Unofficial 2014 World Cup Thread

[singlebanana]

Anyone else watching the World Cup? I get really into it every time it comes around.  Some surprising results of late and nice goals which should make the upcoming games a lot more interesting. 

So far I'd have to say that I have been most impressed by Germany. I know that The Netherlands blew out Spain, but I still think Germany looked more technically sound in their opener.

I'd like to hear peoples' thoughts on anything WC related here.

 

[Shadow Kisuragi]

I've been waiting for a thread...

Germany scoring 4 goals in every opener since 2002 World Cup is crazy.

[singlebanana]

It seems that sometimes being so technically sound gets them in trouble in the knockouts when they play against more free spirited teams. I'll be curious to see how they come off that last win and play Ghana.

[singlebanana]

To bring some video gaming context into this, I'd like to get your take on a thought I had Shadow. It seems that U.S. Soccer fandom is on the rise as of recent. I feel that this is due to a better understanding of the game, which I believe has been heavily influenced by videogames, especially EA's FIFA product. I see a lot of my younger brother's friends buying FIFA every year that it comes out now and most of these guys had little to no interest in soccer before then. It seems that now many of them know international clubs and players, and even have a pretty firm grasp on the rules.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Soccer has been on a rise since the USA Women's World Cup victory, with the rising popularity of Major League Soccer (MLS) - in fact, Orlando is joining MLS next year! The FIFA titles have been growing alongside the popularity and making it an easier entry point for people of all ages, especially gamers, to learn the rules and concepts of the game.

It really helps that the FIFA franchise is a fantastic product on its own, but with new features like FIFA Ultimate Team to bring in the collector crowd and many of the features and support they've added for the enthusiasts and community, it's no wonder we're #1...wait, wrong pitch. I feel that FIFA is popular because soccer is popular, and soccer is popular because FIFA is a fantastic game. The initial seed was planted by the USA Women's World Cup victory, and subsequent growth and popularity of both the sport and the game have been building it up to what it is today. I feel the sport would still grow without the game, but it would be at a much smaller rate than what it is now.

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

The main problem with mainstream soccer in America has been and always will be the advertising dilemma. No time for commercials = major networks have no time for soccer.

[Boshamp]

Working in the pay-TV industry, you hit the nail on the head. EVERYTHING in U.S. television revolves around advertising.

There was a rumor around my workplace a year or so ago about the evolution of TV and advertising within the DVR era and they actually talked about altering soccer events on TV to force advertising space. They would basically pause the event every so often and play commercials, then come back to the game-play with a delay, using the delay, they would then edit out the smaller things that viewers haven't seen happen yet, like when the ball goes out of bounds or when players sub in/out. There was also talk about securing full rights to show the event in this way, preventing radio and all other sources of streaming so they could completely control the showing, leaving viewers completely in the dark as to when the events happened. I haven't heard anything recently, so I doubt it is making any progress.

Another instance was back when CBS was trying basically the same thing back in the early 80's with basketball playoff games. The plan at that time was to show commercials during time outs and intermissions like they usually do, but to play an extra 1-2 minutes of commercials each time, then returning to where play resumed. (which in live time, happened several minutes before viewers were thrown back into the game.)

[Tynstar]

Since I was off for the last 5 weeks I spent the last 2 weeks watching every game on TV. I think in 4 years I will take a vacation during the entire world cup.

[singlebanana]

Since I was off for the last 5 weeks I spent the last 2 weeks watching every game on TV. I think in 4 years I will take a vacation during the entire world cup.

During the last World Cup, I was in Vegas........good times.

[Tynstar]

During the last World Cup I was watching while at work. Good times

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Try being at my office, and nearing the end of the product cycle while the World Cup is going on. Surprised anything gets done.
EDIT: Right as I typed that, a studio-wide meeting invite went out to watch the Germany vs. USA game tomorrow. 

[singlebanana]

When you watch the game tomorrow, please let me know the final results so that I can place my life savings on the game when it occurs on Thursday.

[Tynstar]

WTF Italy is out now....Crazy World Cup....

[singlebanana]

WTF Italy is out now....Crazy World Cup....

Yep, no Italy, no Spain, no England. Should be a wild ride to the end.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Still have Germany and Netherlands...