tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969424548171959750.post7155714199263084965..comments2024-03-15T17:41:26.645+00:00Comments on Sport Is A TV Show: Cracks in my facade of carefully considered neutralityFredorrarcihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03660428641031747616noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969424548171959750.post-68127350471263174902008-06-11T16:19:00.000+01:002008-06-11T16:19:00.000+01:00It was the intro to British station Channel 4's It...It was the intro to British station Channel 4's Italian football show. It had me and my friends screaming "gooooooollllAAAAAccio!" in the school yard for years.<BR/><BR/>Actually (and I'm not trying to cover my arse here) I've always had a big ol' crush on Dutch football: the style, the swagger, the arraogance, the angst, the bitchiness, the Bergkamp. My love for them has been tested lately - they bored me silly in 2004, and they were more like an MMA tag-team against Portugal two years ago. They played some lovely stuff against Italy, though, and my soccer snobbery trumped my Italy-sympathy.Fredorrarcihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03660428641031747616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969424548171959750.post-86577135857510051002008-06-10T23:10:00.000+01:002008-06-10T23:10:00.000+01:00I tried the clip again and this time it worked. D...I tried the clip again and this time it worked. Damned capricious app.<BR/><BR/>So this must have been the intro to an Eye-tie football highlight show. With that insistent beat and vocal exhortation, you must have been primed for whatever came your way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969424548171959750.post-78479366482786283502008-06-10T20:38:00.000+01:002008-06-10T20:38:00.000+01:00Steve, maybe it's your machine at work that won't ...Steve, maybe it's your machine at work that won't show the YouTube clip. I saw it here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969424548171959750.post-80963104086652312032008-06-10T20:36:00.000+01:002008-06-10T20:36:00.000+01:00It's funny that I read this in the midst of the Gr...It's funny that I read this in the midst of the Greece-Sweden match...my reaction to Greece 04 (and now), was much the same as yours! They've got five defenders on today?! Ugh...<BR/><BR/>I feel so much better knowing that de Rossi elbows <I>everybody.</I> I guess we Yanks shouldn't take what he did to Brian McBride in Germany 06 personally.<BR/><BR/>So it's Italy for you? I find them fascinating as well, but I don't really support them. I love the film clip (though I can't be nostalgic for something I've never seen). Italy are interesting to watch because they're so skilled, yet so cynical? careless? Stylish, for sure (great uniforms. I tease Steve about a statistic that Italian men spend 30% of their income on clothing, so these things matter to them)...it used to be fun watching Totti run his hands through his hair after every missed chance...then there's the whole catenaccio thing...ugly football from a beautiful country. (Franklin Foer noted the irony there).<BR/><BR/>I'm not neutral either. It's Holland this year (often, actually). Anything but neutrality is ultimately folly, but I can't help myself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969424548171959750.post-74563860313817027092008-06-10T20:24:00.000+01:002008-06-10T20:24:00.000+01:00Looks like youtube disallowed this one. Bugger! ...Looks like youtube disallowed this one. Bugger! I was looking forward to seeing if they could make the case for Italy. While I admire so many things about Italy, their less than open style of football is not among them. I'll confess, I was wearing a bright shade of orange yesterday and loving every minute of Total Football. With no England, Ireland, or Scotland to pull for, Holland are my team of choice. I suspect Germany and Spain will be prime competitors, with the young Portuguese nipping at some heels, too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com