Underground football matches you'd like to see
Any thoughts on World Cup teams or grudge matches that would be extra cool at Michigan Stadium.
1) Greece vs. Germany (monty python style of course)
2) Brazil vs. the Long-John Silver Impersonators (if either side can qualify)
3) the Dutch vs. the Czechs (for the fraus and brau that would bring to town plus two of my favorite int'l sides)
Is this your proffered alternative to night games?
Sweden V. Brazil
Hottest women from each hemisphere.
Word.
that was my same immediate thought.
AMEN
Argentina > Brazil
teh hotness
England vs Germany would be interesting
England v Germany would be interesting to see as I'm sure the English would revert to their classic "If you won the last World War stand up" chant and the actual play would be riveting.
But I think I have to hedge my bets and go with the Brazil v Sweden option. The scenery would be OUTSTANDING. And as it would be during the summer, I would personally like to invite the entire Swedish female fan base to Dominick's for pitchers of sangria on me.
Although if Jamaica qualifies, wouldn't it be appropriate to have their first round game in A^2 during Hash Bash?
US vs. Italy rematch.
Maybe Jozy Altidore can play Brian McBride. BTW, isn't every game played in Michigan Stadium technically underground?
Maybe Jozy Altidore can play Brian McBride. BTW, isn't every game played in Michigan Stadium technically underground?
Michigan Stadium is one of the preeminent Grand Cathedrals in the church of (American) football. Soccer games on our hallowed rubber pellet turf would be like sacrificing goats to pagan gods in Notre Dame Cathedral.
No soccer in Michigan Stadium. The End.
I respectfully disagree. World Cup atmosphere, regardless of the teams, is something we've never come close to seeing in Michigan Stadium. It would be one of the greatest moments in stadium history, right up there with Wangler to Carter, The Catch, The Braylon Show, etc. It could also help us score more Romanian punters.
AMEN! This is a football mostly blog with some other U of M ahtletics. Please stop the soccer junk*. Ugh.
*My distaste for soccer has nothing to do with it being a girly sport(they take guys off on a stretcher when they fall on the groud.....ALL the time), but more to do with a rival private high school using our baseball field for their soccer field.** We would have to run by them on our way to football practice and needless to say there were some fights. Those were the days, the days of unbridaled testosterone.
** And of course my weight and inability to run long distances.
AMEN! This is a football mostly blog with some other U of M ahtletics. Please stop the soccer junk*. Ugh.
You're going to be really upset next year when the World Cup rolls around.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:10 AM ^
I will take a hiatus then?
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:24 AM ^
Please don't be one of those idiots that played rec-level soccer and thinks no one can possibly get hurt playing it. I realize that diving is a part of the sport and hurts its credibility to some extent, but I believe that is more of a European cultural thing (I feel like European basketball players do the same thing). Honestly, if you played a game of real soccer you would probably be on the ground half the time(if you ever even got near the ball).
Seriously. During the last world cup, I saw a number of guys taken off the field on a stretcher, only to come back in the SAME GAME. If you need a stretcher to get off the field, you better be out of soccer for at least 6 weeks, not 5 minutes. Silly.
Also - don't call it football. ESPECIALLY on a football (yes, that football) blog. Also, this needs an OT, so I don't think it's about real football.
end of rant.
Swedish girls are hot. Swedish guys? God I wish I could post a picture from your 21st birthday on here.
1) I already said I think thats just the European culture with the injury faking.
2) I never called it football.
3) I do well enough.
Just an FYI, WolverSwede and I were roommates my senior year of college. So it doesn't look like we're ripping on each other.
Is that all you thought it was? Cuts deep, man. Cuts deep.
I was trying to keep it appropriate.
are more a function of the referee saying "hey Italian, go fake your injury on the sideline so we can restart the game" than they are the player saying "I can't leave the field under my own power"
that Europeans are exceptionally effeminate, sissy-boy types? Or are Americans just sooooo hard-assed we make everyone look that way?
Its actually because they will do ANYTHING to win. If you think the UM-OSU rivalry is bad, you should see how it is in Europe. People actually live and die by this stuff. I was dumb enough to wear a Man U. jersey in Liverpool when I was about 14 and I was actually kicked out of a McDonald's. They were afraid I would incite violence. I was 14!!! If winning means they have to fake an injury and look like a pussy, that is not a problem. Its a combination of caring far too much and having too little character.
I'm not in favor of it, but its understandable given the fact that your fanbase might actually kill you if things go wrong.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:44 PM ^
You go play a 60 min match and then come back and tell me it's a girls sport. I love football (american) especially Michigan but as someone who played both in high school , 2 years of each. Futbol is by far the most athletically demanding sport. Once i wore one of those distance meters on my hip for a match and ran a lil over 6 miles. What next your going to tell me a 90mph fastball is easy to hit? You could beat up a 130lb BJJ blackbelt? Oh yeah just feal luck no soccer play roundhouse kicked you to the face. Happened back at my high school, the starting QB was in the hospital 3 days.
and
Brasil vs. Italia or Brasil vs Greece
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:02 AM ^
"sacrificing goats to pagan gods in Notre Dame Cathedral."
Chances are that already has happened. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:11 PM ^
I thought that was Charlie Weis' annual barbeque. 2 goats, 2 sheep, 3 cows, and a turkey...plus whatever everyone else is eating.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:32 PM ^
I am not a soccer fan, and to be honest, I would rather watch a game of chess between two 95 year old men in the park. However, the World Cup in Ann Arbor would be awesome for more than just the game. The atmosphere would be something that Ann Arbor has never seen, and the Big house would be electric. After witnessing the terrible atrocities that occurred on our home turf the last two seasons, I am fairly certain that this would be an upgrade. Not to mention Ann Arbor will be a complete shit show for weeks. I hope Martin makes this happen.
Maybe we're in the minority here, but I hear you... and just because you're not on my side here doesn't mean that now you're my sworn enemy. Imagine that-- disagreeing without bloodfeuds and blogwars?
CLEARLY SOMETHING ISN'T FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY ON THIS SITE, because we should be exchanging comments about each other's mothers by now.
Sometimes I think the reason people get offended around here is because the source is a bit egocentric-- i.e. "These are my thoughts and how could you possibly think otherwise?"
A better train of thought is "This is my opinion and at the end of the day, it's just one opinion, and every one else is welcome to their own."
I guess this is becoming a rant, but I just appreciate the way both of you gentlemen offered your thoughts. If this happened around here more often we might truly be one nation under Brian.
Peace be with you. God Bless America. GO BLUE.
in this thread so this is just a reply to what I responded with initially, not a reply to you specifically 60. I was just offering some humerous opposition to soccer. I don't hate soccer or its players, I just have a hard time liking it. I cannot even run to my mailbox, so yes, it would be hard for me touch the ball. The world cup would be cool for the host city, but gosh, it just doesn't seem right in the Big House.
And please don't tell me that diving(diving?), running, and throwing a header here or there makes soccer even close to warrenting a stretcher. PAAAALLLLEASE soccer tough guy. I am done now.
Your analogy makes it even more appealing
You are starting to become my hero, man.
UM Men's Soccer vs. US Olympic Women's Soccer team. A Michigan athletic team should participate.
Just kidding.
FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (as a pregame show) to this year's Ohio State Michigan game. That's right. I went there.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:01 AM ^
Brazil vs. Spain, Brazil vs. Holland, Holland vs. Spain
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:24 PM ^
Every time Blake Griffin ran into someone, they should have laid on the floor and been taken off on a stretcher, only to "miraculously" reappear a few minutes later. It might have gotten a few fouls eventually called on him.
"Basketball players don't fake injuries like that!"
Sincerely,
Paul Pierce being taken off the court in a wheelchair
..you.
The reason most US fans have a dislike for soccer, futbol, proper football, footie, etc is that they only watch the World Cup. The world cup is a different animal than club play, kind of like the olympics. Yes, you have the same great athletes playing, but there is a different format and strategy.
American fans can't comprehend the ball going backwards to improve positioning for attack. Americans don't understand how an away draw is as good as a win. Americans don't understand pools or qualifying rounds(even though hockey is actually done pretty much the same way, with points for victories and ties.) Americans cannot fathom OMG not scoring(However, if an NFL game ends at 6-3, it's a "great defensive game.")
If you consider yourself a strategist, then soccer should be your game.
Do yourself a favor and watch an English Premier League match one day.
I just don't understand how a "draw" can be a final outcome of a competition. I think it's crap and I like soccer. Maybe it's the baseball fan in me.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:12 AM ^
.. because no baseball game has ever ended in a tie.
The 2002 All Star game would like to talk to you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game
Donovan McNabb also agrees with the above poster.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:58 PM ^
but if Portugal were to play you could expect half the city of Toronto to show up, and that would be pretty sweet. So maybe Portugal v. Czech Republic?
I'm sorry, but I hate when Americans call soccer "football." That's just pompous, on par with pronouncing schedule as "SHED-ule"
I hate it when people talk about soccer. I call it kickball. And you play it with a deflated basketball in the backyard when you can't get enough guys to play a pick up game of football and/or basketball.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:54 PM ^
Seriously. There are posts all over the place, like http://mgoblog.com/content/blame-game for example.
April 29th, 2009 at 11:51 PM ^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vdlEcWxvM&eurl=http://mike-tomlinson.c…
just in case you havent seen this brilliant piece, or cant find the link