04/16/24
June 18, 2018
SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
I have a list of teams I am supporting more than others this WC, Mexico is not near the top of that list. With Donovan playing his club ball in Mexico, it probably was not a stretch for him, but I can definitely see his teammates side.
On the flip side of commercials and the USMNT not making the WC, Volkswagen commercials with other "countries" telling viewer why to cheer for their team are amusing.
Iceland not having enough fans to do the wave, and disclaimer at bottom of screen for Germany, "Do not drive while eating or holding a sharp object." give me a chuckle.
posted by prof at 09:57 AM on June 18, 2018
I like the Egyptian team, not as polished as the Euro and S. American sides, but lot o' heart and hustle. With or without Salah, I enjoy watching them.
Overall, the surprising results thus far - Iceland, Mexico, Switz. - have been energizing.
posted by beaverboard at 10:20 AM on June 18, 2018
The timing of Donovan doing that commercial is nice, given the ongoing demonization of Mexico and Mexicans in this country by Trump and his enablers. For that reason I'm willing to give him a pass.
posted by rcade at 11:45 AM on June 18, 2018
Who won the NBA pick em contest?
posted by NoMich at 12:46 PM on June 18, 2018
Kane's performance today is the purest definition of "right man in the right place".
posted by grum@work at 03:51 PM on June 18, 2018
I've collected enough jerseys now that I have one for the following World Cup teams:
- Germany (pure white with a 2014 WC champion patch)
- Denmark ("Danmark", the first national team jersey I ever owned)
- Mexico (the gorgeous 2014 WC green one with the red/white lightning bolts)
- Portugal (from a while back)
- Argentina (also from a while back, with the thick blue/white vertical stripes)
So I'm going to tend to pull for those teams. :)
In general, I'm going to pull for the underdog in 90% of the group matches...except against England. As a Canadian, this is the closest I can get to a "my team" in the World Cup.
posted by grum@work at 04:02 PM on June 18, 2018
Looks like Kalinic of Croatia has been banished from the squad after refusing to go on a sub in the 88th minute, claiming a bad back. Drama.
posted by Fat Buddha at 04:46 PM on June 18, 2018
It matters not so much who Donovan supports. What is really key at Fox Sports is that anyone granted the privilege of having their voice heard on air be obliged to feverishly support England and be so overjoyed at a victorious result that they can barely keep the post-game analysis within the confines of journalistic composure.
But this is not a new development...
posted by beaverboard at 05:58 PM on June 18, 2018
I don't know why this is, but I have something of a real dislike for Harry Kane. It might be that he has been ceaselessly promoted as the next great star for England, or maybe it's because he plays for Tottenham, but I don't much care for him. While he has shown to have real skills, I don't think he quite lives up to his star status. Because of this I cannot bring myself to root for England. No doubt my United Empire Loyalist ancestors who were run out of New York in 1783 are rolling in their graves because of this. My mother's ancestors were Portuguese, so even though they fled Portugal during the Inquisition (they were Jewish), it's still our original European country. The other rooting interest is Egypt. We lived there for about 3 1/2 years, made some good friends, and have some good memories. Mo Salah is fun to watch too.
posted by Howard_T at 10:10 PM on June 18, 2018
Mo Salah was not fun to watch today, that's for sure, aside from winning the penalty. What a gloomy result.
posted by billsaysthis at 04:48 PM on June 19, 2018
So Landon Donovan thinks US fans should cheer for Mexico, and several of his former USMNT teammates weren't having it.
As a fan of US soccer, I'm not cheering for our chief rival Mexico. I don't think I care that Landon Donovan is cheering for Mexico--particularly since he is from southern California--but the USMNT's all-time leading goal scorer making a commercial about it is across the line.