2014 World Cup

[Zanza]

Tenth of thousands celebrating in the streets here. :-)

[Sheilbh]

That doesn't work man.  The US had the tying goal and blew it.  Besides how much better were they really from the US anyway?

Also the US wasn't a massive underdog in that game. You've been to every World Cup since 1986 and have a decent team. The US weren't expected to progress because you were in a difficult group, not because it's a bad team.

The Belgians had a lot of good press about six months ago, but never really seemed terribly impressive in the groups so a lot of the 'dark horse' talk died down. They'd not been to the World Cup or the Euros since the early 00s.

It was a great game between two quite likeable sides with no clear favourite/underdog.

I enjoyed that game. I was supporting Argentina, but Germany are very good winners

[derspiess]

Tenth of thousands celebrating in the streets here. :-)

So hundreds?

[Hansmeister]

Golden Ball to Messi?

I was wondering about the same thing, though it could be argued he was far more important for Argentina reaching the final than any single german players was for Germany reaching the final.

But Messi has such an intense lobby that he might have been nominated even if he missed the World Cup due to injury.

[Hansmeister]

Or maybe I'm just bitter because I was busy at work and missed the game.

[PDH]

Or maybe I'm just bitter because I was busy at work and missed the game.

You should have fired your boss.

[PDH]

What was there to lose sleep about with the Belgium game?  The US wasn't really expected to even get out of group play, Belgium was favored to win the game and they showed very clearly during the game that they were better, even though the US just missed a chance at a miracle at the end.  I would understand if they were expected to win that game, or to make a deep run and were beaten by a lesser team, but sometimes the other team is just better than you and there isn't a whole lot you can do about it.

You don't get it.

[CountDeMoney]

While I really wanted a German-Dutch Final, I had to root for zee Germans in this one:  while there's nothing quite as enjoyable as the wailing and gnashing of Euroteeth whenever they lose in their little game, their little pacifist hands balled into little fists of rage as they set shit on fire, I thoroughly enjoy watching the entire southern hemisphere collectively mourn and suck the big one when it comes to their sport.

[sbr]

What was there to lose sleep about with the Belgium game?  The US wasn't really expected to even get out of group play, Belgium was favored to win the game and they showed very clearly during the game that they were better, even though the US just missed a chance at a miracle at the end.  I would understand if they were expected to win that game, or to make a deep run and were beaten by a lesser team, but sometimes the other team is just better than you and there isn't a whole lot you can do about it.

You don't get it.

No I don't and apparently I am the weird one, which is unexpected this time.

I have been a big sports fan since the early '80s, and I have gone though every emotional reaction that a person can have to a game and a team, but I am pretty sure I have never been close to tears and I can only think of one time, Game 1 of the first round of the 1993 NBA Western Conference Playoffs, that caused me to lose sleep; that game upset me so much I didn't even want to have sex with my new girlfriend that night, but no tears and I bumped one off the next morning and everything was fine.

My favorite teams have had some heart breaking losses:  Game 6 1985 World Series, 1987 World Series, 1990-1993 NBA Playoffs (Finals, WC Finals, Finals, First Round( this team, the Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams TrailBlazers is my very favorite team of all time)), Game 7 2000 NBA Western Conference Finals, Cardinals-Steelers Super Bowl, 2011 BCS Championship Game.  All of them were terribly painful to go through but still, no tears anywhere and very little lost sleep.

[alfred russel]

Well shit. I just read the lyrics of the song the Argentine fans were singing, and I retroactively want them to win:

"Brazil, Tell Me How It Feels,
To Be Bossed Around In Your Own Home,
I Swear That Even If Years Pass,
We Will Never Forget,
That Diego [Maradona] Out-Skilled You,
That Cani [Claudio Caniggia] Surprised You,
You Are Crying Since Italy [World Cup 1990] Till Today,
You Are Going To See Messi,
The World Cup Will Be Ours,
Maradona Is Greater Than Pelé"

And a link with the players singing it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/07/07/argentina-bad-moon-rising-chant_n_5562804.html

[alfred russel]

What was there to lose sleep about with the Belgium game?  The US wasn't really expected to even get out of group play, Belgium was favored to win the game and they showed very clearly during the game that they were better, even though the US just missed a chance at a miracle at the end.  I would understand if they were expected to win that game, or to make a deep run and were beaten by a lesser team, but sometimes the other team is just better than you and there isn't a whole lot you can do about it.

You don't get it.

I think I can explain it to sbr. He doesn't get it; he can't get it. He has a successful life, a wife, kids...But for us, we are alone, have no offspring, and no real achievements to speak of.

Now we know intellectually that a positive result against Belgium will not reverse our life's failures. But at a more primal and instinctual level, we don't know this. The mighty Jurgen Klinsmann is leading us into battle against the Belgians, and for thousands of years success in battle could mean we would get Belgian slave girls for wives, perhaps a plot of Belgian land, maybe even a governorship. When our heroic champions faltered in Brazil, we cried because it confirmed to our soul what our mind already knew--there will be no respite from our dreary and dull existence, and tomorrow we will be the same failures that we are today.

[Barrister]

While I really wanted a German-Dutch Final, I had to root for zee Germans in this one:  while there's nothing quite as enjoyable as the wailing and gnashing of Euroteeth whenever they lose in their little game, their little pacifist hands balled into little fists of rage as they set shit on fire, I thoroughly enjoy watching the entire southern hemisphere collectively mourn and suck the big one when it comes to their sport.

My brother's Brazillian wife is due to have a baby any day - as a result her parents are in Canada waiting for the happy day.

But since there's no baby yet, my brothers father-in-law was watching the world cup final.  He apparently was quite, err, enthusiastic when Argentina did NOT win.  I understand that sentiment was quite common in Brazil.

[Josquius]

It we a worrying game. Germany seemed to have the  bulk of possession but they were so slow and unthreatening, the argentine counters always looked like going in.
It looked like the Germans had Lost at the end

[Monoriu]

In the end I was very conflicted, because two traditions were at stake.  First, no European nation has ever won a WC in the Americas.  Two, Germany has never lost a penalty shootout in a WC tournament.  If we go into penalties, the programme will crash due to this bug.  The issue sorta resolved itself though.  Everything is Brazil's fault, of course. 

It is really disheartening to learn that this is only the 20th WC tournament, but we already have 8 separate winners.   

[Syt]

Well, that was a bit of a nail biter. Props to Schweinsteiger who was a bit of a wreck at the end of the match after getting decked so many times, esp. in extra time.

Super happy with the result, beautiful goal by Götze. And the team celebrations were also fun to watch. Klose, Podolski and Boateng had their kids there, and all the wives and girlfriends were there (some of them real lookers). Funniest moment for me: the players are off celebrating with the fans, and Löw goes and hugs all their women.

This team is such a sympathetic bunch of guys that have come close several times, and now can finally crown their efforts, so I'm super happy for them. And Lahm at age 30 still looks like he's fresh out of school.