If one game had to be my last of this World Cup, I'm glad it was this one. Germany's dismantling of England was the best non-US game I've been to, a matchup of two great fan bases cheering on two of soccer's powerhouses. It was about as good and intense of a second round game as you can get, and the players didn't disappoint.
We got to Bloemfontein after driving the 4 hours from Jo'burg early in the day. I was expecting both the city and the stadium to be awful - we had heard that the area is known only for it's constant conflicts between white people and black people - but was pleased to find both to be decent. The town is small but quaint, and we had perfect weather for both the longish walk from the parking lot and for the game itself.
We got to the converted rugby stadium early, but there were tons of British and German fans already there waiting for us. The two countries have some of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans in the world; it was great to see what USA soccer could potentially become some day. While the vuvuzelas were still as annoying as ever, they were complimented by constant singing and chanting by both sides, which made the atmosphere great.
The stadium was decent - it's old and plain, but well-suited for soccer and definitely superior to some places we've been (Rustenburg certainly, and I thought Pretoria too). We had upper deck seats, but the steep stands put us close to the action. We had a perfect view of the horrendous call on England's second "goal," and got great opportunities to see Germany's "precision machine," as my Mom put it, in the second half. The sun shone throughout the first half, and we wore T-shirts throughout the game, a first for us here in South Africa.
I'm still not completely over the American loss from yesterday, but I'm glad we originally expected the USA to finish second in Group C and thus bought tickets to today's game. We certainly went out on a high note. Now we're off to the local casino, of all places, to grab dinner and watch Argentina versus Mexico. Who knows; that experience might warrant a post of its own.
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Sunday, June 27, 2010
Ghana 2 - 1 USA
If the USA's miraculous last-second victory over Algeria was the apex of the 2010 World Cup for American fans, last night's disappointing loss to Ghana in overtime was definitely the nadir. Everything about the game - the transportation, stadium and result - was worse than we've been accustomed to here in South Africa, and while I feel lucky to have been to the USA's last game, I'm glad it's now Sunday morning here and we can move forward with the trip.
We drove overnight from Cape Town on Friday night and made it to Rustenburg - a tiny town two hours from Jo'burg - in the afternoon. We went to the Fan Fest for a bit to watch Uruguay play South Korea, which was basically a big dirt pit with a huge TV screen (although they did have good food there). We got to the stadium without much difficulty, and found that the place was the equivalent of a mediocre NCAA FCS football stadium - it felt like we were about to watch William & Mary kickoff a game against Richmond, not a FIFA World Cup elimination game. There was no roof, limited concession stands or bathrooms, crowded concourses and a track surrounding the field that pushed all of the seats far away from the playing surface. I didn't even get a good picture of the outside of the places, since there was no vantage point from where to take it. It's amazing that the "city" and stadium were chosen to host games, especially a playoff game.
The game itself was rough, too. Ghana's early goal - the third the USA has allowed in 4 games - took the US crowd out of it for much of the first half. The penalty kick goal got the crowd fired up, but even that was less climactic and exciting than a traditional goal would have been, I think. The team and the crowd both seemed nervous towards the end of regulation and into extra time, and once Ghana scored their second and their players began faking injury after injury to waste time, we knew it was over. We walked out disappointed, frustrated (both with the American performance and with Ghana's stall tactics), and dejected.
That being said, there were positives - even aside from the obvious fact that we're still in breathtaking South Africa where millions of people wish they could be right now. We had decent seats by the goal where all 3 goals were scored (we've had great luck with witnessing tons of goals from close range since I've been here), and we got to see another World Cup venue, albeit one of the crappier ones. And, if we had to lose to anyone I'm glad it was Ghana, a country who now has the support of the continent as the last African team standing. Their fans were out in full force last night, and they also had the backing of virtually every South African. I hope the Black Stars win their next game and advance to the semifinals; it would be great to see the first African team to make the semis do it here in Africa, and a long run by Ghana would make our loss to them a little easier to swallow.
Next up is tonight's England versus Germany game in Bloemfontein, to which we are currently driving. Expect one more post tonight or tomorrow, and then a recap and pictures when I get home over July 4th weekend.
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We drove overnight from Cape Town on Friday night and made it to Rustenburg - a tiny town two hours from Jo'burg - in the afternoon. We went to the Fan Fest for a bit to watch Uruguay play South Korea, which was basically a big dirt pit with a huge TV screen (although they did have good food there). We got to the stadium without much difficulty, and found that the place was the equivalent of a mediocre NCAA FCS football stadium - it felt like we were about to watch William & Mary kickoff a game against Richmond, not a FIFA World Cup elimination game. There was no roof, limited concession stands or bathrooms, crowded concourses and a track surrounding the field that pushed all of the seats far away from the playing surface. I didn't even get a good picture of the outside of the places, since there was no vantage point from where to take it. It's amazing that the "city" and stadium were chosen to host games, especially a playoff game.
The game itself was rough, too. Ghana's early goal - the third the USA has allowed in 4 games - took the US crowd out of it for much of the first half. The penalty kick goal got the crowd fired up, but even that was less climactic and exciting than a traditional goal would have been, I think. The team and the crowd both seemed nervous towards the end of regulation and into extra time, and once Ghana scored their second and their players began faking injury after injury to waste time, we knew it was over. We walked out disappointed, frustrated (both with the American performance and with Ghana's stall tactics), and dejected.
That being said, there were positives - even aside from the obvious fact that we're still in breathtaking South Africa where millions of people wish they could be right now. We had decent seats by the goal where all 3 goals were scored (we've had great luck with witnessing tons of goals from close range since I've been here), and we got to see another World Cup venue, albeit one of the crappier ones. And, if we had to lose to anyone I'm glad it was Ghana, a country who now has the support of the continent as the last African team standing. Their fans were out in full force last night, and they also had the backing of virtually every South African. I hope the Black Stars win their next game and advance to the semifinals; it would be great to see the first African team to make the semis do it here in Africa, and a long run by Ghana would make our loss to them a little easier to swallow.
Next up is tonight's England versus Germany game in Bloemfontein, to which we are currently driving. Expect one more post tonight or tomorrow, and then a recap and pictures when I get home over July 4th weekend.
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Thursday, June 24, 2010
Netherlands 2 - 1 Cameroon
Tonight I'm writing from the Cape Town rail station, where I'm on a Metrorail train en route back towards our B&B. This post will be relatively short, partly because the game tonight was relatively uneventful and partly because I'm exhausted after last night's drive and a lot of walking around the Cape Town waterfront this afternoon and evening.
Cape Town's Green Point Stadium is great. While not as large or imposing as Jo'burg's Soccer City, it's every bit as modern. It has a great open feel - it's very bright during the day (its translucent facade let's light pass through), and glows from the inside at night. The bathrooms were below field level and clustered together (rather than spread out across the concourse) which had a dungeon-esque quality to it that I didn't like. That was the one small negative among a sea of positives - it's an excellent venue within walking distance of the city center and the waterfront.
Cape Town is a low key, relaxed city, and this game matched the city's feel. Since Holland had already qualified, and Cameroon was already eliminated, prior to the game, both teams played a quick crisp game and took few chances. The Dutch had two nice goals, and Cameroon scored on a penalty kick - the first I've seen live at this World Cup. the relaxed crowd meant less focus on the game and more focus on blowing vuvuzelas and trying to start the wave, both of which were mildly distracting. I also learned that, in South Africa, a chili dog isn't a hot dog with chili on it, but rather a hot dog with flecks of chili pepper in it. I had one as an after dinner snack, and it was surprisingly good.
Overall, I really liked Green Point stadium. Soccer City is still tops, but this was second best of what I've seen. Next up: Rustenberg on Saturday night. I know that Rustenberg's stadium is a dump, but it won't matter; I'm excited to watch the USA's round of 16 match versus Ghana regardless of where it's played.
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Cape Town's Green Point Stadium is great. While not as large or imposing as Jo'burg's Soccer City, it's every bit as modern. It has a great open feel - it's very bright during the day (its translucent facade let's light pass through), and glows from the inside at night. The bathrooms were below field level and clustered together (rather than spread out across the concourse) which had a dungeon-esque quality to it that I didn't like. That was the one small negative among a sea of positives - it's an excellent venue within walking distance of the city center and the waterfront.
Cape Town is a low key, relaxed city, and this game matched the city's feel. Since Holland had already qualified, and Cameroon was already eliminated, prior to the game, both teams played a quick crisp game and took few chances. The Dutch had two nice goals, and Cameroon scored on a penalty kick - the first I've seen live at this World Cup. the relaxed crowd meant less focus on the game and more focus on blowing vuvuzelas and trying to start the wave, both of which were mildly distracting. I also learned that, in South Africa, a chili dog isn't a hot dog with chili on it, but rather a hot dog with flecks of chili pepper in it. I had one as an after dinner snack, and it was surprisingly good.
Overall, I really liked Green Point stadium. Soccer City is still tops, but this was second best of what I've seen. Next up: Rustenberg on Saturday night. I know that Rustenberg's stadium is a dump, but it won't matter; I'm excited to watch the USA's round of 16 match versus Ghana regardless of where it's played.
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010
USA 1 - 0 Algeria
When Plaxico Burress caught Eli Manning's fade pass to give the Giants the lead over the unbeaten Patriots in the Super Bowl a few years back, I had tears in my eyes. That had never happened before, and I thought it might never happen again; last minute heroics of that magnitude are rare, after all. When Landon Donovan scored tonight after the 90th minute, saving the USA from elimination and instead giving them the top spot in Group C, my eyes were teary again. It was the most emotional victory I have ever been a part of, and I'll never forget it.
I'm getting ahead of myself; let's start at the beginning. We got to Pretoria this afternoon after a morning drive from Kruger National Park (which was pretty awesome). After a quick look at the old Pretoria city center, we walked to a bar where tons of USA fans were loudly celebrating three hours before the game. We walked from there to the stadium with throngs of other Americans. Emotions were high, people were fired up, and everyone knew the stakes: win and move on, lose and go home.
The stadium in Pretoria was small and sort of crappy. A crowd of 35,000+ dragged in slowly; tons of Americans and Algerians were there early, but neutral fans strolled in just before kickoff. Americans were decked out in red, white and blue and were very boisterous; security officials telling people to sit down were met with jeering and resistance. From there, the first 90 minutes of the game were frustrating; missed opportunities, bad calls and no scoring.
Then came the goal. With most hope lost, the USA scored on a rebound on virtually the last kick of the game. The stands absolutely erupted, beer flew everywhere and everyone in our entirely-American section was hugging, high-fiving and screaming. When the game officially ended, the partying continued and spread into the aisles and concourses; everyone remained in the stadium for a long time. We ran down to the field to greet the team as they came across the field to thank the loyal crowd. Jozy Altidore jumped the LED signs that surround the field and leaned into the stands right in front of us, and I was close enough to rub his head for what will hopefully be some round of 16 luck.
What's next, you ask? We're now back in the car driving overnight to Cape Town to get to Cameroon versus Netherlands tomorrow night and see the city the day after. Because we want to see the USA play either Germany, Ghana, Serbia or Australia (that group is wide open), we're driving back the night of the 25th to get to the game in Rustenburg on the 26th. Then the next night we'll see England play in Bloemfontein - we originally figured the USA would finish 2nd and play there on the 27th. It's going to be absolutely exhausting, but I'll probably only be here once and have to make the most of it. Wish us luck as we drive across the country, and stay tuned for some thoughts on our Cape Town game some time tomorrow. USA! USA!
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I'm getting ahead of myself; let's start at the beginning. We got to Pretoria this afternoon after a morning drive from Kruger National Park (which was pretty awesome). After a quick look at the old Pretoria city center, we walked to a bar where tons of USA fans were loudly celebrating three hours before the game. We walked from there to the stadium with throngs of other Americans. Emotions were high, people were fired up, and everyone knew the stakes: win and move on, lose and go home.
The stadium in Pretoria was small and sort of crappy. A crowd of 35,000+ dragged in slowly; tons of Americans and Algerians were there early, but neutral fans strolled in just before kickoff. Americans were decked out in red, white and blue and were very boisterous; security officials telling people to sit down were met with jeering and resistance. From there, the first 90 minutes of the game were frustrating; missed opportunities, bad calls and no scoring.
Then came the goal. With most hope lost, the USA scored on a rebound on virtually the last kick of the game. The stands absolutely erupted, beer flew everywhere and everyone in our entirely-American section was hugging, high-fiving and screaming. When the game officially ended, the partying continued and spread into the aisles and concourses; everyone remained in the stadium for a long time. We ran down to the field to greet the team as they came across the field to thank the loyal crowd. Jozy Altidore jumped the LED signs that surround the field and leaned into the stands right in front of us, and I was close enough to rub his head for what will hopefully be some round of 16 luck.
What's next, you ask? We're now back in the car driving overnight to Cape Town to get to Cameroon versus Netherlands tomorrow night and see the city the day after. Because we want to see the USA play either Germany, Ghana, Serbia or Australia (that group is wide open), we're driving back the night of the 25th to get to the game in Rustenburg on the 26th. Then the next night we'll see England play in Bloemfontein - we originally figured the USA would finish 2nd and play there on the 27th. It's going to be absolutely exhausting, but I'll probably only be here once and have to make the most of it. Wish us luck as we drive across the country, and stay tuned for some thoughts on our Cape Town game some time tomorrow. USA! USA!
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Monday, June 21, 2010
Brazil 3 - 1 Ivory Coast
One of the recurring themes of World Cup 2010 is how all the South Africans are pulling for the other African nations. After Bafana Bafana, the South Africans are rooting for Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and - to a lesser extent - Algeria, regardless of opponent. At the same time, Brazil is one of the most popular soccer teams in the world. The Yankees of professional soccer, they are particularly well liked by the South Africans, with whom they share similar colors.
Last night we went back to Soccer City for probably the biggest spectacle of the first round - a night game between the Brazilians and Africa's own Ivory Coast Elephants. While the Ivorians had a solid fan base, there were yellow-clad Brazil fans everywhere. We saw Brazilians wearing funky wigs, carrying drums and blowing whistles and vuvuzelas. There was a band featuring half a dozen drummers and a saxophone player in our section, which added an awesome South American flavor to the game. Attendance was over 84,000 and the stadium was deafening whenever Brazil made a good play, and particularly when they scored each of their three goals.
We had good seats - not as good as our first visit to see South Korea play Argentina, but we still had a great view from the third row of the middle deck, behind the net into which two of the game's four goals were scored. It was cold at night (the norm since I've been here), but we were prepared and dressed properly. It was great to see Brazil play - they are aggressive, flamboyant and extremely talented, and I think a trip to the World Cup wouldn't be complete without this game. It was also good to see Ivory Coast give Africa something to cheer about, achieving no small feat by scoring on the mighty Brazilians.
Our next game is Wednesday night - we head back north of Jo'burg to Pretoria to see the USA take on Algeria in a game that will determine America's second round fate. Win and we advance, lose and we go home, tie and we'll be at England's mercy. I can't wait for that game - it should be like the Slovenia game times ten - but we have some great nature viewing ahead before then (we're in the car driving to Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon on Earth, as I write this). And don't worry - I'm sure we'll find time to watch some of today and tomorrow's action on TV, too.
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Last night we went back to Soccer City for probably the biggest spectacle of the first round - a night game between the Brazilians and Africa's own Ivory Coast Elephants. While the Ivorians had a solid fan base, there were yellow-clad Brazil fans everywhere. We saw Brazilians wearing funky wigs, carrying drums and blowing whistles and vuvuzelas. There was a band featuring half a dozen drummers and a saxophone player in our section, which added an awesome South American flavor to the game. Attendance was over 84,000 and the stadium was deafening whenever Brazil made a good play, and particularly when they scored each of their three goals.
We had good seats - not as good as our first visit to see South Korea play Argentina, but we still had a great view from the third row of the middle deck, behind the net into which two of the game's four goals were scored. It was cold at night (the norm since I've been here), but we were prepared and dressed properly. It was great to see Brazil play - they are aggressive, flamboyant and extremely talented, and I think a trip to the World Cup wouldn't be complete without this game. It was also good to see Ivory Coast give Africa something to cheer about, achieving no small feat by scoring on the mighty Brazilians.
Our next game is Wednesday night - we head back north of Jo'burg to Pretoria to see the USA take on Algeria in a game that will determine America's second round fate. Win and we advance, lose and we go home, tie and we'll be at England's mercy. I can't wait for that game - it should be like the Slovenia game times ten - but we have some great nature viewing ahead before then (we're in the car driving to Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon on Earth, as I write this). And don't worry - I'm sure we'll find time to watch some of today and tomorrow's action on TV, too.
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Saturday, June 19, 2010
Newtown Fan Fast
Without a game to attend today and with little to do this afternoon in Jo'burg (a large city without a ton of traditional tourist attractions), a friend and I are spending this afternoon watching Ghana versus Australia at a public viewing area in Newtown, near the heart of the city. This is my first true look at the heart of an African city - over 95% of the people watching around us are black, and virtually everyone is rooting for Ghana to represent the continent and take down the Socceroos. The viewing area has a ton of security people walking around, which is probably good because Newtown is an urban sprawl filled with narrow alleys and dark corners.
Watching at a Fan Fest like this is a fun experience - people watch the games with passion, and the square is surrounded by tents under which food, jewelry, clothing and other souvenirs are being sold. There's also a small walled soccer field where local kids are playing behind us. While I came to Africa to go to World Cup games with fans from around the globe and see some of the continent's beauty (this morning's trip to a lion and rhino preserve an hour outside Jo'burg was a good start to the latter), I think it's important to spend time watching alongside hundreds of native South Africans.
Tomorrow night we head back to Soccer City for a highly-anticipated late game between the Ivory Coast and Brazil, which is probably the best matchup of any game we're attending and one of the best of the entire first round. Stay tuned for a Monday AM South Africa time posting on that game. Until then, enjoy the next phase of round one.
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Watching at a Fan Fest like this is a fun experience - people watch the games with passion, and the square is surrounded by tents under which food, jewelry, clothing and other souvenirs are being sold. There's also a small walled soccer field where local kids are playing behind us. While I came to Africa to go to World Cup games with fans from around the globe and see some of the continent's beauty (this morning's trip to a lion and rhino preserve an hour outside Jo'burg was a good start to the latter), I think it's important to spend time watching alongside hundreds of native South Africans.
Tomorrow night we head back to Soccer City for a highly-anticipated late game between the Ivory Coast and Brazil, which is probably the best matchup of any game we're attending and one of the best of the entire first round. Stay tuned for a Monday AM South Africa time posting on that game. Until then, enjoy the next phase of round one.
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Friday, June 18, 2010
USA 2 - 2 Slovenia
Wow. Today's USA game against Slovenia was the most "emotional rollercoaster-ish" sporting even I've ever attended, all hyperbole aside. We got to Ellis Park - a converted old rugby stadium that had a classic feel, but none of the impressive frills of Soccer City - to find thousands of Americans in and around the stadium. USA pride was all over the place, and the fans were passionate, loud and ready for a big win.
The first Slovenia goal let some of the wind out of our collective sails, and whatever positive energy we had left was virtually zapped when it turned 2-0 before the half. It was the most disappointed I had been at a sporting event in some time - my expectations for Team USA were so high, and the pre-game energy was so positive, that no one could believe we were facing an imposing 2 goal halftime deficit.
How quickly things change, though. Landon Donovan's spectacular goal got the Americans right back in it early in the second session. We had a perfect view of his charge from our seats in the corner of Ellis Park (great view, though not as good as yesterday for South Korea versus Argentina. All of this game's goals were scored into the net by our seats, though, which was great.). The crowd's energy-level rose throughout the second half, and people erupted when Michael Bradley jammed home the second goal for team USA. I hugged several strangers, high-fived tons more, and the decibel level was deafening even without the aid of the piped-in music that we Americans are so fond of at baseball and football games (the vuvuzelas help, though). We were back at an emotional high.
I know the talk tomorrow will be about the USA's disallowed third goal. From my vantage point, all we saw was what looked like a good goal to cap an incredible comeback and give the USA the lead (and, given what happened tonight with England and Algeria, an almost-free pass into the next round). People were going nuts, we were all beyond ecstatic, and then while celebrating we saw that the refs had called off the goal and play had resumed with a Slovenia free kick. Obviously that was very disappointing, but when the final whistle blew I think most of us were happy to have salvaged the draw.
While Ellis Park was no Soccer City and our seats were worse than yesterday, there's nothing like rooting on your home country with thousands of your countrymen. I was also amazed, and pleased, to see that the non-American portion of the crowd, especially the native South Africans, was very pro-USA. The second half goals were amazing - I've never celebrated so hard at any stadium in my life. I'm already amped for USA versus Algeria next week in Pretoria - a win guarantees the USA a spot in the second round, and I imagine the crowd will be even better than this one was. For my sanity's sake, let's hope the Americans are a bit more consistent and do what they're supposed to - get a win against the Desert Foxes.
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The first Slovenia goal let some of the wind out of our collective sails, and whatever positive energy we had left was virtually zapped when it turned 2-0 before the half. It was the most disappointed I had been at a sporting event in some time - my expectations for Team USA were so high, and the pre-game energy was so positive, that no one could believe we were facing an imposing 2 goal halftime deficit.
How quickly things change, though. Landon Donovan's spectacular goal got the Americans right back in it early in the second session. We had a perfect view of his charge from our seats in the corner of Ellis Park (great view, though not as good as yesterday for South Korea versus Argentina. All of this game's goals were scored into the net by our seats, though, which was great.). The crowd's energy-level rose throughout the second half, and people erupted when Michael Bradley jammed home the second goal for team USA. I hugged several strangers, high-fived tons more, and the decibel level was deafening even without the aid of the piped-in music that we Americans are so fond of at baseball and football games (the vuvuzelas help, though). We were back at an emotional high.
I know the talk tomorrow will be about the USA's disallowed third goal. From my vantage point, all we saw was what looked like a good goal to cap an incredible comeback and give the USA the lead (and, given what happened tonight with England and Algeria, an almost-free pass into the next round). People were going nuts, we were all beyond ecstatic, and then while celebrating we saw that the refs had called off the goal and play had resumed with a Slovenia free kick. Obviously that was very disappointing, but when the final whistle blew I think most of us were happy to have salvaged the draw.
While Ellis Park was no Soccer City and our seats were worse than yesterday, there's nothing like rooting on your home country with thousands of your countrymen. I was also amazed, and pleased, to see that the non-American portion of the crowd, especially the native South Africans, was very pro-USA. The second half goals were amazing - I've never celebrated so hard at any stadium in my life. I'm already amped for USA versus Algeria next week in Pretoria - a win guarantees the USA a spot in the second round, and I imagine the crowd will be even better than this one was. For my sanity's sake, let's hope the Americans are a bit more consistent and do what they're supposed to - get a win against the Desert Foxes.
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Thursday, June 17, 2010
Argentina 4 - 1 South Korea
Today was my first World Cup game; we went to Soccer City stadium here in Johannesburg for Argentina versus South Korea. It was an incredible first experience - once we got to the stadium (after a fairly miserable park-and-ride experience that we're currently still suffering through - we're caught in traffic leaving a local university parking lot as I write this . . .) Everything was perfect.
While it's been cold here, the temperatures were pleasant for the game and the sun was shining. The stadium was packed with 82,000+ fans, tons of them rooting for Argentina (there was a sea of sky blue across the stadium from us). Korea had a strong showing, too, and unfurled giant South Korean flags over its crowd during the playing of their national anthem which was an incredible sight. The opening ceremonies (national anthems and flag and team entrances) were more impressive in person than on TV, too.
The stadium was very modern, impressive and really unique looking, especially from the outside (it looks like a massive piece of pottery, if you haven't seen it - pictures to come). Our seats were somehow in the second row of the entire stadium, in the corner by the goal where South Korea scored their lone goal and Argentina put in two late tallies to make it a 4-1 final (the highest scoring game yet). We weren't sitting by any crazy hooligans - most people around us were fairly mild mannered. We were on the Jumbos for about 20 seconds during halftime, though, which got the people in our section riled up.
It was a perfect first game for me to attend - arguably the nicest venue in the country, the chance to see one of the world's top teams play (and succeed), and a great day for it all weather-wise. It will be interesting to contrast today with tomorrow's USA game in Ellis Park, Jo'burg's older venue, where I'll be more of a "participating fan" rather than an objective observer. Hopefully tomorrow is just as awesome as today was - and hopefully the park-and-ride experience is a lot better.
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While it's been cold here, the temperatures were pleasant for the game and the sun was shining. The stadium was packed with 82,000+ fans, tons of them rooting for Argentina (there was a sea of sky blue across the stadium from us). Korea had a strong showing, too, and unfurled giant South Korean flags over its crowd during the playing of their national anthem which was an incredible sight. The opening ceremonies (national anthems and flag and team entrances) were more impressive in person than on TV, too.
The stadium was very modern, impressive and really unique looking, especially from the outside (it looks like a massive piece of pottery, if you haven't seen it - pictures to come). Our seats were somehow in the second row of the entire stadium, in the corner by the goal where South Korea scored their lone goal and Argentina put in two late tallies to make it a 4-1 final (the highest scoring game yet). We weren't sitting by any crazy hooligans - most people around us were fairly mild mannered. We were on the Jumbos for about 20 seconds during halftime, though, which got the people in our section riled up.
It was a perfect first game for me to attend - arguably the nicest venue in the country, the chance to see one of the world's top teams play (and succeed), and a great day for it all weather-wise. It will be interesting to contrast today with tomorrow's USA game in Ellis Park, Jo'burg's older venue, where I'll be more of a "participating fan" rather than an objective observer. Hopefully tomorrow is just as awesome as today was - and hopefully the park-and-ride experience is a lot better.
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Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tired On Arrival
After a 13 hour flight from New York to Dubai, a 2 hour layover, an 8 hour flight from Dubai to Johannesburg, 1 hour at customs / baggage claim and a ~45 minute drive to our (incredibly dilapidated) hostel, I finally arrived in South Africa earlier this evening. I'm running on virtually zero sleep, but I'm getting by on excitement, adrenaline and the fact that it's too cold outside to fall asleep anyway (in the 40's and dropping).
I feel fortunate that my first World Cup 2010 soccer experience has been a South Africa-related one. I'm writing this post while watching the first half of the South Africa versus Uruguay game at a restaurant in an upscale shopping mall in Sandton (a suburb of Jo'burg and the financial center of the region). Not surprisingly, the restaurant (and all the others around it) are packed. There are tons of South Africans, but from my table I can also spot the colors of Mexico, Turkey (and they're not even in the World Cup this year . . .), Argentina, Brazil and USA. It seems like all the tourists are rooting for South Africa tonight, and how could they not? Everyone's pulling for the South Africans, both because of the underdog angle but also because they've seemingly been excellent hosts so far.
The atmosphere has been electric from what I've seen, and I've only been in the airport and the suburbs by where we're staying. Tomorrow I get my first live World Cup experience when we travel to Soccer City Stadium to watch Argentina play South Korea. Normally I'd have trouble sleeping with anticipation, but after a long 24+ hours of traveling I'll hopefully sleep well tonight. Stay tuned for more tomorrow after the game (7:30 AM EST).
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I feel fortunate that my first World Cup 2010 soccer experience has been a South Africa-related one. I'm writing this post while watching the first half of the South Africa versus Uruguay game at a restaurant in an upscale shopping mall in Sandton (a suburb of Jo'burg and the financial center of the region). Not surprisingly, the restaurant (and all the others around it) are packed. There are tons of South Africans, but from my table I can also spot the colors of Mexico, Turkey (and they're not even in the World Cup this year . . .), Argentina, Brazil and USA. It seems like all the tourists are rooting for South Africa tonight, and how could they not? Everyone's pulling for the South Africans, both because of the underdog angle but also because they've seemingly been excellent hosts so far.
The atmosphere has been electric from what I've seen, and I've only been in the airport and the suburbs by where we're staying. Tomorrow I get my first live World Cup experience when we travel to Soccer City Stadium to watch Argentina play South Korea. Normally I'd have trouble sleeping with anticipation, but after a long 24+ hours of traveling I'll hopefully sleep well tonight. Stay tuned for more tomorrow after the game (7:30 AM EST).
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Monday, June 14, 2010
International Underdogs
In 24 hours I depart New York, and in 48 hours I will arrive in Johannesburg (with a brief layover in Dubai in between), so this will be my final post from the States before I leave. While my real World Cup adventure is still a day or two away, I spent a lot of time this weekend watching various games on ESPN and ABC, of course highlighted by the USA versus England match on Saturday afternoon. By now every news outlet has reported everything that needs to be known about the game - the USA held its own, got a huge break from the English goalkeeper, and earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw.
I watched the game at a bar on 26th Street here in Manhattan (The Ainsworth, which is a great place to watch football and the NCAA basketball tournament, too), along with hundreds of other USA fans and dozens of England fans. We arrived an hour before the game started and the place was packed; every bar I passed while walking over from the subway was filled, too. The energy was unbelievable, and it was weird to think that all of these people were gathered to watch soccer, a sport that most Americans stop caring about after they quit their youth teams at age ten. I started wondering what was it about the USA Soccer team that had people all excited this World Cup. It can't be patriotism; no one was getting a big group together at a bar to watch USA Basketball in 2008 or USA Hockey this past February. It also can't be people jumping on the bandwagon (or at least not in the traditional "I want to be part of a winner" sense); the USA might be favored to move on to the second round, but isn't expected to do any more than that. It definitely can't be soccer itself; half of the people at the bar barely knew the rules of the game.
Maybe it's the fact that, for once, the USA is the underdog. In virtually every other athletic competition, we're expected to win. What fun is USA Basketball when a victory by less than 15 points is considered a failure? Soccer is different, though - this is the world's game, and the USA is but a small part. Rather than having all of the talent, the USA is known internationally for its grit, work ethic and determination. The USA versus England game played out as a microcosm of the USA's relationship with international soccer; we might not have been as talented as England, but we worked just as hard (if not harder), refused to give up when things looked grim (after England scored in the fourth minute to take a 1-0 lead) and clawed out a tie against one of the world's best. Even the two goals presented a perfect contrast - England's was pretty, ours was dirty, but they both counted the same.
The USA Soccer team might not represent what the USA is actually all about, but does represent what the USA should be all about. Effort. Teamwork. Tenacity. I've always had a patriotic streak, and have always been proud to be American. After watching the USA battle England on Saturday, I'm now proud to be an American soccer fan, too. I can't wait to get out to South Africa and don my red, white and blue.
NB: Most of my posts from South Africa will (probably) come from my Blackberry, so I ask that you excuse any typos or formatting errors. I'll try to clean them up when I get computer access, but I want to post real time and will sacrifice some aesthetics in order to do so. You'll also notice that the posts will likely be shorter, again in an effort to post real time while traveling. I can be reached at my Yahoo! account while abroad, so feel free to contact me with comments or questions and I'll try to answer them in my posts.
I watched the game at a bar on 26th Street here in Manhattan (The Ainsworth, which is a great place to watch football and the NCAA basketball tournament, too), along with hundreds of other USA fans and dozens of England fans. We arrived an hour before the game started and the place was packed; every bar I passed while walking over from the subway was filled, too. The energy was unbelievable, and it was weird to think that all of these people were gathered to watch soccer, a sport that most Americans stop caring about after they quit their youth teams at age ten. I started wondering what was it about the USA Soccer team that had people all excited this World Cup. It can't be patriotism; no one was getting a big group together at a bar to watch USA Basketball in 2008 or USA Hockey this past February. It also can't be people jumping on the bandwagon (or at least not in the traditional "I want to be part of a winner" sense); the USA might be favored to move on to the second round, but isn't expected to do any more than that. It definitely can't be soccer itself; half of the people at the bar barely knew the rules of the game.
Maybe it's the fact that, for once, the USA is the underdog. In virtually every other athletic competition, we're expected to win. What fun is USA Basketball when a victory by less than 15 points is considered a failure? Soccer is different, though - this is the world's game, and the USA is but a small part. Rather than having all of the talent, the USA is known internationally for its grit, work ethic and determination. The USA versus England game played out as a microcosm of the USA's relationship with international soccer; we might not have been as talented as England, but we worked just as hard (if not harder), refused to give up when things looked grim (after England scored in the fourth minute to take a 1-0 lead) and clawed out a tie against one of the world's best. Even the two goals presented a perfect contrast - England's was pretty, ours was dirty, but they both counted the same.
Clint Dempsey's "ugly" goal evened the score at 1-1.
The USA Soccer team might not represent what the USA is actually all about, but does represent what the USA should be all about. Effort. Teamwork. Tenacity. I've always had a patriotic streak, and have always been proud to be American. After watching the USA battle England on Saturday, I'm now proud to be an American soccer fan, too. I can't wait to get out to South Africa and don my red, white and blue.
NB: Most of my posts from South Africa will (probably) come from my Blackberry, so I ask that you excuse any typos or formatting errors. I'll try to clean them up when I get computer access, but I want to post real time and will sacrifice some aesthetics in order to do so. You'll also notice that the posts will likely be shorter, again in an effort to post real time while traveling. I can be reached at my Yahoo! account while abroad, so feel free to contact me with comments or questions and I'll try to answer them in my posts.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Late As Usual
By the time Mariano Rivera struck out Jason Michaels to complete the 4-3 Yankee victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night, the Yankee Stadium crowd was rocking. As always, the fans got loud when "Enter Sandman" started to blare over the PA system and Rivera trotted in from the bullpen (the fact that it was Mariano Rivera Collectible Figurine night only added to the atmosphere). As he's done dozens of times before, Mo closed out the game with the strikeout as approximately 50,000 fans roared.
None of that surprised me; I've been to Yankee Stadium (both new and old) many times before, and I've seen the same script unfold again and again (though this was my first 2010 visit). The other thing that never seems to change at Yankee Stadium? How few fans are in their seats during the first inning. For a team that draws a good crowd every night (and for a game that, according to Ticketmaster, was sold out of upper deck seating more than a week in advance, forcing me to buy my tickets from StubHub), the Stadium is always virtually empty when the lineups are announced, when the first pitch is thrown, and even sometimes when Derek Jeter comes up for his second at bat in the third inning. The couple sitting next to us took their seats for the first time as Andy Pettitte threw his warmup pitches in the top of the fifth, with the score already 3-2.
This will be my last non-soccer post until I get back from my trip in July. Stay tuned for another pre-departure post about Saturday's USA versus England contest, and be sure to check back regularly over the last two weeks in June for updates from World Cup 2010 in South Africa!
None of that surprised me; I've been to Yankee Stadium (both new and old) many times before, and I've seen the same script unfold again and again (though this was my first 2010 visit). The other thing that never seems to change at Yankee Stadium? How few fans are in their seats during the first inning. For a team that draws a good crowd every night (and for a game that, according to Ticketmaster, was sold out of upper deck seating more than a week in advance, forcing me to buy my tickets from StubHub), the Stadium is always virtually empty when the lineups are announced, when the first pitch is thrown, and even sometimes when Derek Jeter comes up for his second at bat in the third inning. The couple sitting next to us took their seats for the first time as Andy Pettitte threw his warmup pitches in the top of the fifth, with the score already 3-2.
Yankee Stadium was relatively empty when the Starting Lineups were announced.
Unlike some crowds that are loud from the start of the game in an effort to energize the home team (as I continue to watch the World Cup on TV, any soccer crowd comes to mind), regular season Yankee fans have almost no presence early in the contest. Instead, the crowd trickles in throughout the first hour of the game, waiting for the Yankees to rack up the runs and convince them to expend some energy and cheer. I know the Stadium is different in the playoffs, but it would be great to see a lively crowd at a meaningless Interleague game versus Houston in June. At the prices the Yankees are charging, I don't think that's too much to ask.
This will be my last non-soccer post until I get back from my trip in July. Stay tuned for another pre-departure post about Saturday's USA versus England contest, and be sure to check back regularly over the last two weeks in June for updates from World Cup 2010 in South Africa!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Opening World Cup Thoughts
As you probably already know, on Tuesday I will leave the United States and head to Johannesburg for the 2010 World Cup. About a full day and one layover in Dubai later, I will arrive in South Africa where I'll be spending ~15 days touring the country and following soccer. While I've had fun updating Caught Looking over the last two months (and hope that you've enjoyed my ramblings on baseball, basketball and other US-centric sports), the foundation for this blog was my upcoming journey to Africa. I hope to be able to post periodically from abroad, updating you on my progress and describing what I'm seeing. If computer access is hard to come by, I'll be taking handwritten, journal-style notes and will update the blog when I get back in early July (complete with pictures).
While I'll actually be spending most of my time doing non-soccer-related activities (I'll be attending 6 games over 15 days, so plenty of time for sightseeing), most of what I write about here will have to do with the games I attend, stadiums I visit and fans I encounter while in South Africa. I'm particularly excited for the US games I'll be attending (versus Slovenia and Algeria, and a potential second round match with a team from Group D), and will be fully decked out in a road blue USA jersey and American flag cape. What might be more interesting, though, are the games I attend as an objective observer, watching fans from other countries cheer on their teams.
I hope you all enjoyed this morning's entertaining contest between host South Africa and Mexico, and will tune in for the United States versus England game tomorrow afternoon. I'll try to post before I leave with my thoughts on that game, as well as on ESPN's World Cup Match LIVE gamecast application (how I've been following the games at work). I'm also going to be posting this weekend on my first 2010 trip to Yankee Stadium for tonight's game versus Houston, which will likely be my last non-soccer post for a while. In the meantime, here is a list of the games I'll be attending, when they're on in the US, and on what channel. Enjoy!
While I'll actually be spending most of my time doing non-soccer-related activities (I'll be attending 6 games over 15 days, so plenty of time for sightseeing), most of what I write about here will have to do with the games I attend, stadiums I visit and fans I encounter while in South Africa. I'm particularly excited for the US games I'll be attending (versus Slovenia and Algeria, and a potential second round match with a team from Group D), and will be fully decked out in a road blue USA jersey and American flag cape. What might be more interesting, though, are the games I attend as an objective observer, watching fans from other countries cheer on their teams.
I hope you all enjoyed this morning's entertaining contest between host South Africa and Mexico, and will tune in for the United States versus England game tomorrow afternoon. I'll try to post before I leave with my thoughts on that game, as well as on ESPN's World Cup Match LIVE gamecast application (how I've been following the games at work). I'm also going to be posting this weekend on my first 2010 trip to Yankee Stadium for tonight's game versus Houston, which will likely be my last non-soccer post for a while. In the meantime, here is a list of the games I'll be attending, when they're on in the US, and on what channel. Enjoy!
- Thursday 6/17 -- Argentina vs. South Korea -- 7:30 AM on ESPN
- Friday 6/18 -- Slovenia vs. United States -- 10:00 AM on ESPN
- Sunday 6/20 -- Brazil vs. Ivory Coast -- 2:30 PM on ABC
- Wednesday 6/23 -- United States vs. Algeria -- 10:00 AM on ESPN
- Thursday 6/24 -- Cameroon vs. Netherlands -- 2:30 PM on ESPN2
- Sunday 6/27 -- D Group #1 vs. C Group #2 -- 10:00 AM on ESPN
Thursday, June 10, 2010
An Open Letter to MLB Network
UPDATE: MLB Network has decided to take Caught Looking's advice. I've noticed that the channel has decided to periodically devote an hour of the MLB Tonight program to something called Solid 60, a 60-minute commercial-free block presented by DIRECTV. According to Broadcasting & Cable, "the block will feature highlights, updates and live look-ins
at games. It will run as part of MLB Tonight, the network's nightly
studio show. MLB Network chose the 9:30-10:30 p.m. hour as it is the time
of day when most MLB games are in progress." Apparently this debuted on April 9, but was only aired on Friday nights until recently (which is why I never caught it). It's a little heavy on the voiceover commentary and isn't exactly what I proposed below, but they do show live games constantly throughout the hour and attempt to show a combination of popular player at-bats, run scoring opportunities and final outs. Pretty well done, MLB Network - thanks for listening!
Dear MLB Network,
I like you guys. I was skeptical when your network launched prior to the 2009 baseball season, but now that we've spent a full year together I'll admit you've grown on me. As an Atlanta Braves fan living in New York, I don't get to see my team play on live TV very often, and I often prefer to watch your various highlights shows (MLB Tonight, Quick Pitch, etc.) over yet another Yankees game on YES Network or Mets game on SNY. I appreciate how you rescued Harold Reynolds from the ESPN doghouse (did we ever find out exactly what happened over there?), stole Peter Gammons away from The World Leader, and brought in a slew of relatively-entertaining former Major Leaguers including Sean Casey, Al Leiter and Mitch Williams, among others.
At the same time, I realize nothing you do from a highlight show standpoint can hold a candle to ESPN's Baseball Tonight. You don't have a Web Gems or Touch 'Em All segment, and even if you were to try to replicate it you wouldn't have the Web Gems or Touch 'Em All "brands." You don't have the awesome Baseball Tonight jingle informing viewers of upcoming in-game updates and highlights. You don't have Tim Kurkjian, my favorite baseball analyst on TV right now. Last night, when the Dodgers vs. Mets game was rained out and ESPN decided to show a three-hour special version of Baseball Tonight instead, complete with live look-ins from games around the country (one of my favorite parts of your MLB Tonight show, by the way), I found myself glued to ESPN without even thinking of switching over to MLB Network. I realized that I enjoy MLB Network simply because it offers more baseball-related content than ESPN does on a regular basis, but when both are showing baseball I'll choose ESPN more often than not.
So, MLB Network, what can you do to differentiate yourself from ESPN's Baseball Tonight and pull viewers over to your channel? Take tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, for example; you'll be airing MLB Tonight Live for five straight hours, while ESPN will show Twins vs. Tigers on Wednesday Night Baseball, followed by an hour long Baseball Tonight. Why not convert some of the five-hour MLB Tonight block to something I call Ducks on the Pond? We already know you have the contractual rights to show live pieces of Major League Baseball games; you do it all the time on MLB Tonight. The problem is, you seemingly switch between games at random and have your analysts talk over the local broadcasters (quite annoyingly, I might add).
The Ducks on the Pond concept is simple; basically, it would be like the NFL's Red Zone Channel, but for baseball. For a few hours each night (on nights when you don't have live games, of course), you can take us live to games where teams have runners in scoring position, without a ton of additional commentary. If you were airing this tomorrow night, baseball fans who aren't very interested in Twins vs. Tigers (read: everybody) could click over to MLB Network, hoping to see their team drive in some runners or get out of a jam. You'd be giving your fans the opportunity to watch exciting moments from baseball games across the country, and require a lot less production and manpower than MLB Tonight in the process.
Anyway, it's just thought. Thanks again for everything you do, MLB Network. Just know that as long as I can find you in HD on Time Warner Cable channel 783, I'll keep tuning in (as long as there isn't anything better on ESPN, that is).
MLBwhiz
Dear MLB Network,
I like you guys. I was skeptical when your network launched prior to the 2009 baseball season, but now that we've spent a full year together I'll admit you've grown on me. As an Atlanta Braves fan living in New York, I don't get to see my team play on live TV very often, and I often prefer to watch your various highlights shows (MLB Tonight, Quick Pitch, etc.) over yet another Yankees game on YES Network or Mets game on SNY. I appreciate how you rescued Harold Reynolds from the ESPN doghouse (did we ever find out exactly what happened over there?), stole Peter Gammons away from The World Leader, and brought in a slew of relatively-entertaining former Major Leaguers including Sean Casey, Al Leiter and Mitch Williams, among others.
At the same time, I realize nothing you do from a highlight show standpoint can hold a candle to ESPN's Baseball Tonight. You don't have a Web Gems or Touch 'Em All segment, and even if you were to try to replicate it you wouldn't have the Web Gems or Touch 'Em All "brands." You don't have the awesome Baseball Tonight jingle informing viewers of upcoming in-game updates and highlights. You don't have Tim Kurkjian, my favorite baseball analyst on TV right now. Last night, when the Dodgers vs. Mets game was rained out and ESPN decided to show a three-hour special version of Baseball Tonight instead, complete with live look-ins from games around the country (one of my favorite parts of your MLB Tonight show, by the way), I found myself glued to ESPN without even thinking of switching over to MLB Network. I realized that I enjoy MLB Network simply because it offers more baseball-related content than ESPN does on a regular basis, but when both are showing baseball I'll choose ESPN more often than not.
So, MLB Network, what can you do to differentiate yourself from ESPN's Baseball Tonight and pull viewers over to your channel? Take tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, for example; you'll be airing MLB Tonight Live for five straight hours, while ESPN will show Twins vs. Tigers on Wednesday Night Baseball, followed by an hour long Baseball Tonight. Why not convert some of the five-hour MLB Tonight block to something I call Ducks on the Pond? We already know you have the contractual rights to show live pieces of Major League Baseball games; you do it all the time on MLB Tonight. The problem is, you seemingly switch between games at random and have your analysts talk over the local broadcasters (quite annoyingly, I might add).
The Ducks on the Pond concept is simple; basically, it would be like the NFL's Red Zone Channel, but for baseball. For a few hours each night (on nights when you don't have live games, of course), you can take us live to games where teams have runners in scoring position, without a ton of additional commentary. If you were airing this tomorrow night, baseball fans who aren't very interested in Twins vs. Tigers (read: everybody) could click over to MLB Network, hoping to see their team drive in some runners or get out of a jam. You'd be giving your fans the opportunity to watch exciting moments from baseball games across the country, and require a lot less production and manpower than MLB Tonight in the process.
Anyway, it's just thought. Thanks again for everything you do, MLB Network. Just know that as long as I can find you in HD on Time Warner Cable channel 783, I'll keep tuning in (as long as there isn't anything better on ESPN, that is).
MLBwhiz
Monday, June 7, 2010
An Overblown Call
In order to complete a hat trick of commentary on the 2010 perfect games (or near perfect games, as the case may be), I wanted to post my thoughts on the Armando Galarraga / Jim Joyce debacle of last week. Obviously I'm late to the party on this one, but I wanted to let the dust settle a bit and allow the mass media to get their thoughts in first. For those of you who aren't familiar with the game or the situation: welcome back to Earth. I hope you enjoyed your interplanetary journey. Moving on . . .
It seems like the consensus regarding Galarraga-gate is that the situation ranks somewhere between Three Mile Island and Hurricane Katrina on the scale of Largest Disasters Ever to Occur on American Soil. People are saying the sanctity of the game will be in jeopardy until Major League Baseball implements instant replay, and that the lives of Galarraga and Joyce have been ruined forever by a scenario that could have been fixed by a simple review process. Perhaps not surprisingly, I disagree (after all, I can be rather combative). While it's true that I'm against instant replay in baseball and think that a small about of human umpiring error is part of the sport, my bigger issue is that I don't think this blown call is such a huge deal.
Undoubtedly, the whole thing is very unfortunate for both Galarraga and Joyce. I of course feel bad that Galarraga was robbed of a moment of baseball immortality, and realize that Joyce will, to some extent, have a solid career marred by this isolated incident. That being said, baseball is a team sport, and at the end of the night the Tigers still beat the Indians in a (relatively) meaningless regular season June baseball game by a 3-0 score. Had Galarraga been awarded the perfect game it still would have gone in the books as a 3-0 victory. While a number of individuals were negatively impacted by Joyce's blunder, the most important parties - the Cleveland Indian and Detroit Tiger baseball clubs - remained unaffected.
If baseball does implement instant replay at some point, it should be in the interest of ensuring that the right team wins each baseball game. While it's true that the errant call could have cost the Tigers the win (in addition to the perfect game), it didn't. To me, this situation doesn't compare this with Jeffrey Maier's interference with Tony Tarasco or Steve Bartman's confrontation with Moises Alou. The latter two played a major role in the outcome of playoff games; the former robbed a player of a remarkable individual accomplishment but, in my opinion, didn't damage the credibility of the sport. I'll be disappointed if this turns out to be the tipping point in the instant-replay-in-baseball war after baseball has basically ignored similar, more-significant episodes.
As I said, I feel for Armando Galarraga. But careers are rarely made off of a single regular season moment. Ask Bud Smith or José Jiménez if they'd trade their no hitters for better Major League careers and I'm sure they'd do it in a heartbeat. People will remember the perfect games by Roy Halladay and Randy Johnson because those guys are future Hall of Famers, and the perfect game will be one of many accomplishments etched onto their plaques in Cooperstown. One regular season game doesn't make or break a career. If Galarraga turns out to be a great pitcher over the next decade, we'll remember Galarraga-gate as a small bump in an otherwise smooth, long road. If he's out of baseball by 2012, we won't remember him even if he had gotten credit for the perfect game.
Jim Joyce's blunder will only define Armando Galarraga's career if we let it. Personally, I think this blown call has been way overblown.
It seems like the consensus regarding Galarraga-gate is that the situation ranks somewhere between Three Mile Island and Hurricane Katrina on the scale of Largest Disasters Ever to Occur on American Soil. People are saying the sanctity of the game will be in jeopardy until Major League Baseball implements instant replay, and that the lives of Galarraga and Joyce have been ruined forever by a scenario that could have been fixed by a simple review process. Perhaps not surprisingly, I disagree (after all, I can be rather combative). While it's true that I'm against instant replay in baseball and think that a small about of human umpiring error is part of the sport, my bigger issue is that I don't think this blown call is such a huge deal.
Undoubtedly, the whole thing is very unfortunate for both Galarraga and Joyce. I of course feel bad that Galarraga was robbed of a moment of baseball immortality, and realize that Joyce will, to some extent, have a solid career marred by this isolated incident. That being said, baseball is a team sport, and at the end of the night the Tigers still beat the Indians in a (relatively) meaningless regular season June baseball game by a 3-0 score. Had Galarraga been awarded the perfect game it still would have gone in the books as a 3-0 victory. While a number of individuals were negatively impacted by Joyce's blunder, the most important parties - the Cleveland Indian and Detroit Tiger baseball clubs - remained unaffected.
If baseball does implement instant replay at some point, it should be in the interest of ensuring that the right team wins each baseball game. While it's true that the errant call could have cost the Tigers the win (in addition to the perfect game), it didn't. To me, this situation doesn't compare this with Jeffrey Maier's interference with Tony Tarasco or Steve Bartman's confrontation with Moises Alou. The latter two played a major role in the outcome of playoff games; the former robbed a player of a remarkable individual accomplishment but, in my opinion, didn't damage the credibility of the sport. I'll be disappointed if this turns out to be the tipping point in the instant-replay-in-baseball war after baseball has basically ignored similar, more-significant episodes.
As I said, I feel for Armando Galarraga. But careers are rarely made off of a single regular season moment. Ask Bud Smith or José Jiménez if they'd trade their no hitters for better Major League careers and I'm sure they'd do it in a heartbeat. People will remember the perfect games by Roy Halladay and Randy Johnson because those guys are future Hall of Famers, and the perfect game will be one of many accomplishments etched onto their plaques in Cooperstown. One regular season game doesn't make or break a career. If Galarraga turns out to be a great pitcher over the next decade, we'll remember Galarraga-gate as a small bump in an otherwise smooth, long road. If he's out of baseball by 2012, we won't remember him even if he had gotten credit for the perfect game.
Jim Joyce's blunder will only define Armando Galarraga's career if we let it. Personally, I think this blown call has been way overblown.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Too Friendly
Note: I wrote this post about a week ago, but forgot to proofread / post it until just now. Better late than never, I guess, although a lot of the concerns I outline below were alleviated (somewhat) by the USA's performance against Turkey on Saturday afternoon.
In just overtwo weeks one week, the United States Soccer national team will play it's first game of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. For many casual / emerging soccer fans, this World Cup will be their first real exposure to high-level soccer; though the MLS is gaining in popularity and soccer is widely played among children, the typical American sports fan limits himself to watching baseball, basketball and football with a little hockey mixed in. To some extent, this will change over the next month and a half; the World Cup will begin to dominate ESPN and other international sports news outlets starting in mid-June and, as with the Olympics, Americans will begin to cheer on the red, white and blue in a sport they're not used to watching.
Earlierthis week last week, the U.S. played the Czech Republic in a World Cup tuneup game in Hartford, Connecticut. The Americans lost 4-2 to the Czechs, a unsurprising result considering U.S. coach (and Princeton alum) Bob Bradley elected to sit his top players. True soccer fans understood that, from the coach's perspective, the most important outcomes from this match were to avoid injuries to key players (such as Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, neither of whom dressed for the game), evaluate players on the fringe of making the final 23-man World Cup roster (30 players were eligible to play in the friendly versus the Czech Republic), and determine the amount of progress made by players recovering from injury (such as Oguchi Onyewu). Despite the loss to the Czechs, who failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, Bradley saw what he needed to see and had the information needed to trim his roster down.
Off the pitch, however, there were secondary goals that the U.S. soccer team ignored during their friendly match with the Czechs. For many, the 2010 World Cup will be an introduction to soccer, and last Tuesday's match was as an introduction to the 2010 World Cup. For fans looking to jump on the U.S. bandwagon, Tuesday's game had to be discouraging. None of the top players played, so anyone eager to see Landon Donovan (one of the few household-ish names on the U.S. team) or the other top players was likely disappointed. Although it was an exhibition game, the fact that the U.S. looked sloppy in losing to a team that wasn't able to qualify for the World Cup won't inspire confidence in casual fans looking for the Americans to make a run this June. While it's true that, to a soccer fan, the loss is easily explainable and understandable, someone tuning in to ESPN to watch soccer for the first time on Tuesday only saw mediocre play from the guys with USA on their jerseys.
Obviously, success in the World Cup will ultimately be what attracts casual fans to U.S. soccer, so if the information gained by Bradley and the rest of the U.S. coaching staff leads to first round success against England, Algeria and Slovenia, this will all be moot. That being said, the U.S. national team likely dug itself at least a shallow hole with its performance on Tuesday. Hopefully next time the stars will be on the field, the results will be different and the casual fans will give their team another pre-World Cup chance.
In just over
Earlier
Off the pitch, however, there were secondary goals that the U.S. soccer team ignored during their friendly match with the Czechs. For many, the 2010 World Cup will be an introduction to soccer, and last Tuesday's match was as an introduction to the 2010 World Cup. For fans looking to jump on the U.S. bandwagon, Tuesday's game had to be discouraging. None of the top players played, so anyone eager to see Landon Donovan (one of the few household-ish names on the U.S. team) or the other top players was likely disappointed. Although it was an exhibition game, the fact that the U.S. looked sloppy in losing to a team that wasn't able to qualify for the World Cup won't inspire confidence in casual fans looking for the Americans to make a run this June. While it's true that, to a soccer fan, the loss is easily explainable and understandable, someone tuning in to ESPN to watch soccer for the first time on Tuesday only saw mediocre play from the guys with USA on their jerseys.
Obviously, success in the World Cup will ultimately be what attracts casual fans to U.S. soccer, so if the information gained by Bradley and the rest of the U.S. coaching staff leads to first round success against England, Algeria and Slovenia, this will all be moot. That being said, the U.S. national team likely dug itself at least a shallow hole with its performance on Tuesday. Hopefully next time the stars will be on the field, the results will be different and the casual fans will give their team another pre-World Cup chance.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Looking Back: And 1 Mixtape Tour
For the latest installment of "Looking Back,"
here are my thoughts on the And 1 Mixtape Tour, which I attended in August 2007 at the Queen Mary pier in Long Beach, California.
Is the And 1 Mixtape Tour a true sporting event? I'm not sure. It certainly resembles a basketball game - there are two baskets, a court, a ball, dribbling (for the most part), etc. - so from that perspective I'd consider it an athletic competition. On the other hand, an And 1 basketball game is very different from what NCAA and NBA basketball fans are used to. The emphasis is on dunking, showmanship and swagger rather than teamwork, defense and rebounding. All joking about how "this is exactly like the NBA" aside, the And 1 tour is more "performance" than "competition." The tour isn't that different from that of a musician, actually; the performers travel between venues in a coach bus, perform a (mostly) pre-planned routine for the crowd, and do it all again in a different city a few days later. Since I'm not above attending non-competitive sporting events (I used to go to New York Islanders games all the time . . .), I was eager to give the And 1 tour a shot.
Is the And 1 Mixtape Tour a true sporting event? I'm not sure. It certainly resembles a basketball game - there are two baskets, a court, a ball, dribbling (for the most part), etc. - so from that perspective I'd consider it an athletic competition. On the other hand, an And 1 basketball game is very different from what NCAA and NBA basketball fans are used to. The emphasis is on dunking, showmanship and swagger rather than teamwork, defense and rebounding. All joking about how "this is exactly like the NBA" aside, the And 1 tour is more "performance" than "competition." The tour isn't that different from that of a musician, actually; the performers travel between venues in a coach bus, perform a (mostly) pre-planned routine for the crowd, and do it all again in a different city a few days later. Since I'm not above attending non-competitive sporting events (I used to go to New York Islanders games all the time . . .), I was eager to give the And 1 tour a shot.
Half sporting event and half hip hop concert, the And 1 Mixtape Tour is a lot of fun.
The And 1 tour might not be a traditional sporting event, but it's a lot of fun. Unlike most basketball games, everything was outdoors. The court was constructed outside the Queen Mary pier in Long Beach, right along the water. It was a great day to be outside, sitting in the bleacher seating watching basketball with the clear blue ocean serving as the backdrop. While the athletic feats were impressive (anyone who hasn't seen these guys perform should check them out sometime - they may not be "real" basketball players, but they're definitely athletes), what I found more interesting and entertaining was the culture that surrounds the game. It's not that often that a Jewish kid from Long Island gets to see a mostly black crowd root on mostly black athletes while an MC does half-play-by-play, half-freestyle-rap over a hip hop beat. Though smaller than a typical NBA or major NCAA crowd, the fans were passionate, involved and knowledgeable about their favorite players.
Blue skies, beaches and basketball. What more could you ask for on a weekend afternoon?
Like the Harlem Globetrotters before them, the members of the And 1 Mixtape Tour did a great job of entertaining the crowd (myself included) while making everyone feel like part of the show. The players seemed very approachable; their relative lack of fame made them extremely fan-friendly. Would I follow the tour regularly like I follow the New York Knicks? No, because the lack of a real competitive aspect gives little meaning to each individual tour stop. But on a sunny day next summer, when the And 1 Mixtape Tour bus rolls into a town near you, I would suggest you treat yourself to an afternoon of hoops, hip hop and heat.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Buying Perfection
Incredibly, this weekend produced the third no hitter, and the second perfect game, of the 2010 Major League Baseball season (see my previous perfect game-related post here). As amazing as this is, especially considering there have only been twenty perfect games thrown in all of MLB history, what's even more remarkable is the Florida Marlins announcement that the team will be selling the unsold tickets to Roy Halladay's perfect game at face value. This means that you can buy tickets to a game that already happened, either to own a little piece of history, lie to your friends and tell them you were at the game, or try to resell the ticket stub for a profit. From ESPN.com:
For a while, I used to save the ticket stubs from every sporting event I went to. The bulletin board attached to my bedroom wall in my parent's house is loaded with stubs from the games of the Huntsville Stars, New York Dragons, St. John's Red Storm and other assorted teams. My brother and I treated these tickets as badges of honor, each one a symbol of accomplishment (especially Montreal Expos ticket stubs; sitting though a whole baseball game at Olympic Stadium was often a painful experience). Just like a college freshman who keeps his empty beer bottles on the windowsill as a testament to his budding alcoholism, we thought the tickets granted us admission into an exclusive club of true sports fans.
In light of this upbringing, the sale of Roy Halladay's perfect game tickets seems shallow and cheap. Unless you're an avid sports memorabilia collector (in which case, it's likely that all the merchandise you own originally came from someone else anyway), what joy can you possibly get from a ticket stub from a game that you didn't attend? Instead of spending money on the ticket as a keepsake, I wish fans would instead buy tickets to a future game where they might see something magical happen in person. It might be a while until something impressive happens at a Marlins game again, though, so fans might want to spend the money they'll save on Dolphins tickets instead.
All tickets will be regularly priced at "face value" and on sale both online and through the Marlins' box office. Paid attendance that night was about 25,000, a relatively large crowd for a Marlins' home game. By comparison, Florida drew a paid crowd of 10,115 -- its smallest of the season -- for Monday's game against Milwaukee.
For a while, I used to save the ticket stubs from every sporting event I went to. The bulletin board attached to my bedroom wall in my parent's house is loaded with stubs from the games of the Huntsville Stars, New York Dragons, St. John's Red Storm and other assorted teams. My brother and I treated these tickets as badges of honor, each one a symbol of accomplishment (especially Montreal Expos ticket stubs; sitting though a whole baseball game at Olympic Stadium was often a painful experience). Just like a college freshman who keeps his empty beer bottles on the windowsill as a testament to his budding alcoholism, we thought the tickets granted us admission into an exclusive club of true sports fans.
Why spend money on ticket stubs to a game you didn't even attend?
In light of this upbringing, the sale of Roy Halladay's perfect game tickets seems shallow and cheap. Unless you're an avid sports memorabilia collector (in which case, it's likely that all the merchandise you own originally came from someone else anyway), what joy can you possibly get from a ticket stub from a game that you didn't attend? Instead of spending money on the ticket as a keepsake, I wish fans would instead buy tickets to a future game where they might see something magical happen in person. It might be a while until something impressive happens at a Marlins game again, though, so fans might want to spend the money they'll save on Dolphins tickets instead.
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