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Unanswered questions from Soccergate

If you haven’t heard about this newest scandal about to blow the doors off this administration and finally begin the impeachment proceedings that should have started on January 21st, 2009, well, I don’t know what rock you’ve been hiding under.  It all started when Cat Corben of American Thinker accused Obama of making up his daughter’s soccer game so he could sneak off to do god only knows what—-probably make up some birth certificates—-and it was immediately picked up by a host of conservative bloggers and Rush Limbaugh himself. Scandal!

True,the three pieces of evidence Corben offered were immediately shown to be 100% horseshit.  Contrary to his claims, there was a game scheduled, the neighborhood it was in is considered plenty safe enough for soccer games, and members of the press saw Obama at the game.  However, as we all know, this should settle nothing.  Many questions remain, and no one is addressing the biggest one of all:

What is this game “soccer”? Can we be sure there is such a thing?

Let’s look at the evidence that there is a game called “soccer”, and show why these claims are fishy.

Claim #1: People play this game all over the world.  Oh sure, we hear all about this game that’s played all over the world, and how there’s even big tournaments with fancy names like “World Cup” watched by gazillions of fans.  But how can we be so sure?  Has anyone ever been to these exotic lands to see this game being played?  Of course not. 

Worse, the claim is made that the rest of the world calls the game “football” and not “soccer”.  Look, the people claiming that this game exists can’t even get the name of the game straight!  How are we supposed to believe there is such a game?

Claim #2: The game has rules.  All games have rules, right?  The soccer pushers claim their imaginary game does, too.  But these rules are so silly that you have to believe they’re making them up.  What kind of ball game doesn’t permit the players to touch the ball with their hands?  Balls were designed with hands in mind, morons.  Balls are for touching with your hands.  And that’s what she said.

And if you think I’m crazy, just ask someone who claims that soccer exists to explain the offsides rule to you.  And laugh as they try to get their story straight.

Claim #3: Both girls and boys play it.
  You see the pictures that believers whip out to “prove” that soccer exists, and you’ll see men and women, boys and girls—-all playing this “soccer”.  Do they really expect us to believe there’s a sport like that?  In the real world, there’s sports for men/boys and sports for women/girls.  Men have football, basketball, and golf.  Women have volleyball, ice skating, and getting their periods.  And never the two shall meet.

Claim #4: This game has equipment. Okay, the ball they claim to play with looks real enough, but the shoes? 

Give me a break.  That doesn’t look like a shoe.  You’d just get stuck in the ground and not be able to move, like a golf peg or something.  Proof positive that this is not only a conspiracy, but that they’re mocking us by leaving giant clues around.

The President can’t go to his daughter’s soccer game if there’s no such thing as soccer.  Obviously, this conspiracy goes much deeper than Corben or Limbaugh even realized. 

 

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Posted by Amanda Marcotte on 05:50 PM • (73) Comments

I have been to three World Cup Finals, as well as many other matches.  I can vouch that it exists.

But, I am a “Euro Commie Weenie” as described by a friend, so my confirmation may not count.

Comment #1: James  on  04/14  at  06:15 PM

Oh and just because my son/daughter plays it & I coach their team doesn’t make it a sport either.

Comment #2: Mark  on  04/14  at  06:20 PM

Gosh, why don’t we ever debate these people on the serious concerns that they have about the serious issues facing our country?

Comment #3: RickMassimo  on  04/14  at  06:38 PM

Soccer starts with an ‘S’.  You know what else starts with an ‘S’?  SOCIALISM!
And you know what the ‘O’ stands for?  MORE SOCIALISM!
Every letter in S-O-C-C-E-R is in SOCIALISM.

And you know who plays the so-called “game” of “soccer”?  Illegal immigrants!  And you know what else illegal immigrants do?  They do horrible drugs!

Barack Obama is an illegal immigrant who has been smuggling drugs!  THE EVIDENCE IS THERE!  WAKE UP SHEEPLE!

Comment #4: Zifnab25  on  04/14  at  06:42 PM

rofles!

though to be perfectly fair, soccer is only considered a gender-neutral sport outside of its traditional strongholds… actually, isn’t it sort of considered a girl sport in the US? or is that just because the women’s team is internationally very successful, whereas the men’s team, not so much?

Comment #5: jadehawk  on  04/14  at  06:53 PM

“American Thinker”???

The irony: it burns.

Comment #6: Eric_RoM  on  04/14  at  06:56 PM

and: Zifnab wins for accurately depicting teabagging spelling abilities…...

Comment #7: Eric_RoM  on  04/14  at  06:58 PM

Oh, Amanda ... it’s the “offside rule”, not the “offsides rule”.

/football-pedant

But then, I’m one of these pinko commie foreign types that have also played soccer, so you know you can’t trust me. And rugby. And cricket (hell, I’ve even tried to explain the basics of that beautiful game to Americans in a number of bars ... don’t think they completely believed me).

Don’t forget the most important point here that not only proves that the particular game Obama supposedly went to can’t exist, but totally proves this “soccer” thing can’t exist at all ... namely, his “daughter” was playing? His “daughter”?! We all know women can’t play sports ... because if they do, either they’re not true women, and hence any sport that has women in it, can’t really be a sport. Because that’s manly man type stuff.

Hell, even my own claims that I, as a woman, have played soccer, rugby, cricket, etc obviously show how these don’t exist at all ... especially not as “sports”.

Comment #8: Sarah from Chicago  on  04/14  at  06:58 PM

Yep, jade, Americans kind of think soccer is a girl sport, which is why I thought that joke was really funny juxtaposed to the foreigner thing.

Comment #9: Amanda Marcotte  on  04/14  at  06:59 PM

See, Sarah, no one can keep their stories straight.  Clearly, a big lie conspiracy.

Comment #10: Amanda Marcotte  on  04/14  at  07:07 PM

Speaking of rugby, my one and only youtube video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms6w9Rf5q48

Comment #11: James  on  04/14  at  07:08 PM

actually, isn’t it sort of considered a girl sport in the US?

It’s less a girl’s sport than a kid’s sport.  Soccer is one of those cheap, easy games that’s great for lots of 12 year olds to get in on.  We played it a lot in elementary and middle school.  I liked it a lot more than baseball growing up.

Soccer also tends to favor smaller, faster players which means - unlike basketball or football or baseball - the biggest player doesn’t always win.  So it’s a great co-ed sport.

Of course, soccer chicks are also hoooooooooot, so that might lend the “soccer is a girl’s sport” meme some credit.  I know I was always staring at the soccer girls in high school and college.

Comment #12: Zifnab25  on  04/14  at  07:14 PM

I don’t think we can trust anyone who claims to appear on a web site called “American Thinker”.

First off, we all know that Real Americans™ don’t “think”, they react.  They use their gut feelings to quickly assess any situation and quickly determine who needs to be shot, bombed, or tortured.  “Thinking” is something liberals and Democrats do.  You know who else else spent time “thinking”?  Hitler!

Second, Real Americans™ know that the Kenyan Usurper doesn’t even have children, they’re just props so he can fool liberals into voting for him.  Even then he needed ACORN to win.  He’s not even really married!  The “First Lady”, “Michelle Obama” is really his sister.  Why else would she have the same last name?

Third, “soccer” isn’t even a real sport, like the NFL™ or NASCAR™ or tractor pulls at the county fair.  The fact that our children are being indoctrinated into believing soccer is a real sport while attending our public schools is another good reason why we need to eliminate public education of all kinds, and maybe even private education too.

Finally, it’s obvious that “Cat Corbin” is a liberal plant meant to discredit Conservatives, just like John McCain or the George Bushes (either one).  Don’t believe the liberal media!

Wake up, people!  Push the smelly sandals of the Dirty Hippies off the throat of America before it’s too late!...

Comment #13: MikeEss  on  04/14  at  07:23 PM

I cannot for the life of me remember where World Cup ‘94 was held.

Oh my. They must have AMNESIA RAYS.

Comment #14: Dolbia  on  04/14  at  07:30 PM

I was a founding member of the “girls” soccer team at my high school.  I graduated in 1994.  There was one “girl” playing on the “men’s” team when we started doing the hard work of starting a whole new team (I started in 7th grade, as you have to be a club team for two years before achieving varsity status), and I’m interested to discover that soccer is now a women’s sport.

Comment #15: Mimi  on  04/14  at  07:43 PM

Ahahahahaha… this was you at your best.

Comment #16: felagund  on  04/14  at  07:51 PM

What the fuck, seriously, what the fucking fuck?  I never want to ever hear ever again in my god damn life the phrase “Bush delusion syndrome.”  Obama can’t even go to a fucking soccer game for his daughter, give me a break.

Comment #17: Albert Cirrus  on  04/14  at  08:00 PM

Amanda, you have no idea just how deep the conspiracy runs, my brother, my sister, and I all pretended to play this imaginary soccer game (we’d try to call it “football” in order to throw off any suspicions of the insane conspiracy, but that made them suspicious of my sister immediately wink).

We must get the word out about this horrible conspiracy, it threatens to bring us into a Socialist stupor chock full of Atheist, Muslim indoctrination (with the people from FEMA, of course!) Anyone who denies this massive conspiracy is clearly one of THEM, and must be shown for the traitors they are (alcohol is, of course, served while the lessons about how to force straight people gay and turning men into pansies, since this, of course, sponsored by those horrible feminist people you’ve heard about!)

(The preceding was brought to you in part by the Coalition for a Snark Filled world, and readers like you!)

Comment #18: Elliot  on  04/14  at  08:12 PM

It’s “derangement syndrome,” Albert. And yes, it’s pretty funny how those who so cheerfully insisted that Bush induced derangement now indignantly deny that the teabaggers are nuts.

As for soccer, what kind of a sport has “midfielders” and “sweepers”?

Comment #19: Bitter Scribe  on  04/14  at  08:13 PM

One big difference between Bush hate and Obama hate:

Hatred for Bush, with the exception of the REALLY far-left 9/11 Troofers, was based in actual fact, you know, things he did. Like, oh, I don’t know, blow our surplus, start a war on false pretenses, destroy our relationships with the world, sit idly by while a great American city drowned, and run our economy into the ditch.

Obama hatred is based on stuff that’s just plain made up, like he’s pro-gun control or is going to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.

Comment #20: Ben D.  on  04/14  at  08:18 PM

“Obama hatred is based on stuff that’s just plain made up, like he’s pro-gun control or is going to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.”

...if only… :(

Comment #21: MikeEss  on  04/14  at  08:23 PM

And I don’t remember any liberal, ever, going after Laura Bush or their twin daughters.

Comment #22: Ben D.  on  04/14  at  08:24 PM

Ben D.: In all fairness, the late Steve Gilliard and his cohorts were pretty nasty about Bush’s daughters—“whores” and stuff like that. It was one of the few things I disliked about him.

I can’t let soccer go without mentioning the “red cards.” Blatant Communist recruitment.

Comment #23: Bitter Scribe  on  04/14  at  08:28 PM

You know, Obama’s PR staff must keep him apprised of these Republican faux scandals, if only so that he can keep from laughing when some hapless reporter asks him about them. What must his face have looked like when he was told about this one?

Comment #24: heresiarch  on  04/14  at  08:28 PM

I have heard of this ‘soccer’ referred to before. It is something like football apparently? I seem to also remember a link to a part of this site that dealt with ‘soccer’ but that was a long time ago and it may have been nothing more than a trick on behalf of the liberal conspiracy.

Comment #25: Stubborn Kind of Fellow  on  04/14  at  08:30 PM

The original blog post at American Thinker helpfully includes a picture, lifted from Google Maps, that shows one of the facilities at Sidwell Fields. The author implies that this is the supposed field on which Obama’s daughter supposedly played, supposedly.

The field pictured is a baseball field. YOU CAN’T PLAY SOCCER ON A BASEBALL FIELD.

Since we can assume one hundred percent veracity/accuracy in Cat Corgen’s reporting, we should conclude that not only did Obama lie about his whereabouts that morning, but all of the soccer games happening at Sidwell Fields were in fact part of a larger Obama-led conspiracy where fake children formed fake teams whose purpose was to stage fake soccer games on a real baseball field, in order to trash the turf with their cleats. Why? Because baseball is a symbol of America, which Obama hates. QED.

Comment #26: cycles  on  04/14  at  08:55 PM

That explains so much about my childhood and adolescence. I thought I was kicking a ball around and then competing in interschool play, but really all that time was spent having memories implanted by aliens. Liberal aliens.

Another sign that this game was made up by redistributionist weirdos: positions called “Left Half”, “Center Half” and “Right Half”. Any sensible person would know that adds up to more than one, leaving a deficit to be paid for by honest linebackers.

Comment #27: paul  on  04/14  at  08:57 PM

No, no, no, she was on to the truth the whole time. Obviously Obama lied about his kid’s imaginary “soccer” game in order to engage in a top-secret mission of grave importance. This mission?

Injuring Wayne Rooney.

That’s right, he’s such a slippery weasel that he needs to injure the main competition for the USA before the World Cup in hopes that they will do better and thus not bring reflection back on his unmanly lack of prowess in imaginary sports like “Basketball”.

Some might say that the World Cup is a “soccer” tournament. But all the big media is talking about it being an apparently brand-new football tournament.

Inventing this fictional “soccer” game is just the cover story to hide his devious negrosity.

We’re through the looking glass, people. Wake up!

Comment #28: Cerberus  on  04/14  at  09:06 PM

What about the strikers, people!  Strikers!  What’s going on there then?

Comment #29: icculus  on  04/14  at  09:11 PM

OMG! Red alert, must credit Drudge!

Apparently in this new international football tournament, one of the other teams in the group is Muslim Fascist Hellhole Algeria which is also in Africa. Could this be part of an attempt to clear away the competition so Muslim Africans can dominate the group? And are these actions part of a deal in order for Algerian smugglers to continue hiding Obama’s birth-certificate from tireless investigators scouring Kenya?!?

And will this surrender to Muslim forces with America’s game, football, be just the prelude to his surrender of our country to Osama bin Laden? In fact, is that the bet he’s placing at this World Cup to literally sell us out?

I’m not a political sort of woman, but isn’t it interesting how these coincidences stack up?

Especially once we note that unlike other groups, “our” group at the World Cup only has three teams (England and US representing our Tea Party past and Algeria our muslim future) with a random fictional country of “Slovenia” serving as place-marker.

OMG, look at the letter of sLOvenia, rearrange them and they spell Osama bin Laden!

It’s all there people! Eleventy-one into infinity!!!!!!!!

Comment #30: Cerberus  on  04/14  at  09:16 PM

@Cerberus

Oh that’s a part of the conspiracy, we’re also out to get whitey (even the white people involved, we hate whitey most of all :D)

Comment #31: Elliot  on  04/14  at  09:17 PM

Comment #25: Stubborn Kind of Fellow on 04/14 at 06:30 PM

I have heard of this ‘soccer’ referred to before. It is something like football apparently? I seem to also remember a link to a part of this site that dealt with ‘soccer’ but that was a long time ago and it may have been nothing more than a trick on behalf of the liberal conspiracy.

No, soccer is real.  It’s a short, innocent sounding nickname for the sport of Unamerican Football.

Comment #32: sacundim  on  04/14  at  09:18 PM

actually, isn’t it sort of considered a girl sport in the US?

I’m glad to say that soccer was exclusively a boy’s sport in my high school.  My balls went proudly untouched by girls throughout my teenage years.

Comment #33: Phoenician in a time of Romans  on  04/14  at  09:26 PM

GlurgityflurgityYAIIIEEEE, peoples!

Listening to the Lieberal Media, they are trying to prevent this damaging information about THE ONE, but claiming this fictional “Slovenia” is actually one of the Balkan states. Uh huh, convenient, but personally, I remember that war pretty well, and there were only three sides to that little “incident”, Serbia, Bosnia, and Clinton’s penis. They may think they’re fooling me, but it’s obvious Bill Clinton’s erect member is trying to distract us once again from when the Clenis allowed Osama bin Laden to blow up the Twin Tower.

But for those of us who pay attention, they can’t distract us so easily with pretending this fictional country actually exists.

And this gaffe really reveals how deep the conspiracy goes. The media, the government, and now the mighty world-destroying powers of the CLENIS! How many centuries of Democrat Party lies does this go back to, peoples?

Including…no! OMG, the “Balkan War” distraction was also happening conveniently when Europe began its muslimificaction and socialization under the One World Government, the “EU” a convenient outgrowth of the United Nations.

Could this sell-out be part of Obama’s reveal as the anti-christ and the sell-out not only to the muslims, but the OWG itself?

HOW DEEP DOES THIS GO PEOPLES!!!!!111111Argleblargle, shit myself!

Comment #34: Cerberus  on  04/14  at  09:26 PM

Sweet Jesus Fuck!

The American “Thinker” piece had the crazy turned up to 11.

I have worked within two blocks of Fort Reno for the last 27 years.  (It is the site of a Civil War era fort, although only a few remnants of it remain.)  It is not a high crime area.  For fuck’s sake it’s in the middle of a very affluent, incredibly white area of DC—although the houses around it are modest looking they start at about $700,000.00.  Even the scaredy cat exurbanites who make up the audience for this kind of insanity wouldn’t feel threatened there.

The playground at Fort Reno was nicely renovated by DC in the last year—and yes, it serves as both a baseball and soccer field.

My son played for many years in this soccer league, which has about 5,000 kids playing in it—and yes, they are both boys and girls.  Of course George W. Bush only got 9% of the vote in DC in both of his elections and McCain got less.  So clearly it is a communist jurisdiction.

Comment #35: Sir Charles  on  04/14  at  09:43 PM

On a lighter note, how stoked is everyone for the World Cup on a scale from 1 to Pissing my Pants with Anticipation?

The only thing better than the football is how the Conservatives will whine all the way through it about there being a game where the Americans suck in comparison to dirty filthy foreigners is an assault on their basic freedoms and how dare they call it football, blah de blah.

Comment #36: Cerberus  on  04/14  at  09:51 PM

Put me down for Pissing my Pants with Anticipation please.  And if you’re not, there’s some hype videos here that may do the trick.

http://theshinguardian.com/dont-tread-video-competition/

Comment #37: icculus  on  04/14  at  09:58 PM

Oh, I definitely am. I’ve even got a gig writing for the Denmark national team blog on worldcupblog.com

Best part is that I’ll be spending the summer with my folks, who because of the weird cable setup where they live now suddenly have TiVo now, so I can tape any games I miss working over the summer and watch them later that evening. It’s going to be one great June and July.

Comment #38: Cerberus  on  04/14  at  10:08 PM

That is some high-grade snark there, Amanda.

Comment #39: weirdnoise  on  04/14  at  10:11 PM

You know, the one term I can only use that involves this is “Obama Derangement Syndrome”.

Comment #40: StarStorm  on  04/14  at  10:15 PM

I am totally looking forward to it ... especially since my little home country, New Zealand, is in the Cup for the first time since the 80’s! None of us are expecting us to win any of the matches, but we are so happy and proud just to be there! (the final qualifying game, which we won, was here in my city, the stadium was overpacked with an accompanying incredible noise, and the city just exploded in celebration after the game ... Wellington is the biggest soccer city in the country, a country that is hugely dominated otherwise by rugby).

Comment #41: Sarah from Chicago  on  04/14  at  10:41 PM

Sarah-

Doesn’t Wellington have a team in the Australian A-League and haven’t they been doing very well as of recently?

Comment #42: Cerberus  on  04/14  at  10:52 PM

I made the mistake of reading the comments in the American Thinker story, and now my head hurts.

Comment #43: jenofiniquity  on  04/14  at  11:12 PM

From the American Thinker piece comments:

Posted by: VHG  
Apr 13, 02:14 AM

What better courier for state secrets to the Russians than an unaccompanied Obama? Wonder how much he got for whatever it is he sold us down the river for? But the ego this person has really has begin to show itself as an ugly attachment and what he thinks of the United States and his duty to the country. Pressure the media to find out more. Keep asking the WaPo, NY Times, and the rest of the fawning media lapdogs to dig! Maybe Tina Fey can do an Obama parody?

What. The. Fuck. How the. I just. What?

Comment #44: mir  on  04/14  at  11:48 PM

Cerberus what you have to understand about Australia is that there are 4 types of football played here and soccer is definitely number 4. So doing well in the Aus comp is probably not a marker of absolute greatness. No disrespect to the atheletes involved, they do play professionally. I’d question though whether they would shine in the top competitions in Europe.

For the curious the football played includes 2 flavours of rugby (1 version using the standard rules and 1 using rules originally from northern England but subsequently adapted), 1 version of football which we totally invented and which may or may not be based on some game played originally by Aboriginal people, and soccer. People somewhere probably play some form of American football too as Australians will generally play any sport anywhere (including those like skiing which require infrastructure and weather conditions we do not have) but there is no professional comp.

Australia: making football weird since 1858.

Comment #45: JC  on  04/15  at  12:11 AM

I am totally looking forward to it ... especially since my little home country, New Zealand, is in the Cup for the first time since the 80’s!

Thank you ever so much for reminding me of that debacle.  I bet you were a bloody Cubs supporter when you were in Chicago, too.

Comment #46: Phoenician in a time of Romans  on  04/15  at  12:24 AM

mir summed up my reaction.

Comment #47: NBarnes  on  04/15  at  12:34 AM

Doesn’t Wellington have a team in the Australian A-League and haven’t they been doing very well as of recently?

Wellington Phoenix.

Comment #48: Phoenician in a time of Romans  on  04/15  at  01:04 AM

American THinker - is that the site with the shitting Uncle Sam?

Comment #49: phylosopher  on  04/15  at  01:23 AM

Mock if you must, Amanda, but you can’t deny that the American Menstruation team totally kicked ass in Beijing.

Comment #50: Gaslight  on  04/15  at  01:58 AM

On a lighter note, how stoked is everyone for the World Cup on a scale from 1 to Pissing my Pants with Anticipation?

definitely Pissing my pants with anticipation, to the point that I will be leaving this wasteland and going to Yurrp to watch it with thousands of equally drunk and insane people grin

which reminds me, I’ll have to find a good spot in Copenhagen to watch some games between/after/before atheist conference stuff…

damn conflicting schedules…

Comment #51: jadehawk  on  04/15  at  04:23 AM

On a lighter note, how stoked is everyone for the World Cup on a scale from 1 to Pissing my Pants with Anticipation?

I’d be pissing more if Charlie Davies and Gooch were healthy, but yeah.

Comment #52: Thlayli  on  04/15  at  05:46 AM

And of course, if it really turned out to be a secret summit meeting with the Russian leadership—well, why are these right wingut traitors exsposing state secrets, anyway?  Why do they hate America?

Comment #53: rea  on  04/15  at  07:21 AM

It gets worse. The World Cup is held every 4 years. Like a US election. And look more closely at that. Y-E-A-R-S. It’s an anagram of AYERS! Clearly this is a sign that Obama’s election was a front for Bill Ayers! They’re so arrogant they’re not even trying to hide it any more.

Comment #54: Ginger Yellow  on  04/15  at  08:20 AM

Please, this is an obvious fabrication, and a stupid one. Muslim women couldn’t play soccer even if it exists, because all those ballooney-things they wear would keep them from running or kicking things. So how could Obama’s daughter even see the ball?

No, Obama was probably at a lesbian BDSM-themed strip club and charging it to the RNC.

Comment #55: Lymis  on  04/15  at  08:58 AM

I can’t believe they would get anywhere with this as I have seen hundreds of kids playing in Boise, ID and Great Falls, MT and smaller groups in Tomecah, WI; Merced, CA; Rochester, MN; and Lafayette, LA.  It’s hard to get more heartland than ID, MT, MN and WI.

Comment #56: helen w. h.  on  04/15  at  09:38 AM

Just Asking Questions is my favorite punditrope, I got multiple badly-needed lol’s out of this post.

Comment #57: Seize  on  04/15  at  09:46 AM

Also, a few years ago I was flying through Atlanta - ATLANTA fGs - and there were so many people watching the semi-finals that the crowed was backed across the very wide corridors of the airport for the width of the view to all the sport bars’ tvs.  People damn near missed flights to see that game.

Comment #58: helen w. h.  on  04/15  at  09:59 AM

jadehawk-

You lucky sonuvabitch. I’ll be leaving Europe (Denmark to be precise) just before the World Cup as I’m in the middle of finishing up my Master’s Thesis. In København, I recommend anywhere around the gay district near the university, funky, goth district with some great shops and some great bars. Either that or just ask any local Dane, I’m sure they’ll know of a great sports bar to take you especially since Denmark will be playing.

Comment #59: Cerberus  on  04/15  at  10:16 AM

If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought this was Mad Libs For Teabaggers: pick ordinary topic, go off the deep end, tie crazy conspiracy to Obama, etc.  All it is missing is the chalk board.

Comment #60: bouj  on  04/15  at  10:41 AM

This mission?
Injuring Wayne Rooney.

Ah yes, the Bayern Munich plan.

I’m afraid Rooney and Crouch are going to score on us at will. We suck in the air. Unless…

I’d be pissing more if Charlie Davies and Gooch were healthy, but yeah.

If Gooch and Jermaine Jones are healthy we might have a decent back four. If we don’t have Onyewu’s height we’re definitely doomed. I’d even consider starting Goodson against England… a couple of 6’4"ers in front of the goal might slow Rooney and Crouch down a bit.

It’d be nice to have Davies, but with Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson we’re fairly deep at #9. It’s our defense that terrifies me.

Comment #61: Sarcastro  on  04/15  at  11:21 AM

Lymis @55:
In extreme Muslim areas, they sometimes set up fields, wholly enclosed from the outside world, so that girls and young women can play wearing long pants.  No men are allowed inside these events.  I believe it made a stir in international news a year or two ago because there was a visiting team that had a male coach, trainer or something who was not allowed into the venue.  I believe it was in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Iran, but am not certain even of that.

Comment #62: helen w. h.  on  04/15  at  11:34 AM

From the American Thinker comment thread:

Every thing about this guy, Barry Soetoro, is suspect. Everything he does and say’s is just down right creepy. Just to look at him with that smirk on his face. If you look closely enough at his eyes you can see evil and the eyes say, almost out loud, “I’m lying and I really want to hurt you”. That’s what my gut instinct tells me about O’Barry. He’s always sneaking around and you can’t believe anything he say’s. I mean, what can you expect from a guy who’s first executive order is to seal his birth certificate and school records? What kind of person would do something like that? Someone with something to hide? That would be my guess.

They believe this stuff. They really do. No facts are going to convince them otherwise. In fact, the more you show them they’re wrong, the more they believe in the conspiracy trying to silence them.

But look at the first few lines and tell me that their beliefs aren’t rooted, first and foremost, in racism. Obama is “other” to them, and will never be anything else. I find it really sad and scary that we have such deluded and demented sheeple in this country.

Comment #63: Vir Modestus  on  04/15  at  11:34 AM

Socialism
Obama
Communism
Communism
Everything about this guy is bad
Racist against white people

Don’t you see it people?  When he talks about soccer, he’s sending secret coded messages to all the liberals who are in on his conspiracy!

Comment #64: bananacat  on  04/15  at  11:56 AM

On a lighter note, how stoked is everyone for the World Cup on a scale from 1 to Pissing my Pants with Anticipation?

I’ve got some concerns.  I know South Africa is not Angola, but that incident with Togo in the African National Cup was more than a little disturbing.  It looks like they’re going to complete their first-class infrastructure for the cup, but I’m wondering about the price for the poor and middle classes in South Africa.  But that’s just me.

As for the games, I wish I could be there, but I’ve been priced out of the market since my last finals in 1999 (Women’s World Cup Final in Los Angeles.)

The first World Cup I watched was in 1978.  On those days, one could only watch on a hazy UHF channel.  I thought the finals had poor reception, it looked like it was snow but was confetti from the Argentine supports.  Summer of 1982 was when I was leaving for graduate school in Scotland, so I managed to watch every game on SIN.  I was definitely supporting Scotland at this time, and those two late goals to New Zealand of all people knocked us out.  Two years in grad school in Scotland, and I attended a lot of football, including three trips to London for the FA Cup Final (“And Smith Must Score!”) plus another trip for the match between England and Scotland.  I also picked up an understanding of cricket and rugby, and was at Lords for the 1983 Cricket World Cup Final when India upset the West Indies.  In Scotland, college sports are very different than they are in the US, there isn’t recruiting or the like.  One lunchtime during midterms, the football captain came to the student union asking it anyone wanted to play a game for St. Andrews.  I was up for that, and even scored a goal in the 7-2 drubbing we suffered.  Thus ended my career as a player:  1 game, 1 goal.

Watching the 1986 World Cup from the US was difficult, as I had a job and many games were on while I was at work.  Once again, SIN was the best source.  (It should be noted that I never had a Spanish course.  I learned my spanish by watching football broadcasts in Spanish, and the requisite comericals.  “Comparte Coca Cola y una sonrisa!”  Even now, I find more intelligent coverage on the Spanish stations despite my limited knowledge of Spanish than I get on ESPN.  No “bolso de la cebolla” on the Spanish broadcasts.  I learned enough to pick up a strong bias towards Argentina against their neighbors in the commentary, which I later learned the announcers were from Argentina.)  Despite my Scottish bias, I found “the Hand of God” appalling.

In 1988, I got my first letter published in a major newspaper, it was about football.  Europe had just announced that English teams could return to European competiton, but the Times writer referred to them as “British teams.”

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/26/sports/l-british-fans-aren-t-alike-920388.html

(Web archives are amazing.)

Because of watching football live on the Spanish channels, I managed to catch the Chile firebomb incident live.  Didn’t understand the commentary, but knew it looked fishy.

1990 was the first conundrum, as the United States snuck in as the 24th team to qualify.  If the US and Scotland both finished second, we’d meet in the second round!  I’d have to pick a team to support.  Well…  Costa Rica took care of Scotland’s chances, and the US team lost all three.  Watching the kockouts, it became a matter of hoping the negative tactics of Argentina would lose.

1994, I was in California, and attended several World Cup matches, including the Finals in Los Angeles (in seats that cost $500 in 1994.  Ouch.)  The most exciting was July 4 in Palo Alto, where I was interviewed by Brazilian television, and was asked what I thought of our chances against Brazil that day.  I replied with “Ask me again in four years when we’re defending our cup.” 

BY 1998 I was in France just before the Finals, and although I watched the matches from California (with agreement from management who allowed anyone to shift hours to watch the Worlc Cup) I got a call from my friend in Paris from the Champs D’Elysee so I could virtually join the party. 

In 2002, I was between jobs, so adjusting my clock to South Korean time was no big deal.  The United States finally made a real impact, and my sister (who lived in San Francisco) and I started a habit of dining at restaurants featuring the cuisine of teams we beat or tied that evening.  Portuguese, Korean, and Mexican…

The 2006 World Cup game me a by-line in the New York Times:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/business/24flier.html

Comment #65: James  on  04/15  at  12:00 PM

Watching the World Cup with passionate South American fans…  That may be even better than the Final game itself.  Alas, for this world cup, I recently changed jobs and won’t have the chance to travel or take time off.  I’ve found a local sports bar that will show the “evening” games (lunch time in California) and will have some early mornings.  I’ll be supporting the US, then Australia/New Zealand, and after that, whichever team looks like they are playing a beautiful game.

Comment #66: James  on  04/15  at  12:00 PM

“On a lighter note, how stoked is everyone for the World Cup on a scale from 1 to Pissing my Pants with Anticipation?”

Put me down for Pissing my Pants with Anticipation also. I’m a sucker for these actual WORLD championships.

Comment #67: Mark  on  04/15  at  12:21 PM

Where the hell was all of this indignation on the Right when Bush spent over half his presidency clearing brush from his fake ranch in Crawford?

Comment #68: Blitzgal  on  04/15  at  01:23 PM

That’s a softball cleat BTW.

Comment #69: Ms Kate  on  04/15  at  03:50 PM

As my Ace Goalie is want to say: REAL football is played WITHOUT pads!

Comment #70: Ms Kate  on  04/15  at  03:51 PM

They believe this stuff. They really do. No facts are going to convince them otherwise. In fact, the more you show them they’re wrong, the more they believe in the conspiracy trying to silence them.

From one of the stupider commentators on Dana’s site:

I’m talking about his demeanor. He has this aloof, above-it-all style that, in addition to his policies, tends to set people off. Look at the health scheme. A huge change in our country, and no bipartisanship at all. He passed it like a king issuing a royal edict, not a president of a democracy. I can’t think of once where a major policy decision was made without including the opposition party, indeed, as much as liberals like to complain about Iraq, Bush did get a lot of Democrats on board before he declared war. There’s just something about Obama that seems a bit creepy, the way he acts like he is God, snubbing allies (Britain, Israel) and sucking up to our enemies. And he’s the least vetted president in recent history, perhaps all of American history. Who is this guy, really? What does he stand for? Even his supporters don’t seem to know.

At what point does this thing start being termed a mental illness?

Comment #71: Phoenician in a time of Romans  on  04/15  at  06:18 PM

“At what point does this thing start being termed a mental illness?”

...not soon enough…

Comment #72: MikeEss  on  04/15  at  07:37 PM

I’m waiting for the end of the regular season before I get into full Pissing My Pants In Anticipation mode, however I have booked most of the relevant games off - all the England games (though there’s a wedding the day of the England v USA match), most of the Spain and Brazil games and everything from the quarter finals onwards. Parties are already being planned.

I’ll also say that if you live in a fairly multicultural city like I do, the atmosphere for four weeks is electric. We had a fairly big Ghanaian community fairly nearby and seeing them drive around with the little flags on the cars while other people had Australian/Saudi/Polish/Trinidadian flags on cars or in shops was terrific and really helps put paid to the idea that a multicultural community is divisive.

Comment #73: Stubborn Kind of Fellow  on  04/15  at  09:29 PM
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