OT: The 2026 World Cup Thread

Tunescribe · Jul 7, 2026

brdmaverick said:
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. No real connection to Norway. As a season ticket holder of the New England Revolution they gave us an opportunity to buy some tickets and the Norway-Iraq game happened to be the cheapest....though I was intrigued by this matchup given some big names on Norway. As a general soccer fan I felt I had to try to at least get to one World Cup game (and it was quite the experience). I enjoy the Revs but the atmosphere was on a complete other level. Ultimately I got a nosebleed ticket for $260 and never actually went to my seat.

I'm a Patriots season ticket holder as well (33 years) and wasn't aware of that offer. Not sure whether I would've pulled the trigger but you made the right choice for a unique experience. Was getting there and parking any different than usual?

Sfpat · Jul 7, 2026

The USNMT spent too much time reading their press clippings assuring them the round of 8 and forgot they actually had to play the game.

One-If-By-Sea · Jul 7, 2026

Gumby · Jul 7, 2026

One-If-By-Sea said:

If we invade Belgium, that would make us the winner. Lol

Hilarious, but be prepared to be deleted. I can laugh & it doesn’t change my opinions but it likely is over the politics line.

patman12 · Jul 7, 2026

Sfpat said:
The USNMT spent too much time reading their press clippings assuring them the round of 8 and forgot they actually had to play the game.

Agree, they were not ready for the moment, at all.

Tunescribe · Jul 7, 2026

Guts said:

Bill Lee · Jul 7, 2026

patman12 said:
Everything he touches turns to ****.

You know it, I know it, but the cultists don't.

DoubleDeluxe · Jul 7, 2026

1960Pats said:
Right. Trump isn't America. We the people are. And the WC players and fans are seeing the truth. Not the mediot version.

Unfortunately most non Americans associate Trump as America. As someone who has spent a lot of time in the States, I know first hand that the people are great and so much more than your President, something the WC fans who attended saw first hand.

Bill Lee · Jul 7, 2026

DoubleDeluxe said:
Unfortunately most non Americans associate Trump as America.

I experienced this in England. I have a cousin born and raised there. We were on a public bus going home after a night at the pub. It was the last bus of the night and pretty much everyone on the bus was buzzed if not drunk. I knew to keep my mouth shut, but at some point I had something I had to say to my cousin. Immediately, cackles of "Trump" were raining down on me. Damn. I didn't vote for the guy, don't blame me. I was gonna reply with 'Brexit' but I didn't have a good read of how that would go down and there were a lot more of them than there were of me. Discretion won out over valor.

PATSNUTme · Jul 7, 2026

Bill Lee said:
I experienced this in England. I have a cousin born and raised there. We were on a public bus going home after a night at the pub. It was the last bus of the night and pretty much everyone on the bus was buzzed if not drunk. I knew to keep my mouth shut, but at some point I had something I had to say to my cousin. Immediately, cackles of "Trump" were raining down on me. Damn. I didn't vote for the guy, don't blame me. I was gonna reply with 'Brexit' but I didn't have a good read of how that would go down and there were a lot more of them than there were of me. Discretion won out over valor.

I've always thought that the best way to measure public opinion was to get on a bus at 2AM with a bunch of drunks.
These polling companies would have more accurate results if they did that.

Gumby · Jul 7, 2026

The thread has had a good run despite the one or two who called for Pub Banishment.

Let’s PLEASE end the Trump sub-topic now so we keep the thread til the Final. Thanks.

mgteich · Jul 7, 2026

DoubleDeluxe said:
Unfortunately most non Americans associate Trump as America. As someone who has spent a lot of time in the States, I know first hand that the people are great and so much more than your President, something the WC fans who attended saw first hand.

hmm

Look at the polls that show how many Americans are not proud to be an America (check this out by party). My conclusion is that there are many here in America who associate Trump with America.

mgteich · Jul 7, 2026

1960Pats said:
I still don't care for it but Soccer has moved ahead of hockey in this country.

and ahead of baseball

Google Search

college football is #6. Here's the rest of the list

Google Search

PATSNUTme · Jul 7, 2026

I'm not a big soccer fan. I try to watch it but I get really bored. So maybe I'm not looking at it the right way.
The US has a population of about 320,000,000. Every city and town has a youth soccer program. Most high schools and colleges have soccer teams.
We just lost to Belgium, a country of 12,000,000. I've also heard on sports shows and even news shows how great it was that the US made it to the round of 16.
We just got crushed by Belgium a country with 4% of our population. I find it embarrassing that with all the people we have participating in this sport that we get crushed in the round of 16 by a tiny country.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

mgteich · Jul 7, 2026

PATSNUTme said:
I'm not a big soccer fan. I try to watch it but I get really bored. So maybe I'm not looking at it the right way.
The US has a population of about 320,000,000. Every city and town has a youth soccer program. Most high schools and colleges have soccer teams.
We just lost to Belgium, a country of 12,000,000. I've also heard on sports shows and even news shows how great it was that the US made it to the round of 16.
We just got crushed by Belgium a country with 4% of our population. I find it embarrassing that with all the people we have participating in this sport that we get crushed in the round of 16 by a tiny country.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

an interesing attitude

So, do you expect India and China to be the top of every sport because of their large populations. That simply isn't how it works.

PATSNUTme · Jul 7, 2026

mgteich said:
hmm

Look at the polls that show how many Americans are not proud to be an America (check this out by party). My conclusion is that there are many here in America who associate Trump with America.

My conclusion is that our education system has been failing our country badly for the past 20+ years.

PATSNUTme · Jul 7, 2026

mgteich said:
an interesing attitude

So, do you expect India and China to be the top of every sport because of their large populations. That simply isn't how it works.

I don't know if every city and town in India and China have youth soccer programs or high school teams.

mgteich · Jul 7, 2026

PATSNUTme said:
I don't know if every city and town in India and China have youth soccer programs or high school teams.

In the end, there just isn't much interest in men's soccer in the US. For example, we have never won an Olympic medal.

Of course, women's soccer is tremendously successful. We are the best in the world, often close with the "small in population" country of Canada.

Perhaps, as the sport continue to grow, we will be more successful. This year is best effort this century.

As an aside, I think that during this century, soccer has moved from #12 to #3 in popularity, so perhaps there is hope.

Guts · Jul 7, 2026

Argentina keeps playing with fire but they advance

PatsFan2 · Jul 7, 2026

Guts said:
Argentina keeps playing with fire but they advance

What choke job by Egypt catastrophic collapse there. The mother of all choking.

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