The New Football Forum (?)

[Abraham]

This summer Germany will host an extraordinary event, that happens only once every four years.
I'm not talking about the Olympics, but about the FIFA World Cup Football.
Passion, technique, beauty.
Starring such FIFA top ranking teams like: 1. Brazil (830 points), 2. Czech Republic (779), 3. Netherlands (774).
The General Topics Forum might be overwhelmed by bets, comments and discussions, so passionate and so fierce, that it will make the debates between Skybird and me last year, or the discussions between Mike "Red October" Hense and The Avon Lady look like a friendly get together of old friends over a good glass of wine...

My educated guess is that in the Final Holland will (be) beat(en) (by) Brazil.
Amoungst the other teams there will be a fierce competition for the third place. Likely candidates: Czech Republic, Italy, England, Argentina.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to start up a temporary Footbal Forum (or a definite Sports Forum - including chess matches!) to prevent undue irritation of those who think that football should be played with helmets and that the ball should be thrown instead of kicked...
:D

[Linton]

Yes ,keep football in its own corner for those of us who have better things to do in June such as watching formula 1 or cricket!

[Skybird]

It will come all by itself once the tournament has started. But I think no separate forum is needed. We could have a sticky thread, like the chess matches.

[Sea Demon]

Oh darn. I thought we were going to talk NFL. :lol: :-j

[Onkel Neal]

Let's talk NFL after the World Cup. Looking forward to both :)

[August]

Yes ,keep football in its own corner for those of us who have better things to do in June such as watching formula 1 or cricket!

Or keeping up with whats going on at NFL training camp...

[Skybird]

Just imagine Germany will be out after the first round (which is a realistic chance). Any soccer forum would be flooded with congratulations! :lol:

Where as a German worl champion probably will lead to some sharp comments and after that: icy silence :rotfl:

[XabbaRus]

I think there are too many forums on subsim now.

Getting very cluttered. Maybe it is just me but I think we need a clean up.

[Oberon]

Just imagine Germany will be out after the first round (which is a realistic chance). Any soccer forum would be flooded with congratulations! :lol:

Where as a German worl champion probably will lead to some sharp comments and after that: icy silence :rotfl:

I dunno, I think the Germans are fielding a very powerful team this year. (http://www.dumpalink.com/media/1111576023/Tank_Playing_soccer...) :up:

[August]

So how does a team get into the world cup? Is it a regular team that first wins a national championship, thereby winning the right to compete in the cup, or are the teams made up of players picked from several teams like the US olympic basketball "dream team"?

[Skybird]

Just imagine Germany will be out after the first round (which is a realistic chance). Any soccer forum would be flooded with congratulations! :lol:

Where as a German worl champion probably will lead to some sharp comments and after that: icy silence :rotfl:

I dunno, I think the Germans are fielding a very powerful team this year. (http://www.dumpalink.com/media/1111576023/Tank_Playing_soccer...) :up:

:lol: That's the spirit!

[lesrae]

So how does a team get into the world cup? Is it a regular team that first wins a national championship, thereby winning the right to compete in the cup, or are the teams made up of players picked from several teams like the US olympic basketball "dream team"?

There are a series of (complicated!) qualification rounds played in the couple of years run up to the actual cup, check here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=275159&cc=5739 for more info.

[Dan D]

I dunno, I think the Germans are fielding a very powerful team this year. (http://www.dumpalink.com/media/1111576023/Tank_Playing_soccer...) :up:

Lol.

Yea, why not. Let's talk about footy :)

My vote: a sticky thread.

Proposed work-title: "The thrills of tribalism"-
"Hard-core supporters of the competing teams occupy opposite ends of the stadium generating a wild energy of chants and offensive gestures that electrifies the atmosphere."
(Tim Parks, Soccer: a matter of love and hate, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15614).

****

"FOOTBALL" ,Neil Innes & Eric Idle ("Monty Pythons"):

"I throw house bricks for The Arsenal
I chuck lead pipe for West Ham
I kick and maim for Chelsea
I kill for Tottenham
I drop bottles for United on the crowd from up above
Yes football is the game that we all love
I razor slash for Sheffield
I cut 'em up for Q.P.R.
I stick nails in 'em for Norwich
For Leeds I slash and scar
For Celtic I throw petrol bombs whenever our teams score
Yes football is the game that we adore
We all love football
Kill rape slash
AHH
We all love football
Shoot stab boot
AHH
Football is the game that we adore
I hack limbs off for Newcastle
I rape for Luton Town
For the Rangers I kill strangers
And kick police horses down
I set fire to referees who let opponents score
Yes football is the game that we adore
We all love football Bomb hurt kill
AHH
We all love football Slash Kick maim
AHH
Football is the game that we adore
The End! "

[August]

So how does a team get into the world cup? Is it a regular team that first wins a national championship, thereby winning the right to compete in the cup, or are the teams made up of players picked from several teams like the US olympic basketball "dream team"?

There are a series of (complicated!) qualification rounds played in the couple of years run up to the actual cup, check here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=275159&cc=5739 for more info.

Thanks for the link. It seems it's different from country/region to country/region.

A couple years? That seems like a long time for a team to maintain its supremacy in any sport.

[Skybird]

So how does a team get into the world cup? Is it a regular team that first wins a national championship, thereby winning the right to compete in the cup, or are the teams made up of players picked from several teams like the US olympic basketball "dream team"?

National teams are made up by the players of that country that the national trainer considers to be the best. the are usually the top players in the club teams that are forming the international elite of club teams.

National teams need to qualify for the world championship by local tournaments, usually focussing on a continental basis. Each global zone is allowed to send so much national teams, and not more. the number of teams is based on FIFA's evaluation of how important and representative for international soccer action that zone is. That's why you see relatively many teams fromeurope and south America, since these two continents are the major hotspots of international soccer.

FIFA's homepage probably has more precsie information on the qualification and tournament mode. The world championship actually is only the final round of a global tournament that already has started with the qualification matches for the final round. Seen that way the world championship in soccer does not last four weeks, but four years.

[Skybird]

So how does a team get into the world cup? Is it a regular team that first wins a national championship, thereby winning the right to compete in the cup, or are the teams made up of players picked from several teams like the US olympic basketball "dream team"?

There are a series of (complicated!) qualification rounds played in the couple of years run up to the actual cup, check here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=275159&cc=5739 for more info.

Thanks for the link. It seems it's different from country/region to country/region.

A couple years? That seems like a long time for a team to maintain its supremacy in any sport.

That's why those teams that are able to do that are real champions indeed. Brazil, for example, or the French team some years ago.

[Abraham]

@ August:
The teams are national teams, players of different league teams, even from different countries - nationality counts. The teams have to fight for a place with the last 32 through regional competitions. After a preliminary round 16 countries will make the final round.

For instance, your country, the USA, is doing extremely well and is fourth on the FIFA ranking. It qualified and will have to play on June 12th against the Czechs, one of the strongest teams in the world. On June the 12th it meets Italy, a team that according Johan Cruijff cannot win from others, but others can lose from them. Finally they encounter Ghana on June 21st.
For more info: http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com

Winning the World Cup, even reaching the final round, creates a lot of prestige for a country, improvs its standing in the world and has an demonstratable and substantial positive effect on the economy of the participating countries and the psychological well being of the population.

I personally will be thoroughly sick and depressed if Holland will be kicked out in the primaries and extremely irritant and haunty if Holland will win the World Cup.
Almost as important as winning the World Cup is for us to beat Germany; we see that as a revanche for the German assault on Holland in the Second World War and the loss of the World Cup Final in 1972 against that same country...
:D

[August]

Wild stuff, thanks for the info guys.

[Skybird]

@ August:
The teams are national teams, players of different league teams, even from different countries - nationality counts. The teams have to fight for a place with the last 32 through regional competitions. After a preliminary round 16 countries will make the final round.

For instance, your country, the USA, is doing extremely well and is fourth on the FIFA ranking. It qualified and will have to play on June 12th against the Czechs, one of the strongest teams in the world. On June the 12th it meets Italy, a team that according Johan Cruijff cannot win from others, but others can lose from them. Finally they encounter Ghana on June 21st.
For more info: http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com

Winning the World Cup, even reaching the final round, creates a lot of prestige for a country, improvs its standing in the world and has an demonstratable and substantial positive effect on the economy of the participating countries and the psychological well being of the population.

I personally will be thoroughly sick and depressed if Holland will be kicked out in the primaries and extremely irritant and haunty if Holland will win the World Cup.
Almost as important as winning the World Cup is for us to beat Germany; we see that as a revanche for the German assault on Holland in the Second World War and the loss of the World Cup Final in 1972 against that same country...



It'S a tribal thing, yes, but two days ago there was a nice docu on TV about the effects on the economy, and the strange sharing of costs between FIFA and the hosting nation. The economical effects are very short-living, and their intensity is exaggerated. For the hosting nation it is more costs than benefits, economically and financially. The finacial benefit is with FIFA, almost exclusively. The finacial burden is the bigger for the hosting nation the earlier it'S team is being kicked out.

It is a common habit to implore the economical long-lasting effects for the better, but if one is looking at the real monetarian numbers of past championships, there is little truth in it, the authors concluded. the real big business is done by FIFA only. And as we see in the selling mode for tickets this time in Germany, the greed and ambition of FIFA's staff members in high ranking positions does not seem to know any limits. :down: Many Germans feel disgust for the way the business side is handled while we are the hosts. There also have been several scandals already that before not many would have expected from a Grman host. But what is that old saying again: money does not stink...

BTW, we did not assault the Netherlands in WWII. On our way to France they happened to lay in our way and so we just rolled over them relatively desinterested and there was not much the Dutch could do about that :D That's where the feelings of revenge are coming from, admit it! :-j the same motto was revived in that soccer slogan some years ago: "Wir fahren zur WM - ohne Holland!" :lol:

[Oberon]

If England should win it, it'll top off a nice coup de grace after getting the rugby and then the ashes... :up:

Oh look...
http://stuarthughes.blogspot.com/flyingpig.jpg

[lesrae]

If England should win it, it'll top off a nice coup de grace after getting the rugby and then the ashes... :up:

The rugby world cup I presume? You did worse than my lot (Scotland) this year in the 6 nations ;)

[ABBAFAN]

NO!ABSOLUTLY NOT NO!I Have to put up with enough b******s about football on the telly.NO!

DONT LOWER THE TONE!

:damn: :damn: :damn: :damn: :damn: :damn: :damn:

[Abraham]

... Almost as important as winning the World Cup is for us to beat Germany; we see that as a revanche for the German assault on Holland in the Second World War and the loss of the World Cup Final in 1972 against that same country...
... BTW, we did not assault the Netherlands in WWII. On our way to France they happened to lay in our way and so we just rolled over them relatively desinterested and there was not much the Dutch could do about that :D That's where the feelings of revenge are coming from, admit it! :-j the same motto was revived in that soccer slogan some years ago: "Wir fahren zur WM - ohne Holland!" :lol:
Liar, your grandfather stole my mothers bike...
That trauma can only be healed by Holland beating Germany somewhere in the final round...
:D

[Gizzmoe]

That trauma can only be healed by Holland beating Germany somewhere in the final round...
:D

I wonder what the bigger trauma is. The invasion of Holland in WW2 or the fact that Queen Beatrix had a German father and that she, just like her mum, married a German...

:D ;)

[Fish]

Just imagine Germany will be out after the first round (which is a realistic chance). Any soccer forum would be flooded with congratulations! :lol:

Where as a German worl champion probably will lead to some sharp comments and after that: icy silence :rotfl:

Come on Skybird. :roll:

[Fish]

@ August:
The teams are national teams, players of different league teams, even from different countries - nationality counts. The teams have to fight for a place with the last 32 through regional competitions. After a preliminary round 16 countries will make the final round.

For instance, your country, the USA, is doing extremely well and is fourth on the FIFA ranking. It qualified and will have to play on June 12th against the Czechs, one of the strongest teams in the world. On June the 12th it meets Italy, a team that according Johan Cruijff cannot win from others, but others can lose from them. Finally they encounter Ghana on June 21st.
For more info: http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com

Winning the World Cup, even reaching the final round, creates a lot of prestige for a country, improvs its standing in the world and has an demonstratable and substantial positive effect on the economy of the participating countries and the psychological well being of the population.

I personally will be thoroughly sick and depressed if Holland will be kicked out in the primaries and extremely irritant and haunty if Holland will win the World Cup.
Almost as important as winning the World Cup is for us to beat Germany; we see that as a revanche for the German assault on Holland in the Second World War and the loss of the World Cup Final in 1972 against that same country...



It'S a tribal thing, yes, but two days ago there was a nice docu on TV about the effects on the economy, and the strange sharing of costs between FIFA and the hosting nation. The economical effects are very short-living, and their intensity is exaggerated. For the hosting nation it is more costs than benefits, economically and financially. The finacial benefit is with FIFA, almost exclusively. The finacial burden is the bigger for the hosting nation the earlier it'S team is being kicked out.

It is a common habit to implore the economical long-lasting effects for the better, but if one is looking at the real monetarian numbers of past championships, there is little truth in it, the authors concluded. the real big business is done by FIFA only. And as we see in the selling mode for tickets this time in Germany, the greed and ambition of FIFA's staff members in high ranking positions does not seem to know any limits. :down: Many Germans feel disgust for the way the business side is handled while we are the hosts. There also have been several scandals already that before not many would have expected from a Grman host. But what is that old saying again: money does not stink...

BTW, we did not assault the Netherlands in WWII. On our way to France they happened to lay in our way and so we just rolled over them relatively desinterested and there was not much the Dutch could do about that :D That's where the feelings of revenge are coming from, admit it! :-j the same motto was revived in that soccer slogan some years ago: "Wir fahren zur WM - ohne Holland!" :lol:

On your way to France, as you say, 31.598 german soldiers died in the Netherlands.
There should be more, but we surender after the bombardments on Rotterdam, after which the Germans threaten to bomb other citty's.

PS: the 31.589 are the soldiers died between 1940 and the end of the war 1945.

[Skybird]

And all that just for Abraham's mom's her bike...

There is obviously very black humour brought in by Abraham and me. Not good to try to bring that down by acid morals. Because black humour in the relation between Dutch and Germans in the present is much better than the religious and sometimes serious aggressiveness between their fans and ours. I never liked this serious attitude of aggression between German fans, and Austrian, British and Dutch fans. Soccer is not WWII, nor is it an opportunity to take revenge, or demand justice for historical events. It'S a game, not more. If Germans and Dutch would go into the stadium in a seriously well-meaning attitude on display - it would mean to turn the sports into something political. And that is the worst option of all, I think.

[Abraham]

That trauma can only be healed by Holland beating Germany somewhere in the final round...
:D

I wonder what the bigger trauma is. The invasion of Holland in WW2 or the fact that Queen Beatrix had a German father and that she, just like her mum, married a German...

:D ;)
OK Gizzmoe.
The biggest trauma is losing the Final in 1974.
The second biggest trauma is the WW II.
We realise that our monarchy is basically German, and is at least 75% allochtone (=German).
Won't prevent us from beating the **** out of Germany when Oranje happens to meet Germany in the final rounds - which is unlikely, by the way...
:D

[Skybird]

Won't prevent us from beating the **** out of Germany when Oranje happens to meet Germany in the final rounds - which is unlikely, by the way...
:D

So little trust in your team?

[Abraham]

Won't prevent us from beating the **** out of Germany when Oranje happens to meet Germany in the final rounds - which is unlikely, by the way... :D

So little trust in your team?
You obviously missed my opening post of this thread (or didn't grasp its consequences). Here are the highlights again:
This summer Germany will host an extraordinary event, that happens only once every four years...
Starring such FIFA top ranking teams like: 1. Brazil (830 points), 2. Czech Republic (779), 3. Netherlands (774)...

The General Topics Forum might be overwhelmed by bets, comments and discussions, so passionate and so fierce, that it will make the debates between Skybird and me last year, or the discussions between Mike "Red October" Hense and The Avon Lady look like a get together of old friends over a good glass of wine...

My educated guess is that in the Final Holland will (be) beat(en) (by) Brazil.
Amoungst the other teams there will be a fierce competition for the third place. Likely candidates: Czech Republic, Italy, England, Argentina...
Bla, bla, bla...
Bla, bla, bla...
:D
No misunderstanding possible!
:D

[Takeda Shingen]

Returning to the point, I do not think we need yet another forum, as we have far too many of them already. I don't even like the SHIV forum.

[August]

Returning to the point, I do not think we need yet another forum, as we have far too many of them already. I don't even like the SHIV forum.

You'd rather see WW2 refought in the soccer area in numerous threads all over the board? :D

Seriously a World cup Soccer sticky thread would probably be all we need.

[Takeda Shingen]

Returning to the point, I do not think we need yet another forum, as we have far too many of them already. I don't even like the SHIV forum.

You'd rather see WW2 refought in the soccer area in numerous threads all over the board? :D

:lol: Yes, everyone should be forced to stand impressed with my awesome aptitude for tactical command.

Not to take us too far away from course, but my problem with the SHIV forum is that nothing of features or technical data has been announced. All we know is that a game is in development. This generally acts like a magnet for everyone with a gripe or half-baked idea. What you end up with is a board with a vitual neon sign that says 'Flame Here!'

None-the-less, sticky the football stuff. Good idea.

[GunnersMate]

THATS IT ! ! ! ! I just monitored 2 days of the the NFL draft and I now I have to hear you call that silly girly man sport FOOTBALL ! ! ! ! ! Knute Rockne is doing backflips now !

:-j :-j :-j :-j :-j :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[August]

THATS IT ! ! ! ! I just monitored 2 days of the the NFL draft and I now I have to hear you call that silly girly man sport FOOTBALL ! ! ! ! ! Knute Rockne is doing backflips now !

:-j :-j :-j :-j :-j :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Well as i'm sure the Euros will explain soccer is indeed a ball game played with the foot. In fact much moreso than NFL Football.

[Dan D]

Well, a sticky football thread would need a radio, of course. Here it is:
Football radio fc.45 (http://www.live365.com/stations/fc45radio) from Berlin/Germany brings you football songs from all over the world on 24 hours 7days a week, yes: it is a 24/7 football radio!
On the start page you can find a nice collection of football album covers (http://www.fc45.de/store.cgi?&L=eng) which are worth a look, football Zeitgeist in a time capsula.

***
Life is hard, Kamerad/Comrade.
Not always the best team wins.

Thus, apart from football voodoo dolls, we would probably need a chapel (http://www.rz-home.de/%7Edneitzer/_Youllneverwalkalone.mid) that meets the spiritual needs of the desperate football fan.

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE
“When you walk through a Storm.
Hold your Head up high
And don't be afraid of the Dark.
At the end of the Storm
Is a golden Sky
And the sweet silver Song of a Lark.
Walk on through the Wind.
Walk on through the Rain.
Tho' your Dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on
With Hope in your Heart
And you'll never walk alone.
You'll never walk alone!”

***

Abide with me (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/mid/e/v/e/eventide.mid)
“Abide with me - fast falls the Eventide.
The Darkness deepens Lord with me abide.
When other Helpers fail and Comforts flee.
Help of the Helpless. O abide with me…”

The organ in the chapel (http://www.rz-home.de/%7Edneitzer/_Youllneverwalkalone.mid) would be played by Chief Inspector Dreyfus.
http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/6678/herbertlom19cj.jpg

***
Oh Lord,
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path/pass.
-psalm119,105

note: If you read this and you are Diego Maradona or think you are Diego Maradona, insert “hands” instead of “feet”.

[horsa]

It'S a tribal thing,

Tribal !! Its bloody warfare by another name :o

[nikimcbee]

...So I can't make fun of Joey Harrington in this forum? :dead: (now currently working at McDonalds.... :up: ...now that he has free time.

OOPS, wrong football, sorry :|\

[nikimcbee]

PS, Go Brazil :-j :-j :-j in World Cup'06
:/\k:

[August]

...So I can't make fun of Joey Harrington in this forum? :dead: (now currently working at McDonalds.... :up: ...now that he has free time.

OOPS, wrong football, sorry :|\

Don't worry if the Euros and Latins get their soccer forum/sticky thread you know Neil will oblige NFL fans come this fall.

[HM.Medico]

No, no and NO. Leave it in general...however AFL is a different matter :|\

[August]

No, no and NO. Leave it in general...however AFL is a different matter :|\

AFL?

[Konovalov]

Australian Football League or as we call it, Aussie Rules.

http://afl.com.au/

But it could be another type of sport. :-?

[Dan D]

Ok, time to grab the ball again.

“Brazilians are either footballers or transvestites!”
“How dare you! My wife is from Brazil”.
“Oh really? For which team does she play?”

How long takes a football match between Colombia and Jamaica?
Not a minute, the Colombians snort the white lines and the Jamaicans smoke the grass.

Why does the Turkish team never end a game with all of its players?
As soon as they get a corner, one of them opens up a kebab shop.

Comment on "doping in football":
"Doping in football makes no sense. The players need the stuff”.

Why has the world cup 2006 to take place in Germany?
If they had to qualify, the Germans could not participate.

Sign reading at the Arnhem zoo I visited on Labour's day on Monday:
.Slecht ter been, Stoel te leen".
My conclusion: it must be an old Dutch football saying.

[Drebbel]

Soccer should be forbidden, or atleast let the clubs themselves pay for police protection of the general public. Why should the tax payer be good for that, is their private soccer party, no more no less.
What you think will happen when I call the police and tell them I need 5 platoons riot police because I am having a subsim party ??? hahahaha

[August]

Soccer should be forbidden, or atleast let the clubs themselves pay for police protection of the general public. Why should the tax payer be good for that, is their private soccer party, no more no less.
What you think will happen when I call the police and tell them I need 5 platoons riot police because I am having a subsim party ??? hahahaha

This is something i never understood about soccer. What's up with the fans?

Here in the States Hockey and NFL football fans are every bit as partisan but you never see a fan riot break out at one of their games. NBA basketball had a small player/fan scuffle last year but thats the only one i can think of.

So what's up?

[TteFAboB]

Soccer should be forbidden, or atleast let the clubs themselves pay for police protection of the general public. Why should the tax payer be good for that, is their private soccer party, no more no less.
What you think will happen when I call the police and tell them I need 5 platoons riot police because I am having a subsim party ??? hahahaha

Wrong. It's fun to watch.

What you need is to IGNORE the chaos. Isn't that part of soccer already by now? Why the hypocrisy? Let's face it and accept it. Many soccer matches are pre-planned Brawls, and we should allow them to happen. Indeed, keep the police out, everytime the fight starts and I'm having fun watching them kill themselves comes in the police to put the party down. Bummer. Keep the police out of it, make any fan who goes to the stadium sign a consenting form, resigning the state's guarantee of life over him while inside the stadium or within X meter from it.

Obvisouly, these people will be denied treatment in public hospitals too, they identify themselves don't they? If they exit limping to an emergency room, check his ID and if he was at the mayhem let him die but before he starts rotting remove ALL his organs for transplants. Or try the vet.

We get more organs for people who need it, we stop lying to ourselves and accept that Soccer has become a ladies-sport, and since it isn't a violent-enough sport the fans have to rise the level of violence themselves, and fan's fans have fun watching the fans battle it out.

Add some rugby or true calcio to soccer, or keep the police out of the carnage.

[Dan D]

, or atleast let the clubs themselves pay for police protection of the general public. Why should the tax payer be good for that, is their private soccer party, no more no less.


An interesting point raised by Drebbel here.
Let me quote from a homepage of a German policeman. He gives some interesting insight into policing football and its costs:
http://www.eifelcop.com/html/policing_football.html

“Therefore public opinion repeatedly raises the question, if policing football matches should be paid for by the clubs and the football association. If done so it is to be estimated, a share of these costs has to be paid via the price of the tickets by the ordinary peaceful supporters, which actually are the real victims of violence at sport events.”

Indeed, that is likely to happen.
It is the same with financial losses caused by shoplifting. Shoplifting does not affect the business companies (but probably the sole trader that can’t afford a theft assurance anymore because shoplifting has reached a level which makes assurances too expensive for him). The companies compensate any financial losses (assurance fees, observation costs) caused through shoplifting by increasing the prices on their sales goods. So it is actually the entirety of customers whose assets is damaged by shoplifters.

Back to the costs of football policing:
Until now, Police work is financed by tax money, at least here where I live.
There are taxpayers who attend football matches and taxpayers who don’t do. The later don’t bother about ticket prices.
But those taxpayers who like to attend football matches will be unhappy if they have to pay “again” for the safety to watch a football match unharmed which they thought was already included in the tax money they have paid. They will raise the demand that the clubs should pay more taxes/spend more of their money on security instead or even that their beloved gladiators, the football millionaires should give more money. Such a demand is not totally off-point because the clubs make a lot of money with football which they basically spend on new players. The football clubs will probably argue similar, that they already pay a lot of taxes that by all means should include the costs for policing football. They may even threaten the communities who depend on tax money, that they will move their team to a different place where they have to pay lower taxes.
The idea that certain costs for performing public duties by public authorities in some cases are no longer covered by the general tax revenues is of course capable of development. The public authorities are always looking for fresh sources of capital.

[Abraham]

...
***
Oh Lord,
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path/pass.
-psalm119,105

note: If you read this and you are Diego Maradona or think you are Diego Maradona, insert “hands” instead of “feet”.
Very fine Extra Dry Humor! :up:

[Dan D]

...
***
Oh Lord,
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path/pass.
-psalm119,105


That is the motto of the XXI. World Youth Day 2006.

***
“German government had chosen "to act as an official pimp for the 2006 World Cup”?
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/sports/14506802.htm
“The expected World Cup boom for Germany's sex industry has ignited a trans-Atlantic tiff over prostitution, with a U.S. congressman and other anti-trafficking advocates contending Thursday that thousands of foreign women will be forced into sex work during the four-week tournament.”

[Germany has legalized prostitution in 2002. There are about 400,000 registered sex workers who pay taxes and receive social benefits here. Forced prostitution is a punishable act and efforts to combat it have been intensified since then, according to German Government officials.
When reading the local newspapers, I often find stories about police raids in brothels. Prostitutes without proper legal working documents get arrested. Brothels involved in illegal prostitution get closed. The women are sent back to their home countries and the pimps get trialed if there is enough evidence.
There are always sad stories involved about young women from Eastern European countries who by slave traders had been given false promises for a better life in Germany with the possibility to work as e.g. home helpers or baby sitters for a start. Many of these women later find themselves being sold to pimps and forced to work as prostitutes.]

„Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., remains skeptical [about German Government’s anti-trafficking efforts]. He urged Germany to recriminalize prostitution and suggested that it should be reclassified as an "egregious violator" of human trafficking unless tougher steps are taken before the World Cup starts on June 9.
Smith, chairman of the House subcommittee on global human rights, convened a hearing in Washington titled "Germany's World Cup Brothels." Witnesses included representatives from Amnesty International, the International Organization for Migration, and the Angel Coalition, an anti-trafficking women's group in Russia.
Juliette Engel of the Angel Coalition, in her written testimony, said the German government had chosen "to act as an official pimp for the 2006 World Cup -- anticipating millions of dollars in revenues from the exploitation of women's bodies and souls by tens of thousands of male football fans notorious for their drunkenness and violence."
Engel, who said Russian and Eastern European women were Germany's main trafficking victims, described the World Cup as "a human rights disaster in the making."
Germany's past efforts have earned it a favorable "Tier One" designation by the State Department as one of the countries most vigilant in combatting trafficking.
Smith, however, suggested Germany should be reclassified as "Tier Three" -- a serious trafficking violator -- unless new initiatives are taken before June 9.”
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For obvious reasons, big public events attract prostitutes. For example, when the XX. World Youth Day took place in Cologne/Germany last year, motto: “We have come to worship him" (God), an estimated number of 40.000 prostitutes from all over Germany and Europe temporarily moved to Cologne.
Other countries have a less liberal approach towards prostitution. In Sweden e.g. “money for sex” is illegal both for the prostitute and the freer. According to the German “Spiegel Magazin”, representatives of the local interest group of prostitutes from the town where the Swedish national team will stay throughout the group round have invited the Swedish team to visit a local brothel for open talks and for first hand impressions in order to reduce cut and dried opinions. The coaches of the Swedish team have already rejected the invitation as an act of shameless self-promotion.

Apart from the legal ban of prostitution in Sweden: When the winners of group A, in my book: Germany and Poland will play the winners of group B, which will be England and Sweden, it is likely that Germany will play against Sweden.
That is because England and Poland already played against each other in the qualification round and it is football karma that both teams will meet a third time to give Poland an opportunity to revenge its 2 earlier defeats. Also, it has to be noticed that England with Paul Lampard has an extraordinary strong team this year and the old classic “Germany-England” already in the group of the last 16 for reasons of dramaturgy would come too early.
If Sweden should loose the match against Germany, some ugly rumours will be spread in the Swedish tabloid press, for sure.

[Fish]

http://home.hccnet.nl/wico.p/0293_001.pdf

[Abraham]

http://home.hccnet.nl/wico.p/0293_001.pdf
Printed and posted on some of the most obvious places in the house.
:D

[Seeadler]

Football is a game for 22 people, and at the end Germany always wins. :()1: Except sometimes.

[Dan D]

The "Sticky" is locked. I will spam here instead.

Some useful links for the true football believers:
-Football world map with
Latest Team News (Yahoo FIFA 2006 World Cup RSS Feeds)
Latest News from Host Cities (Google News RSS Feeds)
Latest Team Blogs (WorldCupBlog.org RSS Feeds) available here:
http://www.mibazaar.com/worldcupsoccer/

-Excellent British world cup blog: “Who ate all the Bratwurst?”
http://www.whoateallthebratwurst.com/, all about football from an Anglo-centric viewpoint, they hope it will be England to eat all the German sausage, at least they hope there won’t be another penalty shout-out against Germany: “The science of penalty kicks. Sven, are you paying attention at the back?”
http://www.whoateallthebratwurst.com/2006/05/the_science_of_.html#more
Great fun category: “Horror Hair”, pictures of footballers with “business in front, party in the back” hair-styles. Canadians call it Hockey hair, Americans call it the mullet (see also: http://www.mulletsgalore.com/),

-For the plenty of US soccer freaks:
US goalie Kasey Keller is running a world cup blog on CBS website.
http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/worldcup/blog/1 , he is one of the brighter football players around,
so he probably will have some interesting things to say from inside the US team.
Also: “FoxSoccer.com has a career gallery of Kasey Keller where you can watch the US keeper go from
convincing Millwall mullet to desperate Captain Picard in seventeen agonizing steps.
Intriguingly, Keller seems to have reverse-Samson syndrome.
The more hair disappears down the plug-hole, the better his goalkeeping becomes”
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/pgStory?contentId=3638112&pageNumber=1
(via Bratwurst).


http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/8899/dude8jr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[CB..]

:damn: arh merry England...i suppose i'll traumatised again by they're erratic performance...one second they're beating germany and or holland 5 nil the next they're being annihalated by several small badgers on a field trip

they can beat any team in the world...and they can be beaten by any team in the world..it's a well established scientific fact that this is in fact an entirely random phenomenon lol..i sometimes think i'd be happier if they just settled it on the flip of the coin and forgot about the football match altogether...the result would be pretty much the same.... :cry:

whats the betting on the Women's World Cup tho...theres a new slant to the whole thing..at least in terms of being able to watch the matches live on telly and for the first time them allmost being worth actually watching in purely footballing terms anyway.. :hmm:

[Abraham]

http://home.hccnet.nl/wico.p/0293_001.pdf
I hung your list on the toilet of my appartment, since last weekend my girlfriend is asking my copy after copy to give to her girlfriends, who want to give it to their boyfriends.
It seems women are making fools of us!
:D