FIFA Women's World Cup 2015

[Tom Sawyer]

I think Japan is going to win. I can't think of a more effective way for God to express his anger with the US Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage than denying the Americans a soccer title.

 

[MarkW]

A tongue in cheek comment about the English media's tendency to overstate the national team's chances to win the world cup. But I thought I did hear one of the commentators say England were the holders of the women's world cup but I didn't hear that right obviously. They must have been talking about another team.

Japan are the current holders, so the comment you heard must have referred to them.

 

[fromderinside]

It had to be Vancouver BC. FIFA got one right. A truly representative neutral playing site for US Japan final. According to WIKI there are 27K US expats and 30K Japanese expats living in Vancouver. Whoop, whoop, who..... oh yeah, US is one mile away from Vancouver while Japan is about 6000 miles away. Oh well. Can't balance everything, right, all you affirmative action types out there? Now about that Rebel battle flag.......

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It had to be Vancouver BC. FIFA got one right. A truly representative neutral playing site for US Japan final. According to WIKI there are 27K US expats and 30K Japanese expats living in Vancouver. Whoop, whoop, who..... oh yeah, US is one mile away from Vancouver while Japan is about 6000 miles away. Oh well. Can't balance everything, right, all you affirmative action types out there? Now about that Rebel battle flag.......

About the only place where Canadians live in any numbers that isn't within an hour from the US border is Newfoundland. Toronto is a couple hours, but I think Toronto was off limits because of the illustrious Pan Am games. Who the heck scheduled these things? Copa America, Pan Am, Women's World Cup all at the same time?!

I do like the idea of the losers in the Semis having to play in Edmonton. Christ, haven't they suffered enough?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I do like the idea of the losers in the Semis having to play in Edmonton. Christ, haven't they suffered enough?

What's worse is that back in the Gretzky days, Edmonton put up a sign saying "City of Champions" on the way into the city and hasn't taken it down yet (despite a very noticable lack of champions since). So the losing teams are going to have to drive past that on their way to the consolation game. It's just one more passive-agressive way for us Canadians to tell foreigners that they can all go and fuck themselves.

 

[laughing dog]

Congratulations to the gritty English women for winning 3rd place over the Germany.

 

[Underseer]

Congratulations to the gritty English women for winning 3rd place over the Germany.

Kudos to both England and Germany. Usually, countries that are powerhouses in men's soccer do poorly in women's soccer.

In fact I do believe the lady English finished better than the men usually do.

 

[laughing dog]

Congratulations to the World Cup victor - the USA with a convincing 5-2 win over Japan.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

What an odd game. The fourth goal looked a bit unsportsman like, to go from half field when already up 3-0 that early, but it ended up being an important goal. Japan did well to keep the game interesting. A really wide open match up and the US team finally started scoring on opportunities unlike most of the rest of the World Cup tourney. I don't think any team was within their level this year, but the score lines up to the Final didn't reflect their dominance, other than the clean sheets.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

What an odd game. The fourth goal looked a bit unsportsman like, to go from half field when already up 3-0 that early, but it ended up being an important goal. Japan did well to keep the game interesting. A really wide open match up and the US team finally started scoring on opportunities unlike most of the rest of the World Cup tourney. I don't think any team was within their level this year, but the score lines up to the Final didn't reflect their dominance, other than the clean sheets.

What was unsportsmanlike about it? She had an opportunity to score and took it. The score at the time wasn't relevant. This is the World Cup, after all, and not Pee Wee league.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

What an odd game. The fourth goal looked a bit unsportsman like, to go from half field when already up 3-0 that early, but it ended up being an important goal. Japan did well to keep the game interesting. A really wide open match up and the US team finally started scoring on opportunities unlike most of the rest of the World Cup tourney. I don't think any team was within their level this year, but the score lines up to the Final didn't reflect their dominance, other than the clean sheets.

What was unsportsmanlike about it? She had an opportunity to score and took it. The score at the time wasn't relevant. This is the World Cup, after all, and not Pee Wee league.

They were tearing Japan a new one. Up 3 nil that early in a game and to then take a trick shot from half field? There is a thing in sportsmanship where you are not supposed to embarrass your opponents, especially in a final.

 

[TSwizzle]

What an odd game. The fourth goal looked a bit unsportsman like, to go from half field when already up 3-0 that early, but it ended up being an important goal. Japan did well to keep the game interesting. A really wide open match up and the US team finally started scoring on opportunities unlike most of the rest of the World Cup tourney. I don't think any team was within their level this year, but the score lines up to the Final didn't reflect their dominance, other than the clean sheets.

What was unsportsmanlike about it? She had an opportunity to score and took it. The score at the time wasn't relevant. This is the World Cup, after all, and not Pee Wee league.

I agree. It was an excellent goal. Even at 3-0 up, at this level, you take every chance you get. It was an entertaining game too.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

What was unsportsmanlike about it? She had an opportunity to score and took it. The score at the time wasn't relevant. This is the World Cup, after all, and not Pee Wee league.

They were tearing Japan a new one. Up 3 nil that early in a game and to then take a trick shot from half field? There is a thing in sportsmanship where you are not supposed to embarrass your opponents, especially in a final.

There's another thing in sports where you're supposed to be a professional who does your best for the entire course of the game and doesn't start phoning it in and taking it easy once you're ahead. She felt she had an opportunity for a goal and she took that opportunity and scored - that's her job. The Japanese had the skills and the talent to score three goals as quickly and easily as the Americans did and late game comebacks are not some kind of rare thing. You don't slow down and ignore scoring chances in order to help the opposing team feel good.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

They were tearing Japan a new one. Up 3 nil that early in a game and to then take a trick shot from half field? There is a thing in sportsmanship where you are not supposed to embarrass your opponents, especially in a final.

There's another thing in sports where you're supposed to be a professional who does your best for the entire course of the game and doesn't start phoning it in and taking it easy once you're ahead.

Where did I say the US should have laid down. I'm talking about talking a trick shot from half field, with a 3-0 lead in a game where the US absolutely having their way against Japan.

She felt she had an opportunity for a goal and she took that opportunity and scored - that's her job. The Japanese had the skills and the talent to score three goals as quickly and easily as the Americans did and late game comebacks are not some kind of rare thing.

You seem to be confusing not taking trick shots from midfield with taking it easy.

You don't slow down and ignore scoring chances in order to help the opposing team feel good.

Not feel good... the point is not to humiliate them.

 

[TSwizzle]

Not feel good... the point is not to humiliate them.

4-0 up by half time is not a humiliation. If it had been 6-0 with two minutes left in the game, then maybe don't take the shot. No mercy at this level, it's not AYSO.


And who didn't enjoy Brazil's 7-1 thumping at the hands of Germany in the last World Cup ? Now that's a right doing.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Not feel good... the point is not to humiliate them.

4-0 up by half time is not a humiliation.

4 goals in 14 minutes is starting to get there.

And who didn't enjoy Brazil's 7-1 thumping at the hands of Germany in the last World Cup ? Now that's a right doing.

None of those goals were from half field and Brazil's defense was so awful, Germany didn't have to try hard to score.

 

[hyzer]

Jimmy

How do you define "trick shot"? Kicking from mid-field is pretty much giving up the ball and is precisely taking it easy. It was only a goal because the Japanese goal keeper misplayed an easy ball and stumbled. This was not a trick or cheap shot at all.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Jimmy

How do you define "trick shot"? Kicking from mid-field is pretty much giving up the ball and is precisely taking it easy.

Going for goal at mid field is a trick shot. It requires a keeper to be a bit further out from the net, not expecting the opposing team to shot from their own half.

It was only a goal because the Japanese goal keeper misplayed an easy ball and stumbled.

The goalkeeper was too far out to get back in time. That is why the player took the shot in the first place. No one would ever go from half field if the goalie was between the posts.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

The goalkeeper was too far out to get back in time. That is why the player took the shot in the first place. No one would ever go from half field if the goalie was between the posts.

So, how is that a "trick shot" then? She saw that the goalie was out of position and she had an opening to make a play as a result and took it. That's called "good situational awareness" and is the kind of thing that should be admired and encouraged, not lambasted. Taking a shot from a long way back doesn't automatically make it some kind of trick.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

There's another thing in sports where you're supposed to be a professional who does your best for the entire course of the game and doesn't start phoning it in and taking it easy once you're ahead.

Where did I say the US should have laid down. I'm talking about talking a trick shot from half field, with a 3-0 lead in a game where the US absolutely having their way against Japan.

She felt she had an opportunity for a goal and she took that opportunity and scored - that's her job. The Japanese had the skills and the talent to score three goals as quickly and easily as the Americans did and late game comebacks are not some kind of rare thing.

You seem to be confusing not taking trick shots from midfield with taking it easy.

You don't slow down and ignore scoring chances in order to help the opposing team feel good.

Not feel good... the point is not to humiliate them.

How exactly does one humiliate a team in the championship game by scoring when there are still 74 minutes remaining for that team to catch up?

And your definition of "trick shot" seems to be unique to you. It was a shot. It was the only appropriate shot for the occasion. It was perfectly executed. It was not a trick. A "trick shot" would be deliberately banking the ball off a defender's ass when you had a clear shot at the goal.