Considering it's the BIGGEST sporting event on the planet, it seems to have passed the JD by (apart from the Moaning Minnie dept )

So, to kick it off (Hohoho) My first impressions with some of the better bits off the pitch...

Where better to start than Brazil? Apart from some intense pre-match preparation (7 Brazil players spending over $750 in one night in a German nightclub - with FREE Champagne), the real story is Ronaldo's weight. The other day, the Brazilian president called the tubby striker fat, Ronaldo McDonald responded by calling him a drunk..

So far, apart from Trinidad and Tobago, I haven't personally seen much evidence of football. Australia did manage to surprise the pundits with a curious display although both they and Japan seem to practice a more rudimentary form of football involving mad rushes towards goal.

Apart from the usual (completely mad) Dutch fans, the funniest so far have been the Japanese who seem to have no comprehension of the most basic rules - treating each throw-in like a hat-trick...

I've been watching most of the games at home with the exception of the Argentina vs. Ivory Coast game where we spent a memorable evening in a bar owned by an Argentinian whose pre-match 'warm-up' included 3 or 4 different versions of the Argentinian National Anthem played at around 400 decibels along with a near riot when the electricity became so overloaded that the fuses tripped and he was forced to turn off the pinball machine to the indignation of some idiot who was playing it - during an Argentina game?

So, how has the World Cup been for you?

I mowed the grass during the Ingerlund match on Saturday. Think I got the better deal.

Having watched all the games so far, it seems to me that most of the established football nations are being given a wake up call by the 'new-boys' Just ask Sweden and Poland! I'm looking forward to seeing Brazil play today..... and how in the world is the USA ranked 5th in FIFA standings?!?

Frank

FIFA calculate their rankings like this

Rankings

strange - can't see where they factor in bungs....

Aliens fancy Brazil too

What do they know?

What's a World Cup :-)

BTW according to the media guide the Super Bowl is the biggest "single" day event in the world. The World Cup is the biggest multiple day event in the world. The Super Bowl ratings beat any single day ratings of the World Cup but not cumulative rating of the whole World Cup event.

Well, tonight's Brazil vs. Croatia will have an estimated audience of 1.5 Billion. Final (with Brazil) will have close to 3 Billion.. Not too bad, the SuperBowl gets around 1 Billion...Jim

Not true, I love it. Much better than football(soccer) and marginally better than rugby.

Brasil better get their act together, or their behinds will be kicked in the next round by either Italy or Czech republic.

Individually, they are the best players, but as a collective, they make a miserable team. (in my humble opinion )

OK I did a little more digging and yes my initial comment was erroneous. The part where I made the mistake was that the viewership of the Superbowl in the US is 47%. Because the US is larger than many other countries, that 47% translate into more bodies (145mil.) It is not the world's single largest event. Just the largest in any single country (except maybe China-see below). It is clearly dwarfed by the World Cup.

WORLD CUP OTHER FACT: Round one of the World Cup had 35 billion viewers (20-25% of the total audience worldwide!!!) Probably as teams get eliminated, the audience for the remaining games of the tournement will equal about 35 Billion, the same total as opening day.

Italy scored an 89% total viewing audience (Approx 24mil.)
Spain had 81% (11mil)
Germany had 88% (18.1mil)
England 86% (15.6mill)
Japan 82% (33mil)

Because of security restrictions China numbers cannot be accurately gauged or confirmed but it is estimated to be approximately 102mil. The Chinese government announced 303mil.

These scores are probably on the low side as TV ratings are measured through households. Many people go to public places such as bars to watch and these viewers are not measured.

Enjoy!

Hi gents

Alright guys how about helping a soccer newbie out. My youngest loves the game has played for the last 2 years. She has talked about nothing but the world cup since she found out it was going to be on TV.
My problem is I know nothing about the game. I've gone to her games. I've tried to sit and watch the games on TV with her, and I can't for the life of me figure them out.
So my friends, can someone point me to a web site, a book or something where I can at least learn the rules of the game.
Thanks

From the Canadian Media Guide talking about opening day...

".... an estimated 32 billion people tuned in world wide for the World Cup. That is billion with a "B". FIFA officials expect another 35 billion will watch all or some of the games over the next 30 days."

They made it a point to say Billion with a B. Looks like I found an error.

Anyway World Cup is huge with 80% of many countries watching the games

I caught that too...even if it was 3.5 billion that would still be an awful lot. :-)

maybe they meant 35 billion tv sets?


anyways...I watched some of the Brazil/Croatia game today, a bit slow for me....then again I was too busy eating fish tacos and paying more attention to the "flavory goodness" than to the refs losing control of their bodily functions because one player touched another :-)

Maybe it's time for Real Madrid to start monitoring the 'tapas' intake of Rotundo Ronaldo!,...... this once gifted striker spent most of the game against Croatia walking up a sweat!......... otra copa por favor! Big 'n' beefy indeed.....

I must admit I get hooked watching World Cup everytime it comes around.

Of course being Canadian I love watching hockey and it is my passion. However its very enjoyable watching Soccer/Football too. Its got a nice pace and you can see things setting up which is fantastic.

Wore my Dutch jersey on Sunday when we went to my wifes friends birthday party. Over half the people there are of a Dutch background so I was very welcome! Lots of orange being worn!

They even had their 2 year old son running around with a kids jersey on.

Why do you think McDonalds is one of FIFA's biggest corporate sponsors?

By the way it's not 'Rotundo Ronaldo' it's Ronaldo McDonald...Jim :-) :-) :-)

Rules of football FIFA style

Still having fun spotting who can go most over the top with St George's crosses - like the whole streets I saw from the train just outside Paddington on Monday. Winner so far is the errr... Italian barbers on Springfield Road who have painted the entire ground floor wall white and stuck two huge strips of red plastic onto it

On the other hand the house with the Korean flags on it is much more restrained (so far anyway).

OK, first of all, it's not soccer, it's football . There is only one football (the game where one kicks a ball with one's foot), the other versions (American football, Australian rules football, rugby football, etc) aren't really football.

I must say the football world cup is pretty good, not as good as the rugby world cup of course, but much better than the cricket world cup.

I will be at the local beer garden this evening, along with most of the town, watching Germany blitzkrieg Poland (hopefully).

Dangdadadangdang-dang-dang -- Deutchland!

Gday Harry
Well the first thing is to not compare it to any US sport... This one actually has no stoppages during play...
No one can handle the ball except the goal keeper... He can pick up the ball, but only within his 18 yd. 'box'... Players can only use their hands when one throws the ball back in for this team after the opposition has touched it last before going out of play...
Players can use any part of their body except their hands/arms...
Players go to ground easily when tackled because it is easy to fool the referee, and the advantages in-game of a free-kick or penalty are far greater than the fact they look like tools for doing it...
Yellow card is issued for repeated softer fouls or a bad tackle or dissent etc. Two yellow result in a red card (dismissal, team plays one short) Players can get a straight red card for excessively bad foul, etc.
'Set pieces' are corner kicks and free kicks.
Penalty kick is awarded from the 'spot', 12 yds out from goal, for any regular foul occuring within the 'box'.
All I'm mentioning for now... My head hurts, and I'll be lucky to watchthe end of Spain Vs. Ukraine...
HTH!
Cheers
Brad

Well that was a weird experience - watching Spain play like a serious contender... Or is Ukraine just REALLY bad?