Off topic: Football/Soccer Word Cup Article Thread poster: Edward Potter
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Edward Potter 
Spain
Local time: 22:12
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
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http://online.wsj.com/article_email/article_print/SB114956035142172231-lMyQjAxMDE2NDA5NzUwNjcwWj.html
COMMENTARY
Our Cup Rageth Over
By TIM PARKS
June 6, 2006; Page A14
Soccer's World Cup is supposed to be party time for billions of fans around the globe. And it is -- insofar... See more http://online.wsj.com/article_email/article_print/SB114956035142172231-lMyQjAxMDE2NDA5NzUwNjcwWj.html
COMMENTARY
Our Cup Rageth Over
By TIM PARKS
June 6, 2006; Page A14
Soccer's World Cup is supposed to be party time for billions of fans around the globe. And it is -- insofar as the specter of a blind and embattled solidarity gripping the public mind can be described as a party.
The 32-nation tournament, which kicks off anew in Germany on Friday, is a winner-takes-all competition where every match is a battle and the delirium of world domination takes a powerful hold on collective psychology. For one heady month the national team becomes the nation at war. The dread of humiliating defeat is in the air. In Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, England, people don't so much look forward to the World Cup as hold their breaths, cross their fingers. They rally to the nation's colors. They hang out flags. These are dangerous emotions...
[Edited at 2006-06-09 19:20] ▲ Collapse
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Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X)
Local time: 16:12
| What real thing? | Jun 7, 2006 |
Could'nt Mr. Parks just say he does not like soccer? Sports and capitalism are the same all over the world. Emotions, cheating, violence, fanatism are nothing new, and they are not exclusive of soccer.
Baseball, american football, boxing, track and filed competitions (just to name a few) are plagued with "vices". I wonder why he forgot to mention betting, drugs, and beer, among other "plagues"...
Why do you want us to read this, Ed?
P.S: Due to copyright regulations, I think you might be asked to "shorten" the article to a few quotes, and leave the link.
[Edited at 2006-06-07 14:52]
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Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 22:12
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Hi Rosie,
I posted the article on the Off Topic forum because it is only peripherally related to translation. The reason I posted it was because I thought it was interesting and thought it might provoke interesting discussion. I hope that discussion won't get too heated!
For sure, many other sports take it on the chin when being exposed to their vices, which I opine is a good thing. What struck me about this article is that someone is finally pointing out, and rightly c... See more Hi Rosie,
I posted the article on the Off Topic forum because it is only peripherally related to translation. The reason I posted it was because I thought it was interesting and thought it might provoke interesting discussion. I hope that discussion won't get too heated!
For sure, many other sports take it on the chin when being exposed to their vices, which I opine is a good thing. What struck me about this article is that someone is finally pointing out, and rightly criticisizing, soccer for certain aspects of its own vices. Where there is a fire, let's stamp it out. The other sports would make good material for another article for stamping out the next one .
As for the "real thing" that Mr. Parks mentioned, it seems to be a criticism of current military action taken on by the U.S., although I do not think that this is the object of his article.
Ed
Rosa Maria Duenas Rios wrote: Edward Potter wrote:
Perhaps Americans find it hard to get involved because they are still busy with the real thing.
Could'nt Mr. Parks just say he does not like soccer? Sports and capitalism are the same all over the world. Emotions, cheating, violence, fanatism are nothing new, and they are not exclusive of soccer. Baseball, american football, boxing, track and filed competitions (just to name a few) are plagued with "vices". I wonder why he forgot to mention betting, drugs, and beer, among other "plagues"... Why do you want us to read this, Ed? P.S: Due to copyright regulations, I think you might be asked to "shorten" the article to a few quotes, and leave the link. [Edited at 2006-06-07 14:52] ▲ Collapse
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Gerard de Noord
France
Local time: 22:12
Member (2003)
English to Dutch
+ ...
| Already sporting my orange hat | Jun 7, 2006 |
Of course we can’t take the opinion of anyone who refers to football – “the most important side issue in the world” – as soccer too seriously.
Gerard
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pcovs
Denmark
Local time: 22:12
English to Danish
| The real thing. | Jun 7, 2006 |
It refers to the last bit of the sentence before it:
"..universal brotherhood and world domination".
I believe the author means that while ordinary people watching a soccer game can feel these impulses for 'universal brotherhood and world domination' battling within, America is living out these impulses.
BTW, I liked the article - very funny indeed and a rather different view on the soccer game than we are used to.
No harm in making people sto... See more It refers to the last bit of the sentence before it:
"..universal brotherhood and world domination".
I believe the author means that while ordinary people watching a soccer game can feel these impulses for 'universal brotherhood and world domination' battling within, America is living out these impulses.
BTW, I liked the article - very funny indeed and a rather different view on the soccer game than we are used to.
No harm in making people stop and think about the other side of soccer as well, and this is certainly one way of doing it - whether you agree, disagree or simply read it. ▲ Collapse
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Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 22:12
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Hi Gerard,
Good luck to your side! I personally love the excitement of soccer. You get a feeling from it that no other sport in my native USA brings. I'm probably also quite jealous deep down inside because team USA has not been as competitive as some of the other sides.
I was trying to find where the author talks about the "important side issue" and have finally concluded you are just making fun of the a... See more Hi Gerard,
Good luck to your side! I personally love the excitement of soccer. You get a feeling from it that no other sport in my native USA brings. I'm probably also quite jealous deep down inside because team USA has not been as competitive as some of the other sides.
I was trying to find where the author talks about the "important side issue" and have finally concluded you are just making fun of the author for making such a big issue about a sporting event.
This World Cup looks like it will be pretty normal as far as the winners go. Not many people are picking any dark horses. I've pretty much given up on betting on the Clockwork Orange (although I know you havent!) and have put it on Argentina, just to be different from everyone else who is betting on Brazil.
Gerard de Noord wrote: Of course we can’t take the opinion of anyone who refers to football – “the most important side issue in the world” – as soccer too seriously. Gerard ▲ Collapse
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Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X)
Local time: 16:12
| Sorry if I cannot take it seriously... | Jun 7, 2006 |
Had I read the article after one of the very sad and violent events (or after some shameful episodes of racism) we have sometimes witnessed in some soccer fields, I would probably feel more sympathetic towards it. But at this precise time, it feels just like some sort of killjoy to me.
Edward Potter wrote: I'm probably also quite jealous deep down inside because team USA has not been as competitive as some of the other sides .
The author of the article is probably jealous too
Edward Potter wrote:
Not many people are picking any dark horses.
My dark horse is Ivory Coast, but I still believe Brazil has the best team.
Come on... aren´t you already looking forward to it?
[Edited at 2006-06-07 19:30]
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Gerard de Noord
France
Local time: 22:12
Member (2003)
English to Dutch
+ ...
| The most important side issue in the world | Jun 7, 2006 |
Hi Edward,
Excuse my clumsy English. I was quoting the Dutch, who call football "de belangrijkste bijzaak ter wereld". Don't count the Dutch out yet. We'll play less attractive this time, but we will be more effective.
And one should never, and I mean never, underestimate the German team. It's a miracle how they've made themselves invisible. They're the real dark horse, with a Heimat advantage. Lots of Germans consider football "die wichtigste Nebensache der Welt" too.<... See more Hi Edward,
Excuse my clumsy English. I was quoting the Dutch, who call football "de belangrijkste bijzaak ter wereld". Don't count the Dutch out yet. We'll play less attractive this time, but we will be more effective.
And one should never, and I mean never, underestimate the German team. It's a miracle how they've made themselves invisible. They're the real dark horse, with a Heimat advantage. Lots of Germans consider football "die wichtigste Nebensache der Welt" too.
Regards,
Gerard ▲ Collapse
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Brandon Wood
Japan
Local time: 05:12
Japanese to English
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| My dark horse... | Jun 8, 2006 |
I've got Japan as my dark horse, and man are they a dark horse. Their group is terrible... Brazil AND Croatia to deal with, and that's not saying Australia will be an easy match either. Well, that's the fun in it though... I'll be happy watching them play three games.
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Olga Dubeshka (X)
United States
Local time: 16:12
Russian to English
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Hi Olga,
Actually, soccer is a Brit word. From Wikipedia:
The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other versions of football played at the time. The word soccer is a colloquial abbreviation of association (from assoc.) and first appeared in the 1880s. The word is sometimes credited to Charles Wreford Brown, an Oxford University student said to have b... See more Hi Olga,
Actually, soccer is a Brit word. From Wikipedia:
The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other versions of football played at the time. The word soccer is a colloquial abbreviation of association (from assoc.) and first appeared in the 1880s. The word is sometimes credited to Charles Wreford Brown, an Oxford University student said to have been fond of shortened forms such as brekkers for breakfast and rugger for rugby football. In the late 19th century the word soccer tended to be used only at public schools; most people knew the game simply as football. Today the term association football is rarely used, although some clubs still include Association Football Club (AFC) in their name. The game is sometimes known colloquially as footy and footer. ▲ Collapse
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| Football soccer vs American football | Jun 8, 2006 |
Olga Dubeshka wrote: I just read this in today`s paper. Hope you guys will find it interesting to read it too... http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/sports/epaper/2006/06/07/m1a_CUP_RACISM_0607.html I think that soccer is unpopular in US for many reasons, this (above ) being one of them. Almost all our pro sports are supposedly dominated by african -americans or hispanics... BTW, I always wanted to discuss this phenomenon: why do we , in US , call (real) football soccer ? And why do we call football the game that looks more like rugby ? I always wondered about it.
Whatever the opinion of Edward Potter regarding the World Cup and the madness the world is living now, we cannot deny that this event is considered in many countris of the wolrd as the most important sports competition.
In fact, people really get involved in everything related to the world cup. Some exampes: In my country the President decreed half day off so that employees can watch the opening ceremony and our match against Germany. (Hopefully, we will be up to the challenge this Friday.) Besides, many people consider that we are patriotic only in issues related to the national team. These days, it is very common to see people wearing jerseys, purchasign flags and memorabilia. In short, talking about soccer is a must not only boy men but also for women, even though they can't make a difference between an indirect free kick or a direct one.
Hopefully we could rise to the occassion as our slogan say: "Our army is the team, our weapon is the ball. Let's get to Germany and give it our all"
By the way,
Both terms "Football soccer" "American football" refer to the same sport. What Americans call soccer is called football everywhere else in the world (football in British English and French, futbol in Spanish, fussball in German, etc.).
The official name of the sport is associative (association) football. The international governing body is referred to as FIFA, from the French "Federation Internationale de Football Associatif" (International Federation of Associative Football). The word soccer is a colloquial abbreviation of association (from assoc.) and first appeared in the 1880s.
All this is complicated by the fact that America has its own game called "football," with helmets and touchdowns and such. This game is completely American, although the rest of the world is beginning to learn about it. To distinguish it from soccer, other countries refer to it specifically as "American football". http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/8963
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_(soccer)_names
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| Dangerous emotion? | Jun 30, 2006 |
I don't think that hanging our flag may lead to dangerous emotions.
In my country we hang our flag on Independence Day, Flag Day and May Revolution Day, and when our team is playing at the World Cup Tournament.
Soccer is by far the most popular sport here in Argentina.
Why do some countries follow the Cup closely and others are not interested?
Well, maybe that there are countries that have very few or no occassion at all to have a collective celebration, so people ... See more I don't think that hanging our flag may lead to dangerous emotions.
In my country we hang our flag on Independence Day, Flag Day and May Revolution Day, and when our team is playing at the World Cup Tournament.
Soccer is by far the most popular sport here in Argentina.
Why do some countries follow the Cup closely and others are not interested?
Well, maybe that there are countries that have very few or no occassion at all to have a collective celebration, so people cling to events like this.
Other countries that are developed, well organized and successful just don't need soccer and what it can give to the public.
My country is in bad need of celebrating. During this period we become a country with 38,000,000 soccer players, women included. Jajaja ▲ Collapse
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