[Langley968]

Less that eight months till World Cup 2014 starts!

Wondering if anyone here is planning on going? I am working on it...



I have applied for tickets at FIFA.com for the games in Recife, since I lived in that area for 20 years. Hope to hear back around Nov 4th if I am successful. What a stupid system FIFA has for selling tickets. If I have the money and they have the tickets for sale; sell them to me right away! No... you have to wait and see if you are "approved", since they want to provide a "fair" chance for all that are interested. The worst part is that I have NO idea who will be playing in those games. The schedule for the games is done, but not all the teams have finished qualifying yet AND only then will they draw the teams that will play in each host city for the first rounds of play. I know Brazil will not be playing in Recife, but I am hoping that Holland will be assigned to Recife, since that used to be the capital city of "Dutch Brazil" in the 1600's. The host city is hoping to tap into that historic aspect. Who knows, I could have tickets for Iran vs Costa Rica... hum...



The airline tickets are on "hold" by using AA points. A bit of a "rip-off", since they want TRIPLE the points for flights at the time of the World Cup, as compared to the regular amount required during "low" season!



At least I do not have to worry about accomodation. Hotel rates are also going at triple the regular rate! I used to own a small beach house 2 hours south of Recife, which I sold this year. In the deal, I requested that I be able to use the house if I would go to the World

Cup. It will be a bit a commute, but the house is where my friends live, so it's all good!



Looking forward to hearing from those that are planning to go to Brazil next year, or who at least are interested in watching Brazil win their 6th title on home soil! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rock.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Bulti]

Me no go, there are some horrorstories being told that a trip to Brazil (+ costs for tickets and hotel, etc...) would set me back 6- to 7000€.



I was planning on selling a child, but my wife does not agree. I wonder what's the big deal?



Such big events are usually used to empty a man's pockets...



Btw, Jake, is Kuik your last name? Sounds pretty Dutch to me, or am I mistaking?

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[ds968]

No plans to go, so it will be a TV event for me. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/popcorn.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> And waiting until the group draws before starting the speculation



( although after this weekend's most bizarre call in FIFA history ( see link ) :

http://sports.yahoo....55481--sow.html

not sure what to expect next.. )



but to answer Bulti's " which teams are going to kick the Dutch asses next year? " the answer is rather smple : IF the Dutch are in the Final... it does not matter, it'll be any opponent " <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/icon_lol1.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Just remember two of the greatest all time quotes related to the beautiful game :



" some people think football is a matter of life and death. they are wrong ! it's much more important than that "



" football is a game where players kick the ball around for 90 minutes, and at the end... Germany wins "



both quotes from England - no surprise <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/glare.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[MB968]

Will not be going, but will enjoy watching it. One advantage that I've enjoyed being retired is watch games live without a work conflict. Looking forward to it.



And WOW, way to think ahead Langley, getting visiting rights during the World Cup for your old beach cottage. Way to go. Hopefully they'll have some good matches in Recife.

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[biosurfer1]

FIFA does a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense...and a lot more that's illegal or at least unethical.

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[ds968]

No kidding. Their reputation is not that much cleaner than the World Boxing Association. And if that wasn't bad enough we now have the proverbial icing on the cake : QATAR . Seriously, FIFA ??!!!

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[ricardofors6]

Cant go, so I'll shall be content to root for La Roja from home. Good luck with the tickets though...

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[Bulti]

Allright maybe a top 5:





5: Italy (for some reason)



4: Belgium (I DO believe we have a real chance of getting there, supposed we survive the unpredictable group fase



3: Brazil (close, but no sigar)



2: Spain (they can't win everything ALL the time



1: Germany (the Bundesliga has become one of the very best competitions over the last years)

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[ds968]

U.S.A ! Time to pull off another ( 1980 Olympic hockey ) miracle. Before you laugh too hard, look at its history of matches against powerhouses ( Brasil, Italy, Germany ..) - all of them have been extremely close ( 1-0, 1-1, etc ) and some even won but awarded to the perennial favorites by deliberately crooked officiating. Again, not unlike the boxing federation schemes, LOL. The problem with the U.S. however is that whilst they do well and show so much potential against big name teams, they manage to lose to third tier countries, so I don't see them realistically getting to the point of testing how well they can do against the big boys, in a semi-final or a final. Sigh..



I don't gamble ( though some would argue the way I drive the 968 is a gamble ;- ) ) but those of you who play the betting game, given the odds on some of the dark horses it might be worth putting a bit of money on each of those that have at least a remote chance at a miracle . U.S. , England , and who knows how many others .. Again, before you laugh it off, remember Greece's European championship ! Betting odds were 300 - 1 at the beginning of the tournament. Somebody made a lot of money and somebody lost a lot of money on that result, LOL.

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[94SilverCab]

Not very interested in the Futbol matches, but the Brazilian fans capture my attention <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.png" class="smilie" alt="" />



Jay

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[ds968]

Tough to argue with that

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[ds968]

And remember to show your patriotism when they play the national anthem

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[Langley968]

[quote name='Bulti' timestamp='1382384837' post='151061']

Btw, Jake, is Kuik your last name? Sounds pretty Dutch to me, or am I mistaking?

[/quote]



Yes, my last name is Kuik, and it is Dutch. Dad and mom both emigrated from The Netherlands in th 50's. Kuik is not very common, so everyone with that last name is probably a distant relative, including the super model Tiiu Kuik! I have NO idea who she is!!! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/glare.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ds968]

Probably dating Van Persie , or some other lucky bastard. ( yeah,yeah I know the adage " no matter how beautiful, some guy out there is tried of her " , LOL. )

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[94SilverCab]

Nice Jake, one of the tamer pictures on-line...she has some very admirable "assets".



Jay

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[Langley968]

Oh boy... I have "high-jacked" my own topic! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/icon_lol1.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Back to World Cup 2014!



My greatest fear is that Argentina might win the World Cup. Last time the Cup was in Brazil (1950), their neighbour Uruguay won the title. Brazil has an intense rivalry with neighbouring Argentina when it comes to futebol. If Brazil does not win, the worst case scenario would be Argentina winnig!



If the Dutch win... I can see the headlines: "Second Dutch invasion crowned with success", or something like that.

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[Bulti]

(recovering from drooly Homer-moment)



I definitely grant the States a succesfull tournament, they always bring a sympatethic team which plays with a lot of guts.



Has football - soccer - futbol become moreand more popular over there or has it peaked years ago?

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[ds968]

For more than half a decade now, it continues to be BY FAR the sport with the largest participation by the under 21 demographic. And when I mean by far, I don''t mean double or triple or ten times the next closest participation sport ( baseball ). Statistics put it at more than 3,000 to 1. To be fair though, girls / young ladies are a big factor in driving up that count whereas their participation in any other sports is essentially non-existent. However, as a professional sport , even though most of the league teams play to consistently sold out stadiums, where it really counts - TV coverage, or any media coverage for that matter, as a spectator sport in this country it still ranks somewhere between lawn bowling and cruise ship shuffleboard.

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[Bulti]

Well, let's hope that ESPN and the likes at least give the WC some airtime, maybe than they will realize how many people football can glue to their seats. And hopefully not interrupted by commercials every 7 minutes.

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[Langley968]

I don't know about the US, but in Canada we get great soccer (futbol / futebol) coverage of the Champions League, the Europa Cup, English Premier Division, EURO Cup, and the World Cup. Yesterday there were 3 CL games on the "regular" sports networks (those would be channels that you get with a more "basic" cable TV package), and if you have extra sports channels, you could watch an additional 3 games. That is 6 CL games in a 24 hour period! Today there are the same amount of CL games available and tomorrow some Europa Cup games. Lunch today will be at the local pub watching Real Madrid x Juventus (11:45 local time) + a steak sandwich and some Guiness. Life is good! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/clap.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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