Ghost of a flea: Always the penalties

July 01, 2006

Always the penalties

Say what you like about Cristiano Ronaldo.* Say, for example, that the Dutch did not put the boot to him hard enough. Say he is lucky to have been able to rely on Argentina as a phantom second team against England. But the man is brave; you have to give him that. After all, he puts on that performance and yet he is on his way back to Manchester.

Tsh! Tsh!

*Interesting fact: You will never guess which American President Ronaldo is named after.

Decline and fall Update: The Guardian's Rob Smyth considers Ronaldo:

So we have our pantomime villain. He's a pretty boy, he's foreign, he's cunning and conniving.

The remainder of his analysis strays from the above points and is hardly worth reading.

Don't make me do it Update: Now England is out, I have decided to support the side guaranteed to annoy the maximum number of supporters of the perfidious choices left on offer. Vive la France! Alizée will be in the sidebar for the duration as a token of my sincere feelings in this matter.

Paleocon Update: Writing for the Weekly Standard, Frank Cannon and Richard Lessner describe "soccer" as postmodern and against-nature. They forgot to mention that soccer is a single mother who burns the American flag.

Despite heroic efforts of soccer moms, suburban liberals, and World Cup hype, soccer will never catch on as a big time sport in America. No game in which actually scoring goals is of such little importance could possibly occupy the attention of average Americans. Our country has yet to succumb to the nihilism, existentialism, and anomie that have overtaken Europe. A game about nothing, in which scoring is purely incidental, holds scant interest for Americans who still believe the world makes sense, that life has a larger meaning and structure, that being is not an end in itself, being qua being.

I think they are joking. Though it says something tragic about too much of the American right that it is now hardly possible to tell the difference between a joke and glassy-eyed seriousness. Still, this is a step up from listening to Canadian hockey fans attempting to weigh in on the subject (no, it is not a "shoot out" so STFU).

Posted by Ghost of a flea at July 1, 2006 02:25 PM

Comments

I'm with you for the semi-finals, Flea, but only because I want to see Germany replay the Battle of France in the final match!(If France wins this time, their team should head across town and march through the Brandenburg Gate!)

Posted by: Varenius at July 1, 2006 11:07 PM

"Alizée will be in the sidebar for the duration"

Um, can we just leave Alizée in the sidebar permanently, please? Oh and maybe you should modify your individual entry templates so she's there, too.

For consistent look and feel, of course...

Wait, what did I just say? Darn, hit post too quickly.

Posted by: Raging Kraut at July 3, 2006 11:19 AM

At one time I wanted Portugal but it would be jolly good fun to see the ole' allies of WWII battle things out. Just as long as France does not win...because they are big enough arseholes already.

Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge at July 4, 2006 05:13 AM

"Just as long as France does not win...because they are big enough arseholes already."

It shows you don't live in Toronto, Andrew:)
Here, you don't want either the Portuguese or the Italians to win, unless you want to see a main throughfare shut down with arseholery for the duration. (St. Clair West, for those in the know)

(full disclosure: I'm married to an Italian, and friends with Portuguese, so I don't want to hear any oh-so-offended comments)

Posted by: Jimmy Levendia at July 4, 2006 10:12 AM

Cristiano Ronaldo is not enough by himself to bring success to Portugal...They need more players..

Posted by: Troy_Miami at March 27, 2010 11:58 AM