Soccer

You have to be concerned about Hope Solo at this point.

Oh definitely. This is nerve-wracking.

So may negative Nancy's in my household. :(

It was a great run for the women of Team USA.

[QUOTE=Bacchus;260719]It was a great run for the women of Team USA.[/QUOTE] It was such a great game! Japan does deserve it though for coming back and winning.

That was, by far, the absolute worst showing of penalty kicks I have ever seen from any team, ever in the history of everdom.

[QUOTE=molds13;260725]That was, by far, the absolute worst showing of penalty kicks I have ever seen from any team, ever in the history of everdom.[/QUOTE] It was painful to watch, but what's done is done...

[QUOTE=Bacchus;260726]It was painful to watch, but what's done is done...[/QUOTE] True, and it's quite the story for the Japanese women to win after everything that's happened with their country over the last few months. I'd much rather have it be them than Brazil or Germany or France. Pretty classy club.

[QUOTE=molds13;260727] I'd much rather have it be them than Brazil or Germany or France. Pretty classy club.[/QUOTE] I'm with you. In the end, it's a feel good story. (Although I'm a bit salty as of right now.)

[QUOTE=Bacchus;260728]I'm with you. In the end, it's a feel good story. (Although I'm a bit salty as of right now.)[/QUOTE] Oh I'm extremely salty, but that ninja kick was a great save to start them off and the US promptly collapsed. Not to mention they COMPLETELY choked in the 2nd extra time. Shannon Boxx went to the exact same place she went to the last two times she took a PK and her hips completely gave it away, Carli Lloyd's PK looked like it was taken by someone who'd never taken a PK before, and Tobin Heath's was well-placed, but entirely too slow.

[QUOTE=molds13;260725]That was, by far, the absolute worst showing of penalty kicks I have ever seen from any team, ever in the history of everdom.[/QUOTE] Trust me, there have been worse ones, basically every penalty shootout which involves England. :( Coming from a completely unbiased view point, that was the perfect end to a final, which had everything you would want from a showcase match. The game itself was fun to watch, but man if i were a U.S fan i'd be just so annoyed right now. Not because they lost on penalties (which is a killer) but the fact they let so many chances go to waste, i don't care if you're playing a Sunday League team, you cant do that and expect to win. I don't watch womens football, but the one thing i did enjoy throughout the world cup was the fact it felt like teams were wanting to win. Rather than not wanting to lose (which is the main reason why the Men's World Cup was so schockingly bad). There were some really entertaining games, with the Quarters onwards having some incredibly brilliant football on display. All in all, i think this world cup has been a massive success. Which is great for the game, but i also feel like FIFA will use this to make themselves look good and just sweep everything else under the carpet. (My God i hate FIFA)

[QUOTE=mattywilson;260732]Trust me, there have been worse ones, basically every penalty shootout which involves England. :( [/quote] Perhaps, but those are penalty kicks I would expect to see high schoolers take, not professionals. [quote]Coming from a completely unbiased view point, that was the perfect end to a final, which had everything you would want from a showcase match. The game itself was fun to watch, but man if i were a U.S fan i'd be just so annoyed right now. Not because they lost on penalties (which is a killer) but the fact they let so many chances go to waste, i don't care if you're playing a Sunday League team, you cant do that and expect to win. [/quote] Even coming from a biased viewpoint, this was a great game with a lot of excitement. It's disappointing that the US had so many chances and let them go to waste. Losing on penalties is heartbreaking. I've never been on the losing side of a PK round, but I've seen the looks on the people I've beaten. [quote]I don't watch womens football, but the one thing i did enjoy throughout the world cup was the fact it felt like teams were wanting to win. Rather than not wanting to lose (which is the main reason why the Men's World Cup was so schockingly bad). There were some really entertaining games, with the Quarters onwards having some incredibly brilliant football on display. All in all, i think this world cup has been a massive success. Which is great for the game, but i also feel like FIFA will use this to make themselves look good and just sweep everything else under the carpet. (My God i hate FIFA)[/QUOTE] One of the things I appreciate more about the women's WC is that, with the exception of the Brazilians, they aren't acting. I didn't see any dives in this game. The cards were warranted. There wasn't screaming at the refs (who were very good in this final, in my opinion). It wasn't about showboating. It was about raw talent and the basics: stringing together passes, possession, and quality chances. I'm excited for them to go to Canada for 2015, although very surprised that they aren't planning on having any matches in Toronto. Next year's Olympics looks promising.

It took me forever to get my mixture of emotions calm, after watching team USA ready and nearly winning and then losing, it was a rollercoaster. I can tell that Wambach was in the "let's win this" mode, but half of the other girls were getting panicky. Rapinoe, like always played a good game. Rampone, she did pretty well too, Amy LePeilbet did good too, Alex Morgan... it was more of a half the team was set to win and the other half freaked out. I wonder what happened to Hope Solo? She was doing well, but then her knee gave out? I think. Then the penalty kicks came into play, Carli Lloyd... I have no words, then Tobin Heath... and then comes in Abby Wambach who displays confidence and gets the goal in. I wish Hope did save that one kick, she was so close... ugh! I am so heartbroken, but I am glad that the team is optimistic about possibly competing for the Olympics. I give major props to Japan, they did well, and deserved the win. Go Team USA! Win the Olympics!

Goodness what a major choke job !! The first goal that the USA just GAVE to Japan was an absolute joke....how do you not clear the ball there ? That was a little league mistake. So disappointed because the USA was clearly the superior team and they just blew it, I'm super ******.

[QUOTE]Losing on penalties is heartbreaking. I've never been on the losing side of a PK round, but I've seen the looks on the people I've beaten.[/QUOTE] Nothing comes close to the pain, I've had my heart broken more times than I can imagine. It honestly makes me cry like a 6yr old everytime it happens, and as you know, it happens far too often for me. [QUOTE] One of the things I appreciate more about the women's WC is that, with the exception of the Brazilians, they aren't acting. I didn't see any dives in this game. The cards were warranted. There wasn't screaming at the refs (who were very good in this final, in my opinion). It wasn't about showboating. It was about raw talent and the basics: stringing together passes, possession, and quality chances. I'm excited for them to go to Canada for 2015, although very surprised that they aren't planning on having any matches in Toronto. Next year's Olympics looks promising.[/QUOTE] See this is why I really enjoyed it. I'm not going to lie, I was such a snob and completely dismissed womens football and hated when it got coverage over here, but this world cup has completely changed my mind. It's just so refreshing to see, as you say, the honesty in the game (which has gone in the men's game). Also I loved the fact it just felt more of a team game, which people seem to forget these days. And like I said there was some brilliant football played in this tournament. I absolutely loved it, and its far far better to show kids film of that to learn from, than showing them footage from the premiership or another top men's league. I'm not entirely sure if the rule is the same for the women's tournament, but in the men's at the World Cup it's under 23 with 3 players over that age. If its the same for the womens tournament, then it will be a perfect opportunity to see who can star in the World cup 2015.

[QUOTE=mattywilson;260822] I'm not entirely sure if the rule is the same for the women's tournament, but [B]in the men's at the World Cup it's under 23 with 3 players over that age. If its the same for the womens tournament, then it will be a perfect opportunity to see who can star in the World cup 2015.[/B][/QUOTE] I'm a little confused what you mean by this. Can you clarify?

So glad it's over, I'm proud of team USA. I'm glad to see that they are happy to have 2nd place and want to try again next world cup. Well, at least Hope Solo wants to go for it again.

[QUOTE=Adrian!!!!!!;260736]Goodness [B]what a major choke job !![/B] The first goal that the USA just GAVE to Japan was an absolute joke....how do you not clear the ball there ? That was a little league mistake. So disappointed because the USA was clearly the superior team and they just blew it, I'm super ***********] [url=http://vevmo.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=10925][img]http://vevmo.com/imagehosting/15504e24693e73392.png[/img][/url]

[QUOTE=molds13;260826]I'm a little confused what you mean by this. Can you clarify?[/QUOTE] Sorry, that was my own idiot self not re-reading what I wrote. I meant the olympics, not the World Cup. The men's teams have to be under-23 (with 3 exceptions), but looking it up (which i probably should've done in the first place) it seems its the full international womens teams which are sent. Which is a shame as I actually like the idea of doing under-23 teams for both the men's and women's teams.

[QUOTE=mattywilson;260841]Sorry, that was my own idiot self not re-reading what I wrote. I meant the olympics, not the World Cup. [B]The men's teams have to be under-23 (with 3 exceptions)[/B], but looking it up (which i probably should've done in the first place) it seems its the full international womens teams which are sent. Which is a shame as I actually like the idea of doing under-23 teams for both the men's and women's teams.[/QUOTE] Weird, I never noticed that.

[QUOTE=molds13;260842]Weird, I never noticed that.[/QUOTE] Its mainly done (I think) because the olympics is still supposed to be an 'amateur' event, so taking your full international team full of professionals wouldn't be in the spirit of the game. Hence why there is a cut off, even though every player in the competition would still be playing for a professional club. Then again, I could be completely wrong. Though I do think thats the reason.

I would like to say that the USWNT did an awesome job in qualifying for the Olympics. They won against Dominican Republic 14-0, Guatemala 13-0, Mexico 4-0, Costa Rica 3-0, and Canada 4-0. I give major props to the other countries as well, because they did a good job at facing the USWNT. When are the Olympics starting? I forgot. P.S. I think it's funny how Sydney Leroux is booed for joining the USWNT (it's so silly) and how the GK is booed for being good at what she does. Poor Ali Krieger got injured and Alex Morgan rocks!

Hate soccer but this is quite funny [url=http://www.sportsgrid.com/soccer/world-leaders-watching-soccer/]G8 Summit Leaders Watch Champions League Final (Photo) | SportsGrid[/url]

>=D and the women's team beat their last friendly opponent. First beating China, then Japan, Sweden, and just yesterday Canada. They had no losses! Now to wait to watch them at the Olympics.