Hilko Blok has done it again: passing along another hilarious World Cup image -- made all the more funny by his politically-incorrect-but-still-quite-humorous caption: "Derp Derp Football Derp." Here it is:

As I've continued watching the World Cup, I've realized that the game of football (soccer) really can be something enjoyable for an American like me. It seems like I get this realization with every major international tournament (i.e. World Cup, European Cup) -- but then, for some reason, it never really translates into an appreciation for the regular European leagues. Maybe this time it will really stick. We'll see...

In the meantime, here are a couple of random thoughts for adapting the game of football (soccer) for an American audience:

• Instant replay - I'm not suggesting that the entire game be mechanized, but certainly when it comes to disputable goals some degree of replay/review could be a wise thing. Both of yesterday's games could have been changed dramatically by using instant replay (but as it was, they both ended up in blow-outs). I have to admit that there's something to the endless arguments that can come from a blown call -- creating a sort of mythology and mystique about the game that allows it to still be discussed (at length) years, and even decades, into the future... But there's also something very dissatisfying about a team being unfairly bounced from the tournament because a referee wasn't in the right spot. In my way of imagining things, given the amount of shots that actually come into doubt, there would be just a handful of "disruptions" to the game at most. To me, it would be worth it.
• Secondarily, it would help me a lot to get noun-verb agreement stuff figured out. The way I see it, a country or a team is a single entity: thus some natural headlines for today might be "Chile Eyes Upset Against Brazil" or "Holland Is Focused on Winning." But apparently, international sports writers tend to think about each country being a number of individuals -- a pural entity. So the actual headlines for today read: "Chile Eye Upset Against Brazil" and "Holland Are Focused on Winning." Doesn't that just sound wrong (at least to an American set of ears)?!? I was asking an Englishman about this last night, and he admitted that it didn't actually make any sense to him either, at least not gramatically-speaking. So I would wish for some adaptation to the sport's language, if it's ever going to get more coverage in American media sources.
• Finally, I think we all just need to admit that football (soccer) has some issues with play-acting. It really does seem to be a part of the game -- a strategic way to saddle the other team with penalties and set yourself up for better field position. I understand, of course, that on a stage as big as a stadium, you'll never get the calls unless the player makes it abundantly obvious that he's been fouled. But naturally, this means that there's a lot of theatrics that happen in the midst of a game. I understand this and have come to accept this. But no European will ever admit to the theatrics! For the doubters, I submit the following video clip as an example of football's most egregious acting issues:

Can I get an "Amen" on any of these points of consideration? Please feel free to convince me otherwise... but that's how I see it right now.

Anyway... today is the next step on Holland's road to glory: the early game, this afternoon, against Slovakia. The remainder of the road is still challenging (most notably a quarter-final match-up with the winner of the Brazil - Chile match)... but I would love to see the Dutch team pull it out. If the Dutch were to somehow pull it off and come home with the World Cup, they would join a very exclusive club of only seven other countries who have ever won the World Cup (which seems just crazy to me). Here's to hope...