Saturday, June 24, 2006

The Cup

I was wrong about Les Bleus- they're advancing to the next round of the World's Cup, having beaten Togo last night. There is a great advert on TV here with a French guy who is driving to the Cup and picking up hitch-hikers from various nations who are all pretending to be French fans. The Dutch woman chanting 'Allez Les Bleus!' is very funny. They'll likely be out after that, but who cares? It looks like everyone's just having fun being in Germany.

The US is pretty much out of the World’s Cup, having lost to Ghana. Ghana is excited just to be advancing, even though they have to face Brazil next. It's nice to see countries get to go that you don't really expect. I was happy to see the Brazilians partying on TV, but it's not like going to the World's Cup is a big deal for Brazil.

For me, the real exciting news is that Australia, who hasn’t even been to the cup since 1974, is advancing to the second round. I’m glad for Australia, even though there’s something painfully silly about a team called the Socceroos. One almost wishes that Graham Chapman’s Colonel could come out on the field with his whistle: “Sorry! That name is entirely too silly! You’ll have to change that!”

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