The scariest possible sports moment

I have been gripped by something that has nothing to do with the NCAAs at all. It does have with a tournament, the FA Cup in England. Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed in the 41st minute, needing to be resuscitated as he was stretchered off the field.  Muamba is thought to have suffered a massive heart attack, and he is "critically ill" and at a place called the London Chest Hospital.
This isn't the first time that there has been a cardiac incident on the pitch in a European soccer match. The history with such incidents isn't very good either. It's a terrifying incident that nobody ever wants to experience, and we can only hope Fabrice can recover, so he can raise his young son, soccer be damned.

I had a twitch of excitement over this

I've certainly admitted that I am a soccer fan, and am a little disappointed that there isn't an MLS franchise here in the Twin Cities. Granted, the Major League Soccer experience is significantly less than that of their counterparts overseas. The talent level is lower in the States, the international competition is non-existent and the entire nation doesn't get involved because there is no relegation, and no opportunity for smaller markets to get involved (never mind that soccer just isn't that popular in America, though it is getting there).
Still, the announcement that the new Vikings stadium in Minneapolis may lead to an MLS franchise here in the Twin Cities is one of the better side effects of the deal. Consider the positives for the region. There is no cost to the state or city for the team, as they would play at the new Vikings stadium. It would add another crowd to Minneapolis, and perhaps an additional source of tourism.
Yes, when talking about the positive impact of tourism a new stadium provides, any football based argument is BS. There is no value added, because it would not attract any new tourists. There would be a one time bump after the city gets the Super Bowl one time, but after that? Nothing. Soccer, on the other hand, actually has a chance to provide a bump to tourism. Nothing significant enough to build a new stadium over, mind you, but again, there wouldn't be anything invested in a soccer team by the state, as this stadium is being built with or without them.
With an MLS team, there would be exhibition matches, typically with foreign opponents. While Americans likely have their own opinions of the Twin Cities and Minnesota that a new stadium wouldn't change, there are a lot of Europeans that have never heard of Minneapolis. This is where a positive first impression could be made. Consider the inverse. Residents of England know Manchester to be a dirty industrial town, not much worth visiting. Soccer fans know it as a destination, thanks to their strong soccer clubs of United and City. Getting random foreign eyes on the Twin Cities would help raise the international profile of the city. Finally, a catch-free benefit to the new stadium.

Trying to think of an American equivalent

So, tomorrow begins something called the "Europa League" That's easy to compare to something American. It's sort of like what the NIT in college basketball is to the Big Dance. It's not the Champions League, but it's still a post season tournament, and almost certainly a bigger deal for the smaller teams, because they actually get to be involved in a major international competition.
The tournament is much, much larger than the Champions League in terms of teams involved. It usually adds teams that finish second in a league, as well as the champions of domestic cups (or the runners up, or the third place team in the league. It depends on the association). As I said, there are a LOT of teams involved, coming from all walks of soccer.The more well moneyed leagues enter their teams later in the tournament so as not to provide huge mismatches and make it difficult for the lesser teams to win, just as it is in every tournament everywhere.
There is one exception. In the initial, preliminary round, which begins tomorrow, three "fair play" entrants, which are taken from the associations who have the fewest yellow and red cards in international competition in the previous year. Then, the teams that don't qualify for international competition with the best league fair play ratings are plugged into the opening round of the Europa League. (I think. There may be a few details I have mucked up). Anyways, the three recipients were Norway, Sweden and England.
England, the greatest, most well moneyed league in the world. Sure, Spain has Real Madrid and Barcelona, but nobody is as deep as England. So, they put their Fair Play winner, Fulham in the Europa League's preliminary round. This meant they were drawn, again, for a home and away match with all the lowest level entrants. Tomorrow, they have a home match, but next week, they are going to the Faroe Islands to play a squad called NSI Runavik.
Here is a fun comparison: Clint Dempsey, a member of the US Men's National Team is a player for Fulham, and he makes 2 million Euro a year. Fulham paid New England 4 million Dollars for his transfer fee in 2007. Runavik is a semi-pro team, and members of the squad have to work other jobs in order to survive. Here is another fun comparison. Capacity at Fulham's Craven Cottage is 25,700. The population of the Faroe Islands is short of 50,000. The population of Runavik is 3797.
So what is the best comparison? I think maybe if your local Major League Baseball team played your local town ball team. This match between Fulham and Runavik is the Twins vs. the Victoria Vics. And next week, the Twins are coming to Victoria. (the above stadium is where Fulham will play Runavik in the Faroe Islands. Thats the Faroese national stadium, because Runavik's doesn't meet international standards)

This weekends best highlights

Hey, this is a good sports weekend for everyone (who doesn't live in America)! It features the Champions League Finals between Manchester United and Barcelona, as well as the Indianapolis 500, both sports in which their popularity is much greater in Italy and Brazil. Anyways, here is a pretty sweet goal from Wayne Rooney who plays for Man U

Wayne Rooney's Amazing Goal! - Click here for more home videos

And now a highlight real of Barca's Lionel Messi

Fancy music!

And last but not least, here is a wreck from the Indy 500. They go really fast.


And now, you can enjoy your NBA and NHL Playoff games, because you are all dirty Americans! (And Canadians)

How will Soccer do?

With the popularity of the World Cup this summer, it seems as though the sport of soccer has reached it's 4 year apex. How fast will the popularity wane this time around? It seems that in the age of a more capable international media coverage will perhaps lead to a little staying power this time around. The way I see it, this month (or so) will really tell us how soccer is going to do in the States for a little while.
For those who appreciate the game itself and simply weren't given the chance to watch as much of the game as they like, the premier European leagues are starting this month. Today is the first day of the English Premier League, which may be the most popular of them all, with Spain, Germany and Italy starting soon. For those with a keen eye for soccer, watching a better European game is preferable to watching the inferior MLS.
For those who enjoyed the World Cup for it's international competition, the Champions Leagues and European qualifying are beginning as well. The Champions League is mostly thought of when discussing the UEFA competition in Europe, which is about to reach it's group stage. It's probably the most elite version of club competition in the world, and mixes and matches teams from across Europe. There is a Champions League for CONCACAF (North America) as well that is underway if you would like to monitor American franchises. Real Salt Lake, the Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders are still alive, while the LA Galaxy was eliminated by a team from Puerto Rico. Mexican teams will almost certainly dominate this competition, which is one of the reason the European version is so much more popular: Better competition from top to bottom.
Another advantage for American viewership is that these European leagues, including the Champions League, will air their games during the morning when they don't have to compete with other sports. There are many sports fans who won't mind watching an elite sports competition, even if it is soccer, just so long as it doesn't interfere with football on Sunday afternoon.
The real question is, with so many casual fans coming to the game in June, how many of those casual fans will stick around, even if it means doing a little bit of digging to find a game worth watching?

In payment for your Sunday video

See? Soccer can be fun!

Now let's test your soccer fanhood

Regardless of whether you like the game of soccer, you have to respect the overall organization and the competition engendered by it's tournament and league structure. There are the national teams that play for continental cups and in perhaps the most widely beloved international athletic competition in the world, the World Cup.
Then there is the club competitions. This is definitely where soccer shows its skill in organizing itself. Well, they do in Europe anyways, because in the States, we have tried to set it up like other sports leagues, and it doesn't quite work out as well. Over in Europe though, it's a complicated weave of thousands of teams, and yet it functions almost seamlessly. Like I said, you have to respect their level of organization.
First you have the relegation and promotion, so the top teams are competing with each other, and there is a legitimate punishment for not putting a competitive team on the pitch. I've covered it many times here, but I still remain impressed that the system remains in place, because in the United States, there is simply too much money invested for this to work. But there is so much money invested in European soccer, and somehow it works over there.
What I am really impressed by, and what inspired this post is their international club team competitions. Imagine, for example, if the winner of the Super Bowl played the winner of Canada's Grey Cup. Well, try to figure that out with the best teams of 54 countries and turning into a year long affair. That's what the Champions League is. I don't care to get into the intricacies of how it is set up, because it's insanely complicated for me to spell out. There are three qualifying rounds, a playoff, a group stage, a knockout phase followed by the championship game. There is a list of all the teams that are involved and where they enter the tournament (it's seeded according to both their team rating and the rating of their league), just to show you that the best teams of the best leagues are all put into this tournament, as well as the champions of lesser leagues. Like I said, very complicated, but if you follow it, you see that it's all very seamless.
Well, the first qualifying round begins tomorrow. Just 4 teams begin in that first round, playing to join 34 other teams. It begins with the first leg of a pairing of FC Santa Coloma in Andorra and Birkirkara from Malta. I obviously won't be digging deep into the Champions League, because I don't understand all the strategy of soccer and we don't receive good coverage of foreign leagues. The fun thing, I think, is just seeing how well such a competition is set up. If only sports in America were as well organized.

Breaking Down American World Cup Fandom

The US won in dramatic fashion to advance to the elimination round of the World Cup, and America seems....mildly interested. It's pretty well known that America has never been too attached to soccer, and definitely not as rabidly as many other countries throughout the world. Like our measurement system, we pretty much have our own sports and don't really care how much they are liked outside of the country. A few weeks ago, Ryan linked to a post that showed that 1 in 3 Americans weren't really sure what the World Cup is. I found the link to the raw data even more interesting. So, purely for the sake of having some fun, I think we can take these numbers and categorize Americans into 6 groups of World Cup fans, from least interested to most interested.
Note: Click the link above to see the raw numbers discussed below

Group A - No Idea What the World Cup Is - 34% - Is it really possible that 34% of America does not know what the World Cup is? I know soccer isn't super popular, but we have about 100 million people in this country that do not know that soccer is played in the World Cup. I kind of wonder who these people are. I know there are plenty of non-sports fans, but the news that this is going on stretches far beyond the sports pages. I guess its safe to say that 100 million people do not even attempt to keep up on news. Maybe this survey was actually taken by Jay Leno when filming a Jaywalking skit or at a nursing home. The funny thing is there is a good chance some in this group fell into the "somewhat likely" category to watch the US in the World Cup Finals. Bandwagon jumpers...at least it will be easy to learn the basic rules of the sport....

Group B - Know What It Is, Could Care Less - 11% - This group encompasses the rest of the group that was following World Cup news "Not at All" or "Not Sure" (how can you be not sure?). They also are probably solidly in the "Not Very Likely" category to watch the World Cup. This group pretty much sees soccer as a pansy sport for foreigners and wants nothing to do with it. They don't understand the game, and don't want to. The closest that they will get to watching soccer is the San Antonio Spurs.

Group C - Mildly Interested - 19% - Put me in this category. This group makes up about half of the "Not Very Closely" news following group, and are probably "somewhat likely" to watch the US in the final. We understand that soccer is boring...and foreign, and don't really understand the appeal of watching guys stand around for 87 minutes for 3 minutes of action and a potential 0-0 tie, but we like sports. and competition. and like rooting against countries like France. We basically follow the Cup through Sportscenter and the internet, but wouldn't last very long watching an actual game. This small level of being informed works well in the office for conversations with people in Groups E and F.

Group D - Any Excuse to Drink Fans - 17% - This is the other part of the 36% that have "Not Very Closely" been following the news, but are "Very Likely" to watch the US in the Finals. Why are they very likely? Because its an excuse to drink! I've seen shots on TV during the US games showing fans dressed up like crazy in a bar at 7 AM watching the game, but really, why are they actually there? These aren't the true fans from Group F. They just know its a weekday morning and they can use this as an excuse to get drunk and think its fun to dress up like the "real" fans of other countries that they see on TV. For example, in college, you go to a toga party, you wear a toga. You don't wear it because you are a fan of Greek history or culture, you wear it because its more fun to drink wearing a costume, and everyone else is wearing one too. (For example, Purdue's Breakfast Club). These are the same people that may be of German decent but will wear green on St. Patty's, a sombrero on Cinco De Mayo, and plenty of beads on Mardi Gras all in the name of drinking and having a good time. More power to them! (But Group E and F, you aren't allowed to use them as examples that soccer is really popular in America, they won't watch another game for 4 years).

Group E - The .EDU Guys - 11% - Named after the group of "football" fans that like to annoy Colin Cowherd via e-mail (who are a little out of touch with the real world as college employees). This is the 11% that has "somewhat closely" followed World Cup news, but mostly for the touchy feely stories and not so much for the sport itself. You know the type...they don't really like sports, but love soccer because it is loved outside of America, and according to them, since just about anywhere else is more cultured and therefore better than America, soccer must be great. They have the backpacking slideshows and bumper stickers to prove it. This is the group most likely to actually to travel to South Africa for the World Cup because they are on the wealthier side, but some might be too busy seeing Mandela's prison cell or visiting a small impoverished village just to feel guilty about themselves to actually attend a game.

Group F - The Legit Fans - 8% - I think its interesting that only 8% were following World Cup news Very Closely. If you are a hardcore soccer fan, how can you not get excited for the World Cup? This leads me to believe that 8% or less of America are legit soccer fans. I guess I don't understand how you could be, but I'm sure this group is broken down into smaller sub-groups. You have people that played it past childhood that enjoy watching; people that actually just like it, maybe for the same reason people like baseball's slow pace; people that enjoy the international appeal of it (but from a sporting side, not a .edu guy point of view); people not born in America; children of people not born in America; etc. This small group really does love their soccer though and this is the month they've been waiting for for 4 years. Good for them.

So excluding the 45% of America in Groups A and B who don't know and/or don't care about the World Cup (yes, lets just ignore almost 150 million people) the World Cup has something for everyone. Competitions to follow, the ability to make better friends with 19% of your coworkers, binge drinking, dressing up in fun costumes, pretending to be intelligent and cultured, and of course, the actual game of soccer. Writing this actually got me more excited about the World Cup. Maybe this weekend I'll hit up the bars at 7 AM, watch 5 minutes of a game, and graduate to Group D!

It's Sunday, here's a baby doing the Samba

I wish I could play what just happened on ESPN for you. In an interview with a French journalist regarding the fiasco involving the the French national team, the journalist decided to relay exactly what French striker Nicolas Anelka said to incite the fury. "He said, 'you can go to f* yourself and called him a son of a bitch," the journalist relayed. Bob Ley handled it like a pro, but later Alexi Lalas said what we were all thinking "It's funny because it's the French." Brilliant. Perhaps the seminal moment of the World Cup.
Anyways,  here is a baby dancing the Samba. I'm mostly impressed with the way his attention was captured for 3 minutes. H/T With Leather

Some European teams to get behind

I have done, I think, an excellent job of getting into European soccer, mostly because I can't passively follow it since it isn't covered explicitly on ESPN, the Star Trib or any American media outlet. I have to really check it out and find out what 's going on. Fun stuff, to be sure. Anyways, without providing any real insight or evangelizing you to the ways of soccer, I have compiled this list of a few European teams that you should probably root for, mostly because I like their names.

First, I should let you know that I pull for Rosenborg in the Norwegian league, because they are the best team in Trondheim, where my grandmother's family is from. Of the smaller leagues, they are the only real affiliation I have. Now, some fun teams.

Zestafoni - How can you feel bad cheering for a team called Zestafoni?

Tom Tomsk - Not unlike a GPS device.

Sheriff - Sounds pretty badass, right?

Honka - Perhaps this Finnish team is Fozzy Bear's favorite.

Also, Minnesotans I ask you why you would cheer for Viking when you could pull for Vikingur. I think it's Odd.

Dutch names are just funny, like Feyenoord or Heerenveen.

FC Kobenhavn in Denmark is always fun, because abbreviated, it's always FCK.

Videoton - Blockbuster's greatest rival.

I'm sure I'll come up with plenty more, but this is definitely a good start

Soccer slowly making ground

An odd sight gracd many visitors to ESPN.com this morning. The feature story was a link to this article about the Soccer Power Index. For a nation who espouses the NFL and American football as the greatest game on earth, why is soccer nosing into the American psyche at a faster rate, it seems, than football is emerging as a popular global sport?
Well, the fact that ESPN has the contract with at least two European leagues doesn't hurt. The fact that they will be airing the World Cup is pretty good too. Of course, they got the rights because they could make money overseas, but they are also able to air some of these games stateside, lending some more attention domestically.
Soccer, though, is seeping into the American sports world subtly, slowly. Instead of a grandiose domestic league, attention is being paid to the soccer formats that already exist. If ESPN can make poker a spectator sport, surely they can infiltrate the EPL and make Americans care about that. Most people resent anything being shoved down their throat, and America simply has not wanted to enjoy the sport. Now, individual Americans have begun to follow the sport and those that don't like it can still ignore it.
The NFL, by comparison, is garish and forceful. It is trying too hard to garner European attention. Now that ESPN has footing in Europe, they may be well served to let ESPN do the heavy lifting, letting those in Europe that would appreciate football do so on their own terms.

Is England like the ACC?

I caught the tail end of the Champions League coverage on ESPN2 today. Of the 8 teams remaining to get soccer's top club prize, four of them hail from England. So I ask, is England to the European soccer world what the ACC is to college basketball?
That is to say, is the entire Premiership hated by those that don't have a team involved, as the ACC is? The Big East doesn't work, because as much as you may hate UCONN, you can't possibly have a deep seated feeling about Depaul. Besides, the conference is always competetive and fun to watch, thanks in large part to the fact that there are 40 teams in the conference.
No, the ACC has a few teams at the cream of the crop, and if you don't have a dog in that race, you pretty much don't like the race as a general rule. It's one thing to hate North Carolina or Duke or Wake Forest who are always at the top of the conference, but also rans like Clemson and Boston College are disdained as well. Is it the same way in England? Arsenal and Man U and Chelsea despised for their success, but are Tottenham, Everton and West Brom hated for the association?
Making matters more interesting, it seems that English teams are the only ones getting any airplay on ESPN. Does anyone know?

(Sorry, I needed to step away from angry Twins related screeds. It's only game 2!)

A few things to savor from Euro 2008

Before work today, I was left with a little free time (yes, I work weekends. And yes, I work so late in the day that I have free time before work. And no, I'm not going to start posting earlier in the day). I flipped through the standbys, like ESPN, FSN, The Weather Channel (just in case Sarah Libby is working. Or Bill Keneely), CNN. I rested on ESPN2, which was airing some first round action from the Euro 08 Football (soccer) Championship. Now, I understand that a lot of people here aren't the biggest soccer fans, or you only watch during the World Cup (which, by the way is almost all European teams anyways, so this is pretty much the same thing, right?), so I'm just going to share some of the enjoyable take home moments of the little bit of Austria-Croatia that I saw. Historic rivals.
- Even though Croatia is so much better a team (to the point that even I know that they are a much better team), the score was 1-0, so the game was never really out of reach, and Croatia couldn't well let up.
- A lot of agonized looks while rolling around on the ground, faking an injury.
- This guy.
- The picture seen above.
- At one point, one of the Austrians was just screaming at one of the Croatians. Why? What purpose does that serve? I can't imagine that the Austrian was yelling in Croatian? Or that all Croatians also understand German?
- On that same note, nobody can argue with the ref!
- Some very Irish announcer was promoting the evenings NBA Finals game, and he sounded really excited about it. Well, naturally, what with the Celtics being involved.
- The same guy calling the Celtics' star player "Kevin GAREnit".

I'm really looking forward to Tuesday when we get to see Sweden take the field for the first time, taking on Russia. Wait. Diving Swedes and Russians?! It'll be just like a Wings-Avs game!