Is it really that big a deal? (I'll answer for you: no) Who the hell cares?
Like I said: I really couldn't care less for which sports you guys play and follow and which you don't. What bothers me is that (dare I say) typical American arrogance coming out of that article. It's so.... aaaaaah. There's a reason I wanted to go to Canada and not to the US.
What I think is funny is that all of the sudden this arrogant a-hole who represents maybe 5% of the population who have an opinion on the matter is the 'typical' American.
I could listen to some ridiculous 'out there' Belgian dude who thinks that everybody who doesn't... I don't know, do something uniquely Belgian... is the dumbest person on the world and then assume that the Belgians are arrogant pricks, but I'm not stupid, and I don't eat up what the world feeds me.
I wouldn't make such a generalization if this was the first thing. And even then, I'm still not doing it unless here on a message board mostly visited by Americans
I think it's funny how riled up the world gets because we invented our own games and didn't latch onto what everybody else plays.
Is it really that big a deal? (I'll answer for you: no) Who the hell cares?
Like I said: I really couldn't care less for which sports you guys play and follow and which you don't. What bothers me is that (dare I say) typical American arrogance coming out of that article. It's so.... aaaaaah. There's a reason I wanted to go to Canada and not to the US.
What I think is funny is that all of the sudden this arrogant a-hole who represents maybe 5% of the population who have an opinion on the matter is the 'typical' American.
I could listen to some ridiculous 'out there' Belgian dude who thinks that everybody who doesn't... I don't know, do something uniquely Belgian... is the dumbest person on the world and then assume that the Belgians are arrogant pricks, but I'm not stupid, and I don't eat up what the world feeds me.
I wouldn't make such a generalization if this was the first thing. And even then, I'm still not doing it unless here on a message board mostly visited by Americans
The loudest voices always get the most airplay. There is nothing 'typically American' about what that guy said. 10 years ago, the typical American response to soccer was "who the hell cares?" not "fuck soccer and fuck the idiots that play it!" It's even less harsh today now that we're good and more people watch.
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(let's see what the US team does, maybe it will raise some more intrest if they win)
