Sports are ubiquitous in the American South. It’s on TV everywhere, all the time. And that’s particularly true in Birmingham, Alabama. We consistently rank at or near the top of ESPN’s ratings – and that’s for almost all sports, not just college football. It’s tough out there if you don’t like sports. You’re going to get left out of a lot of parties. So, I’ve learned over the years to gather just enough knowledge to not be bored silly whenever a sporting event is on the TV. (Except for NASCAR. I refuse to watch NASCAR. It’s just stupid. Sue me.) I was never good at actually playing sports. (Ok, to be fair, I was on the tennis team in high school. But they were desperate.) But I could always feign interest. And then, in my old age, I discovered soccer (Sorry, but I’m American. That’s what we call it.).
Soccer, unsurprisingly, is not on the list of most watched sports here in Alabama. You can expect people to make fun of you if you admit to watching it. And you can expect people to make serious fun of you if you admit to being hooked on an English soccer team, getting up at all manner of ridiculous hours on weekend mornings to watch them play. Your co-workers will buy you gag gifts related to said team for your birthday, to include a squad photo of your favourite player (which you will proceed to put up in your office, because, hey, you’re a good sport). You will become an oddity to your friends. Every time they see you, they will say, “So. How’s Arsenal doing these days?” And you will regale them with the exploits from the most recent match, and they will smile and nod, indulging you in your odd hobby. But sometimes, they actually do become interested. After all, enthusiasm can be infectious.
One of the things I’ve loved the most about becoming a ‘rabid’ soccer fan, is bringing people along with me for the ride. It started at my house, when my husband finally stopped making fun of me and started watching with me. It was at first a case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”, but he’s now as big a fan of Arsenal as me. (Well, almost. I still think I win that contest.) I also have a co-worker who actively follows Arsenal now. Another who follows Chelsea. (I tried, really I did. I consider it my biggest failure to date.) And now, when people stop me in the hallway to ask about the weekend’s games, they often start with “I saw part of the Arsenal game on TV on Saturday.” Baby steps, people.
All this leads up to my experience with the World Cup this summer. I’m sitting here on Saturday afternoon, surrounded by a house that needs cleaning, laundry that needs doing, dishes that need washing. And I’m planted in front of the TV, watching the World Cup, as I have done almost every day for the last two weeks. If you asked my husband, he would tell you that it doesn’t take much to distract me from housework…Martha Stewart I am not. But almost everything in my life (except work, darn it) has taken a back seat to soccer in the last two weeks. I’ve been to a bar to watch an England game with 200 other people, to a barbecue restaurant to watch a US game with some friends from church, and, on Thursday to a long lunch with 11 co-workers to watch the US play Germany. Now, if I’m honest, I was more interested in Mesut and Lukas and Per than I was in Dempsey and Bradley and Zusi. But it was fun. Everybody was talking about it. Even my daughter watched it. And I know that it has as its roots the patriotic fervour that I normally despise (USA! USA!…please stop…). But I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m just a little excited at the prospect of even a percentage of these folks getting hooked on the game that I’ve come to love so much. Maybe I won’t get funny looks the next time I ask a bartender to turn the TV over to an Arsenal Champions League match on a Wednesday afternoon. Hell, maybe when I walk in, it’ll already be on.
Sorry, Skipper, but Tuesday I’m gonna be all “USA! USA!” when we play Belgium. I hope you’ll forgive me
This post is by alabamagooner ( @kmwood02 )
Positively Arsenal 
Good luck to all the Soccer fans today. Not sure if the games today will be as tense as yesterday, they probably will. Wilmot is my arbitary nomination for flop of the tournament but he’s still there so I’m hoping for a defeat for Belgium!
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I was very impressed with the Germans last night. They had a difficult first half during which Algeria could and probably should have scored. The longer the game went on however the Germans crushed the life out of the North Africans as surely as a python strangles its prey.
Huge effort from Ozil, Per and Muller was superb all night. Neuer in total command. Not often, if ever, you see Schweinsteiger, staggering off the pitch unable to cope with the relentless pace but even then they kept hammering on toward the goals that they knew would come.
My goodness what a game in prospect on Friday against the French !
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And Joachim Low ?
Cooler than a Fox’sGlacier Mint
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I think only Madrid come close to matching AFCs pool of centre backs last season*, it’s not like I am biased or anything.
*Sagna, legend that he is, is better then most CBs at CB. I really hope City don’t work that one out…so maybe a new versatile defender is needed, I don’t know. I don’t think the Dortmund player will be leaving them so soon after joining. And I like Jenkinson who is not too shabby in the air and can also play CB. We shall see what happens: if any Arsenal siginings are dependent upon the domino effect of other signings such as with the Cavani-Higuain-Bale circus as they were last Summer I expect that:
The AAA will compltely ignore the obvious context of any other sales, just like last Summer and continue to saturate the media with their allies and induce a fair old chunk of the fanbase into regurgitating their gibberish, just like last summer. I was shocked when some right wing hacks writing for relatively extreme right wing rags (that is what they are, not my opinion but simply an observation of the record) led a campaign of malice against Arsenal’s star signing last season. Never saw that one coming. Nope. I bet he enjoyed his goal last night!
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George has gone out of the classroom…. 🙂 🙂
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HAHAHA BAMA.. you have been properly bit by the football bug and you sound like a missionary trying had to convert the heathens.
More power to you & USA,USA,USA!!!!
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I agree with everything Gains said @3:29. Excellent points. I was very impressed with Ambrose as well. I’ve watched all the Nigeria matches and some Celtic in the CL.
The American ref was awful and Matuidi shouldn’t have been on the pitch. He deserved at least a yellow early and his “challenge” on the Nigerian midfielder was a straight red. Plus a clear penalty with Evra encircling with both arms holding down Odemwingie going up for a header on a corner at the far post. Ref just gave him a talking to.
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Hunter
Not only Socrates Papastathopoulos but Kostas Manolas….I expect the latter will be courted by many a top team these coming weeks….
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no not manolas…olympiacos bastard….only papa…. had cambell in his pocket all night….hehehehe ..and drogba..the other night… i think he is the only thing we got approaching world class ability….
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Another fine evening of football in prospect – two tight games in prospect and a cert for extra time in at least one.
Interesting to see the claims about match fixing, Singapore book makers and the Cameroon, which for some might explain a pretty chaotic poor display from a side that should have performed better. Yes Alex Song it is you I am looking at.
Mind you with Steven Gerrard’s decisive personal influence in the PL title race and England’s World Cup exit it makes you wonder.
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The hype surrounding James Rodriguez is disgusting. He scores a wonder strike against a crap Uruguay and he’s the second coming of Maradona. However, the next coming of Maradona has zero CL experience, has never played in a top four league and his team breezed through one of the easier groups in Brazil. Then you have Joel Campbell. The plundits are asking whether he’ll even make the bench at Arsenal despite having helped Costa Rica get out of one of the groups of death at this world cup, having a very good year in La Liga with Betis and helping Olympiacos get out of the group stage of the Champions league. These boys have very similar stats, yet one of them is headed for a mega money deal with Real Madrid and the other one is barely going to make it in London.
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DC, I can’t say that the US team seems to belong. They made it out of a tough group and earned their place. But they don’t yet play with enough technique and tactical sophistication to appear a top team. What they achieved was through great spirit, energy, just enough skill from Dempsey and Jones–two of the few players with real skill, very physical and rough play that each referee let them get away with (Beckerman and Jones have been hacking teams unremittingly), and some luck. Someday the team will evolve a more refined game, but there is a lot still lacking. Nevertheless, there is much to admire and I think they could certainly get past Belgium. I’ll be rooting for them to do so since Vermaelen is out and the team is filled woth rival PL players from Chelsea, MU, City and Everton.
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Shaqiri.
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Johan Djourou.
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Campbell v Greece:
http://vimeo.com/99532620
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Lawrenson could suck the life out of a black hole
The man has plumbed new depths today
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I never thought I’d be rooting for the US in a football tournament, but I really don’t want Belgium to progress for some reason! Sadly, they are playing better than I have seen from them so far.
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Passenal, I am also rooti g for the US. I think it is because the team is full of Chelsea players and loanees, MU, City, Everton, Liverpool and PL players of rival teams.
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Limey
The game France vs Germany will test our allegience….. Ozil and Per vs Kos and Giroud???? what do we do then?
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Easy, if Podolski plays then it’s Germany we root for. 3-2!
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I wonder if Messi is being slated as much as Ozil has been?
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Quite an exciting game, could go either way at this point.
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Just gone Belgiums way
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Damn! But it has been coming unfortunately – chelski scum makes the difference.
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Super sub green…. wow game on
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Amazing game, really sorry to see USA go out. They could not have given more.
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USA! USA! USA! couldn’t have done more…. excellent game. My little datk horse Belgium go on, next up Argentina!
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NB, I think Ozil needs the lift more. Plus three beats two!
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Little dark horse going on NB. You called it! Tbf, pretty easy group and IS not the strongest. Argentina the first big test. They could do it though.
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Kelly, team USA were darn tootingly good at defending, it’s a real shame that they miss out. A tad more quality in finishing and you would have done Belgium over.
Please petition congress to award a Medal of Honour to Tim Howard, best US defensive performance since Bastogne ( ungrateful Belgians!).
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Gains
Was it just you and me? or did the the rest of the world see our former much maligned Swiss defender basically own Messi for a World Cup game?
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Now does the US audience give a pass on the rest of the WC?
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They gave their all but when your GK has to save 15 shots, you can’t really call it good defending. The US has to develop some ability to keep the ball and pass more effectively. Grit and effort can overcome a great deal, but to progress the US needs to improve technically. Eventually it will happen. Hopefully some lessons can be learnt and improvements made over the next decade.
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You and me apparently. And what do you mean former? He’s still in Arsenal’s books.
I don’t know why Klinsmann chose to keep Beckerman out. I don’t know if it was because he was injured or if Fabian Johnson’s injury forced him to keep more cover in the wings. Either way, that game was calling for Bradley to be partnered with someone in the middle. Alas, I loved every second of the US’s world cup journey. Those goals against Portugal were orgasmic. Good thing Joel, Girooooo, Koscielny and Sagna are still in the world cup.
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LG, I had a guy ask me that at the bar where I watched the game. “Now that the US are out, will you watch the rest?” I just looked at him. Then I said “I can’t wait for Germany/France on Friday.” We’ll lose a fair few of these new fans, now. But some might stick around. If NBC is smart, they will blitz advertise their PL coverage starting tomorrow!
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Damn, I forgot Per, Plodders and Mesut.
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I don’t know, Lime. I’d imagine a lot of the people who got behind team USA will ebb back to where they came from. However, a lot of those same people have been bitten by the football bug and will watch every game that’s left. I can tell you one thing, though. The US will never again play a game on home soil where the opposition fans out number us four to one.
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people have been bitten by the football bug
hah… luis with wings …
thank you all
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These round of 16 games have been very cagey affairs.
My sleeping pattern has been ruined with all these extra times.
I hope teams open up a bit more in the quarter finals and really go for it.
ands when is Johann getting his testimonial?
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Under the gun at work. Thank heavens for my DVR. Could only manage the 1st half of the Belgium win over the US. I trust you guys when you say it was a good game. One downside of the US doing well; whenever I went Stateside and the USMNT was playing I could always get a ticket. Now the casual fan might crush my chances. Selfish me.
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Wondolowski with that opportunity to send the Belgiums home, so close!
As it stands Belgium do have one of the better squads (still not sure how Fred & Jo qualified for the Brazil squad, the cynic in me acknowledges that Jo must have an, em, an effective agent!), so like Germany in spite of some odd calls from the bench they are through as expected. I’d expect them to beat Argentina even though Messi could be the difference.
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“Grit and effort can overcome a great deal, but to progress the US needs to improve technically”
I would agree 🙂
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Haha!
Just read the comments on Suarez from Bunga Bunga’s new signing Ivan Rakitic, the one that had enough Qatari DNA to take the F Word’s No.4 shirt. Very, very funny.
No matter how good a player he is, Suarez was always going to drop his pants and run to la liga at the first opportunity, there can be no denial about that. If Cavani at a rumoured £30M bid turned out to be a good dodge, what can we say about Luis Suarez? How lucky were we to not sign the injury prone and lacklustre (not fit?) Higuain, if that bid was ever genuine (there is more then a little reasonable doubt)? If the press corps turned the pleasant mild mannered Viera (heh) into the most violent player in the history of the Engleeesh game when he was wearing an Arsenal shirt what would they have done with Biter? No need to refer to the earlier events like points being docked etc. but we note because we are “realists” that in recent times West Ham were not docked points for illegally fielding a player, a much worse offence which led to another team’s relegation no less, a player signed to one of the most powerful and influential agents in the game. A player who like Nasri was dropped for ulterior reasons from this World Cup.
–
Djourou playing as well as he did when he forged that good partnership with Koscielny?
Yet again contrary to the AAA experts disturbed analysis, never a bad player.
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I hope some minion is on hand to roll John W.Henry II a big phat philly, he’s gonna need it.
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what would they have done with Biter?
thats not wneger’s problem though and shouldnt be… thats the hierarchy’s problem. wenger and the squad can be as romantic and well mannered as they want …the people behind them though should be ruthless killers/assassins and put journos and/or others at their places. Its quite different knowing you will have to deal with roman’s bodyguards if you write something stupid…… heh….
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But why keep Djourou, Fin, when we can buy some overrated donkey like Hummels for £35m and brag to our office mates about Arsenal having the ability to splash the cash?
Jo, Fred and dont forget Robinho with a cool haircut (Neymar). Brazil haven’t produced a super star since Rivaldo and, given the looks of their youth set up, they don’t look like producing a player of that stature for some time. Neymar is just an invention the NIke marketing team came up with. Apparently, Barcelona bought him because they’re trying to copy the Galacticos model of selling a crap load of shirts for mediocre players.
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hummels overrated? champion in bundesliga x2…ch.l finalist..chl quarterfinalist… european u-21 champion….33 caps for germany…. lol….what has jdjourou done again?
fuck the office mates lol…… you cant convince me 12m for debuchy is better than paying a little bit extra to versatile sagna …nor that we dont need cesc when arteta flam and rosi are all 30+ …
the oxes the theos the jacks and the rest need to appreciate wenger;s decissions to promote them and next time they meet mou, manu to destroy them………. many attacked the manager for naive tactics in the s.b masacre..it was the players that played naively…
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ok this could be bs…but sanchez says he wants to come to arsenal….thoughts?
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is cambell amr or aml ?
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looks mauresmo “killed” murray in ….training…..
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