**Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Thread**

[GSG]

Company confuses Barack Obama with Chris Smalling on England team mug set (Photo)

 

[GSG]

 

Portugal-United States Was The Most-Watched American Match In History

 

[beanman]

The following is my response to beanman's status update.

 

Noooooooooooooooo!

[GSG]

The following is my response to beanman's status update.

 

 

Reported

[Moiraine]

I can post one that has a bigger shadow if you want

[beanman]

I can post one that has a bigger shadow if you want

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[GSG]

I can post one that has a bigger shadow if you want

 

[EbylHusker]

The number given for stoppage time at the end of each half is the minimum that will be played. If 4 minutes are indicated, then the ref may be figuring on anything from 4 minutes to 4 minutes and 59 seconds. Any substantial delays during that stoppage time will usually see the ref adding more (30 seconds are usually added for substitutions, etc). The ref always keeps the official time, so as a player you never know exactly when the whistle will blow, even if there was no stoppage time to be added.

[BigRedBuster]

 

OK....how the manage the clock in soccer is frustrating as hell. How in the heck as a fan do you know when the game is going to end?

Actually, it's not too bad. They announce how many minutes of added time are at the end of each half, and roughly speaking that's when it'll end, although not "in the middle of things." If for example there are 3 minutes and we're at the 92:35 mark and one team is setting up an attack, that'll probably be allowed to finish. But when they take a shot and miss and it's time for a goal kick at 93:20, it's pretty likely that the game will end after the ensuing goal kick.

 

There was one game with 5 minutes added on but the ref allowed play well past 6 minutes, probably because the team with the lead had a player carted off the field in the meantime, taking exceptionally long.

 

It's not too precise but you can imagine the degree of time wasting if players knew exactly how long they had to squander.

 

I do wish soccer would instant replay on some scores, though. The good goal called offside or the offside goal called good, that's really impactful and the kind of thing some guy upstairs can easily call (in clear-cut cases, at least), at least for this level of play.

 

Ummm....why not just stop the clock during substitutions/injuries/goal celebrations???? Then there is no need to go past the 90 minutes and everyone knows when the game is going to end.

[GSG]

 

 

OK....how the manage the clock in soccer is frustrating as hell. How in the heck as a fan do you know when the game is going to end?

Actually, it's not too bad. They announce how many minutes of added time are at the end of each half, and roughly speaking that's when it'll end, although not "in the middle of things." If for example there are 3 minutes and we're at the 92:35 mark and one team is setting up an attack, that'll probably be allowed to finish. But when they take a shot and miss and it's time for a goal kick at 93:20, it's pretty likely that the game will end after the ensuing goal kick.

 

There was one game with 5 minutes added on but the ref allowed play well past 6 minutes, probably because the team with the lead had a player carted off the field in the meantime, taking exceptionally long.

 

It's not too precise but you can imagine the degree of time wasting if players knew exactly how long they had to squander.

 

I do wish soccer would instant replay on some scores, though. The good goal called offside or the offside goal called good, that's really impactful and the kind of thing some guy upstairs can easily call (in clear-cut cases, at least), at least for this level of play.

 

Ummm....why not just stop the clock during substitutions/injuries/goal celebrations???? Then there is no need to go past the 90 minutes and everyone knows when the game is going to end.

 

 

Because.... ¡FÚTBOL!

 

 

Edit: Holy crap! Hyundai is apparently an official sponsor for the WC and they are promoting it on twitter with #BecauseFútbol Haha!

[GSG]

I thought this was kinda funny:

 

Nick:

 

Say the United States were to win the World Cup. Where would we put the trophy?

 

U.S. Soccer has an office in Chicago and a training facility in California, so they'd probably stick the trophy in a glass case at one of those two places after it made the rounds from bar to bar, with players affectionately rubbing their balls on it. But really, we should fuse the trophy to the top of the Statue of Liberty, to say to the world: THAT'S RIGHT. WE OWN SOCCER NOW. We've co-opted all of your food and all of your music. And now we're taking soccer, the one thing of yours that you never thought we could have or even want. SUCK IT. We shouldn't even give it back for the next Cup (like the Stanley Cup, there's only one trophy, and it gets passed from champ to champ). Just keep it and dare them to come take it.

Say the United States were to win the World Cup. Where would we put the trophy?

 

I would also fuel the world's ire further by having the trophy sell out and do ads for Wonderful Pistachios, Bud Light Apple-AHHH-Rita, and Dr. Pepper. Really degrade the trophy… smelt it down and fashion into a Lombardi Trophy and etch USA CHAMPIONS OF KICKY FOOTBALL on it.

 

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/why-tim-duncan-will-never-be-loved-like-michael-jordan-1595388824

[Ratt Mhule]

Apparently biting is legal in soccer and barely bumping into people gets you kicked out of the game. How do people watch this sh#t on a regular basis?

[Mavric]

Mike Humes ‏@MikeHumesESPN 2h

Here's a stat: USA-Portugal is 11th most-watched cable program all time behind 10 ESPN MNF/BCS telecasts

[GSG]

Holy crap

 

 

[Bigred_inSD]

Iran may be the worst world cup team since north Korea. Speaking of where any of those players ever seen or heard from again?