Miscellaneous Forum

because Norway didn't qualify. :( (if they had, I'd be in Poland right now, bah)

Because not everyone is interested in football, amazing though that may seem.

Hi It's been a pretty exciting start to the tournament. I got home from work in time to watch the second half of Poland vs Greece (better entertainment than the first half by all accounts!) and I've just enjoyed watching the first half of Russia vs Czech Republic. Russia are knocking the ball around well and look a very good side. I'll be watching most (probabaly all!) of the games over the weekend; some great fixtures over the next couple of days! My money is on Spain or Germany to win the tournament (predictable, I know!). Back to the TV for the second half....I can't see Russia letting their lead slip, but we'll see!

I am talking of the Euro 2012 all week; that is: The VT EuroMeet we had at Bergamo. BTW I won an orange soccer shirt tonight at the wheel of fortune. How long do you think I can wear it? PJ

football? naaaaaaaah. I seem to associate that with fighting and lack of intelligence. Not for me, I'm afraid.

I normally hate football but my dad seems to have gotten quite excited about it this year and even I surprised myself with how much I loved the Poland v Greece match that was just on!

It’s more than football… it goes beyond sports… it unites people in a way that nothing else does. How can you not have goose bumps when you watch the replay of the penalty saved by the Polish goalkeeper in a giant TV screen mounted in that crowded square in Warsaw? This would be a much better place if all the political problems were solved on a pitch (or sport’s court).

This would be a much better place if all the political problems were solved on a pitch (or sport’s court). Is that without the hooligans and the racial chants sung by idiots, Joey. Don't get me wrong, I love football but after a 9 month season I've seen enough, I'll just be watching the England and Ireland matches and possibly France.

OK, ready for the bashing! National Basketball Finals, National Hockey League Finals, Basetball Season and the last leg of the Horse Racing Triple Crown. At least that's what is keeping the Americans interest right now.

> "Don't get me wrong, I love football but after a 9 month season I've seen enough, I'll just be watching the England and Ireland matches and possibly France." You are missing out then. Club football is so boring compared to international. This is the best time of year right now, the clubs are done so the real games begin. Asian games in the morning, European and African games in the afternoon, and North/South American games at night. Couldn't get any better.

I agree with Zeek. Club football is about money. The EURO Cup is about country pride.

"Club football is so boring compared to international." Disagree; when you go to a low enough level where the players cannot even hope to be Internationals, there's a refreshing honesty, generally, about the game and the players. Much more rapport between the spectators - no crowd segregation at the team I support, (Eastbourne Boro in BSS, for UK readers), and no need to worry about players looking good for the TV cameras, nor any chance of a broken ankle after falling off his wallet. Cynic! International players are over-paid prima-donnas, end of. There was a time when they'd travel to the game on the bus with the fans, and, a lot of them being part-time, would be working next to the fans on the factory floor the next working day; in fact most the the EBFC players are part-time - teachers, postmen, double-glazing fitters, etc. so there's no room for arrogance and a feeling that they are better than the fans who pay their wages. Generally.

I juat saw the goals from yesterdays games and it seemed very exciting. I was at a music festival where my brothers band played so no football, but today i will be out watching it on a big screen. And group B that starts today seems really interesting with 3 of the tournaments favorites and Denmark as the little dark horse. And i agree that club football is getting less and less interesting as it becomes more and more about big bucks. Champions League is so bloody boring that i hardly watch any games there anymore. And club football is also mostly where you have the hooliganism these days as the3se clubs speaks more to the small brains than the national teams.

@Zeek, I don't agree whatsoever, of course if you talk of watching club football in the U.S., you may have a point. Don't forget you are talking about the same players whether at one level or another, and I certainly don't believe that the players are more motivated at int'l level than at club level, they don't play for peanuts anymore. I played football from the age of 5 until I stopped at 46 yo and believe me when I say that if I thought I would be missing out I'd be stuck in front of the box. But I've never been a TV fan that much that I'll watch anything, and that includes football.

Because I never talk about football ever... Opps I just did

Football is the only thing in the world that is more important than women.

I think Joey, it is a matter of potential audiences. It is not a World Cup so automatically remove any meaningful engagement from South America and Africa, two hotbeds of the sport. After several costly and generally failed attempts plus a World Cup and despite the overpaid presence of HRH Prince David Beckham soccer will never be a major force in the North American sporting psyche, there is to much competition. I believe there is some sort of NBA playoff this weekend. Asia, although following club football and especially English club football are not, in my experience, interested in the game per se. They are interested in brand Chelsea, brand Man Utd., brand Liverpool etc. The performances of national teams is, in my experience, of minimal interest to them. So what is left? The people of Europe, watching a competition being held in a place that is on the outermost fringes of that Continent and Poland. Whlst I shall watch as much of it as I can because I like football, I do not find it at all surprising that nobody is talking "A"bout it. It really is not that important an event globally. UEFA take note!

The EURO is a lot less interesting than the world cup cause you don't get all the inputs from the other continents and the european teams generally know eachother so well that the games become a little more boring than at the world cup. Last EURO was an exeption though and really had a lot of good games.

I( was just checking facebook now and it's quite interesting that a lot of my friends tweeting their opinions about the game in 40 minutes are from Malaysia and Brazil.

Sweden has not started to play yet, so the yellow and blue heroes will soon take part in the Eurocup and show the Ukranians how it will be. If they wanna fight about the victory, they probably need more players, like the referee and the spectators, then they have two more then us. The vikings came to stay and show the rest of Europe which NATION will win this, like we did with the Eurovision! Number one! Numero uno! Nummer eins! Nummer ett! Watch other nationalities, here we come and take over in Kiev!

Watching Germany and Portugal righ now and watched second half of Poland V Greece yesterday. But tomorrow nigh for Ireland v Croatia ..... That's when the excitement starts here. My youngest son is in Poland for the competition, so yes, we're definitely talking about it here.

Peter, like you I am looking forward to watching Sweden play, if I can see it here. You state, "If they wanna fight about the victory, they probably need more players, like the referee and the spectators, then they have two more then us." Surely fighting is the very last thing we need at this tournament. Your suggestion that the referee is going to be biased is, at least interesting if not inflammatory or possibly libellous. Have a little think about what you post lest people take your VT name seriously.

I am watching Germany - Portugal too nd watched Denmark beat The Netherlands before that. The previous game really showed why this is such a charmomg sport. Pleyer by player, the dutch team is 10 times better than the danish, but you must play like a team to win. Michael Krohn Delhi who scored the danish goal actually played several years for Ajax Amsterdam without ever making it to the first team and now he is here as match winner and man of the matsch.

Sweden can end up anywhere. It's also one of the smaller teams, but they have great team spirit and Zlatan up front who is one of the 5 best players in the world and very unpredictable.

because I am busy watching Germany vs Portugal OxO at 23;20 ::) Aupa España lol!!!

Denmark beat Holland? Amazing. What is next do you think?

I will try to not sound too biased here, but i think the Denmark - Holland game showed why this game is so nice and unpredictable. Good team spirit can beat even the biggest stars any day and damn do the dutch have a fantatic lineup- The danish goalscorer and man of the match, Michael Krohn Delhi, atually played a few years in Ajax Amsterdam without ever making it on to the first team and now he is here as a mathwinner. I am sitting watching tonights games in a rural danish town called Sønderborg and the danish left back Simon Poulsen grew up here so the party is really nice with his old school friends having a nice little camp on the main square where i am sitting.

Holland same as last no offense ,denmark another cinderalla tournament; the group is wide open

I have Ozil and Kedhira, vs Pepe,Contrao, CR heheehe Real Madrid...lol!! but my oldest boy godfather is from Faro,Portugal so Vamos Portugal !!!

Van Persie really missed some huge chances and Schneider had an awful game driving the dutch play forward. sure some luck for Denmark too, but the dutch can only thank themselves for the mess they are in now.