"Hey, England. Suck It!"





















"U-S-A...U-S-A..." well, kind of, sort of. England 1, United States 1 in the first match for the USA in this World Cup. Our soccer friends met at the Old Angle. Omigod, it was asses to elbows in there. Probably as crowded as a St. Pat's Day. I got there around 12:45 for a 2:30 game and seating was already at a premium. I'm assuming the novelty wears off as the tournament progresses, because everyone had this game circled when the draw was announced. But try the Beef Sliders, very tasty. Oddly enough, they also have beer!

Uncle Sam and Becks


























And what a raucous crowd it was! Shouted "U-S-A" a lot, groaned each time the TV transmission was lost and we booed Beckham every time they showed him. Poor Becks! Not even playing and he draws the wrath of the viewers. Well, he did spill oil in our Gulf, the bloody bastard! Or something like that.

Gerrard Gets A Yellow Card




















As far as the match was concerned, I had us losing at 50% and had a draw at 30%, but only a 20% chance of winning. But England scored in the 4th minute. The English skipper, Stephen Gerrard, had that goal. I like him as Captain. That guy would take his Mother out on a tackle, if it would help him win.

Rob Green's Goalkeeping Mitts
























The USA scored on an incredibly bad goalkeeping effort by the English keeper, Rob Green. Jeezy creezy, high schoolers don't give up slop like that and this was on a world stage. Clint Dempsey had that goal to even it up in the 40th minute. I've already heard Green referred to as the "Bill Buckner of soccer". Yikes.

Strange Sight: Wayne Rooney Complaining!
















And that sign explains why I am not in South Africa. Stay Alert, Stay Alive. Good grief.

Both teams had chances in the second half. Most notably, Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips for England and Jozy Altidore for the US. Tim Howard, the Man of the Match for the US, made all the saves and none went in.

For my taste, the USA gave the ball away much too easily on unforced errors in the match. Too many throw-ins and a real lack of ball control have me a touch disappointed in today's result, but I'm very glad they got the draw.

Our Lads


















The English perspective.

Next up: Algeria.

Meal of Links

Saudi Arabia has a conversation with Israel. "If you need to, like, blow up Iran's nuclear sites, we can, um, clear our airspace for you." Yikes.

Alfred Hitchcock was the first person to be recorded saying, "That's what she said.". (With more from "The Office".)

Folks watching England-USA on ITV HD in England, missed the goal scored by England. Oops.

Exercise Yard

It's tough being an American soccer fan. Money quote: "Talking with my neighbors about Lionel Messi would be like trying to engage a group of Amish farmers in a discussion about the merits of the 2011 Porsche Carrera."

Now that 5 matches have been played in the World Cup, what have we learned? The pitches are fast tracks and that ball is jumpy. They complain about the ball every year, but, man, it takes some huge hops this year.

What Else?

Argentina looked good beating Nigeria. I can't tell if they are a really good team that does just enough to win or if they toy with their opponents. Diego Maradona looked good in his suit, though.

South Korea looked OK against Greece. But, my God, it looked like Greece was asleep for the first 70 minutes of the match. As if they were in the Eastern Time Zone at 7:30 a.m.

Mexico-South Africa? South Africa needed a win. I think the host is done.

Uruguay and France. The French were awfully selfish in this one. Too much individualism. Don't sleep on Uruguay, that was a good result for them.

Worst Goalkeeping



Best Dance



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