Tuesday, June 8, 2010
VUVUZELA 101: We've searched our collective wisdom at ALOTT5MA HQ regarding the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and quite frankly we don't have much -- so it's time for your hive mind to spring into action. Tell us how to set our jingoistic expectations appropriately, what to watch for, which news sources we ought to follow and everything else we need to know to prepare for and enjoy the next month of football.
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It's happening in South Africa, right? That's all I've got.
ReplyDeleteAny insight I have about the world cup comes entirely from Bill Simmons' podcasts. But, I'm a sucker for any sporting event that pits nations against one another, so I will definitely be watching, even with my limited soccer/futbol knowledge.
ReplyDeleteMore pressing for me is whether anyone has any suggestions for a traditional/typical English dessert that could be translated into a cupcake (or some other miniature format)? I'm already making Boston creme cupcakes for the USA fans, but wanted to throw a bone to any England supporters that will be at the party I'm attending.
I'll bite. The U.S. has a good shot of making it to the second round, but not much farther. We have some talented players, but to crack the top 8 or top 4 in the world is still a bit beyond us. We should expect wins against Algeria and Slovenia, and a draw against England will be a very strong showing.
ReplyDeleteThe top teams, as always, are Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and England. France, Italy, and Germany I'm not so sure about this year, due to age and, in France's case, underage prostitution scandals. There is also the possibility that this is the year an African team will make the finals. The best candidate, the Ivory Coast, is a bit screwed by the injury of their best player, Didier Drogba of Chelsea and playing in a group with Brazil.
Some interesting storylines will be the health of the England team -- can Wayne Rooney give it 100%? If yes, England has a good a chance as any of winning the world cup. If not, forget it. (Any UK newspaper, but especially the tabloids, will cover England like the that pitiful island's rain clouds.) The Argentina team should be fun to watch. They have an absolute star in Lionel Messi, and talent for talent, they're the best in the tournament. They are managed, however, by one Diego Armando Maradona. Great player, but a bit of a lunatic.
I imagine many of you will already have seen this, but I really enjoyed the NYT Sunday Magazine's article about the Ajax soccer club in the Netherlands. The article posits that European soccer trains individual athletes to be the world's best, but that American soccer trains kids to be on winning teams. As a result, Americans just don't produce internationally elite soccer players. The article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/magazine/06Soccer-t.html?src=me&ref=homepage.
ReplyDeleteThis week's issue of SI was a good one for providing the basics on each group and team. It also contained this flow chart: http://pics.livejournal.com/bristlesage/pic/000731ew/ Perhaps that will help you pick a second or third team to root for after the Yanks are out. I end up on "France" if I follow the chart. I have a fondness for the Ivory Coast because you get to yell, "Allez les éléphants!", which is fun. Another fun "making it easy for Americans" article is this one: http://theunlikelyfan.blogspot.com/2010/05/disclaimer-im-new-to-this-site-and-im.html Or you could pick based on the awesome ESPN posters for each country, seen here: http://www.worldcupbuzz.com/espns-2010-fifa-world-cup-murals/
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, for the basics, navigate over to SI and read their previews for each group (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/search/?text=world+cup+group+previews). I'll also be particularly rooting for Herculez Gomez on the U.S. team, since he graduated from my high school.
Sticky toffee pudding cupcakes? I can't vouch for the recipe, but
ReplyDeletehttp://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Sticky-Toffee-Pudding-Cupcakes-260671
Spotted Dick-cakes?
ReplyDeleteI know next to nothing about the World Cup, but I wanted to link to this fantastic ad by Nike for it. It's directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and is awesome.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idLG6jh23yE
France is out, since they stole Ireland's spot in the final qualifying game.
ReplyDeleteSouth Africa is overwhelmingly favored to become the first host country to not advance to the second round.
ReplyDeleteSo far leaning towards Banoffee Pie Cupcakes (although still working out the execution).
ReplyDeleteindividual mini trifles
ReplyDeleteThe New Yorker had a great profile on US goalie Tim Howard who while being an awesome goalie also lives with Tourette's leading his old team the Manchester United to create the cheer, "Tim-timiny, tim-timiny, tim-tim, ter-roo. We've got Tim Howard, and he says F&@# YOU!" Which I have been taunting my English coworker with because I imagine next week I will have nothing left to taunt about.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I was thinking. Maybe with some minced meat and peas?
ReplyDeleteFair enough, Joseph!
ReplyDelete<span>I've always been a fan of the real time, minute-by-minute match write-ups on the Guardian UK website, as they are frequently amusing (if reflexively anti-USA), and help add insight to the matches. They will do one for each match, and I find it's as fun/useful to read whether I'm actually watching the match myself or not.
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Mini-scones with sweet cream and strawberries? You could do a scone-type cupcake with strawberries and then do a sweet cream frosting.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on soccer, as usual, are expressed by Dan Rydell:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/v/1nCCz37zZ9o" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="170" height="140
http://www.mustreadsoccer.com aggregates the best soccer writing and always has something good. Second the Times piece on Ajax. ESPN and SI's previews do a pretty good job of laying things out regardless of soccer knowledge. http://www.unprofessionalfoul.com for requisite snark, obsessive fandom, and relentless bashing of US Head Coach Bob Bradley if the team falls apart.
ReplyDeleteThat ad is super cool!
ReplyDeleteAs it turns out right now, I'm actually in South Africa. I know almost nothing about soccer, but I can tell you that the fans of almost all countries are confident that their teams are going to win, except for Mexico, whose fans appear to be like Mets fans, resigned to disappointment. Locally, most South Africans are also pessimistic, but having watched "Invictus" on the plane ride over, I am not ruling out a miracle.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, almost everyone except Americans are rooting against the U.S. team -- not because they dislike the U.S. team, but because the rumor is that Obama will visit if the team makes it past the opening round, and that would just be a logistical nightmare for everyone.
Fred, you know where to find me if you want to contribute a travelogue or anything else. Enjoy your journey.
ReplyDeleteMashed bangers?
ReplyDeletewe'll be in spain for the last 10 days of the world cup, so we're pulling for spain so we can experience the insanity firsthand. otherwise, go usa. i love the SI flowchart, btw.
ReplyDeleteI'll pull for Spain for you, lauri, as it would be a lot of fun to be there while they were still playing.
ReplyDeleteMy friends and I had planned to go to Europe for the first 10 days of the Cup this summer, and, basically, travel around so we'dbe in the country of a playing team every day possible. Sadly, work exigencies have intervened and made the trip impossible
I was in Europe for the '98 (travelling through Europe) and '02 (living in Germany) World Cups, and I loved being there for the level of intense interest and excitement. In '98, I watched games with crowds in bars in Amsterdam and France, and on large public screens in Munich and Vienna (the picture of me walking with 5,000 fans holding a French flag and chanting "Allez les Bleus" is not one of my proudest). In '02, there was hours of car honking after every win by Germany or Turkey, and my law firm at the time showed one of the day's matches in a big conference room and nearly everyone was there for the entire match. I was definitely a fan of soccer before '98, but being there for the Cup cemented my love for it.
As per office pool (led by earlier mentioned taunted Brit), I will be cheering for the Ivory Coast, New Zealand and Argentina (as that is who I drew out of the hat with my draws).
ReplyDeletethanks! we're hoping this will get our kids fired up about soccer and the world cup as well. we were in italy during the '02 cup and there is certainly something amazing about watching a match on a big screen in a piazza with hundreds of partisan fans. someday it will be fun to actually be in the host country....
ReplyDeleteMan, I've been agitating for a Europe trip for the past several months. I should have thought about seeing the Cup games while there; I bet I would have won the "where to vacation" fight!
ReplyDeleteGroup A, France and Mexico should advance, leaving the host country out of the 2nd round. Group B, Nigeria, and in an upset, South Korea should advance, leaving Argentina in disarray with the players and coach at each other's throats after failing to advance. Group C, an all English speaking advancement, as USA and England should prevail. In group D, Germany will dominate, and Ghana will sneak in with the 2nd spot. Group E, Netherlands will be strong as usual, and Japan will surprise Cameroon and Denmark for the 2nd spot. In Group F, Italy will cruise, and Paraguay will continue with their strong play of late. Group G will be an all Portuguese speaking advancement, with Brazil dominating, and Portugal picking up the 2nd spot. Group H, will have a spanish flavor with Spain and Chile both advancing.
ReplyDeleteI think we could see USA advance to the quarters by upsetting Germany, but otherwise the top European sides will dominate and we'll see England, France, Spain, Italy, and Netherlands in the 2nd round.
Brazil, or Spain will win it all, though, hard to choose between the two, Brazil has all sorts of talent, but Spain is playing better team ball at the moment, and if that holds up throughout the tournament, they'll be hard to knock out.
This World Cup has already produced one big disappointment (at least, for me), the official World Cup song, is "Waka Waka", and Fozzie Bear isn't involved...
ReplyDeleteMy ears! The laughtrack, it burns!
ReplyDeleteI was stationed in Korea for the 2002 World Cup. If you ever get the chance to go, do it. I've been to the Summer Olympics and the World Cup beats it, hands down.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, appropos of the title of this post, today was apparently Vuvuzela Day, and everyone in the city (or so it seemed) was blowing the damned things between noon and 2p. It sounded like a swarm of angry bees was descending on Johannesburg.
ReplyDeleteBoston creme cupcakes sound reaaaaallly good.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I vote for the sticky toffee pudding cupcakes.
That was such an interesting article, Gretchen. The Dutch soccer academy reminded me of top ballet schools, with kids being dropped from the school if they weren't making the cut. Also notable that teens who get dropped won't be in a good condition to get into a good university or land a good job, as their education hasn't been the strongest (according to a student quoted in the article).
ReplyDeleteembassy trash-talking: Incidentally, you should know that the Ambassador takes his steak like American soccer victories - somewhat rare.
ReplyDelete