Althouse: "The US women's soccer team has defended itself after being slammed for wildly celebrating every goal in their 13-0 defeat of Thailand."

June 12, 2019

"The US women's soccer team has defended itself after being slammed for wildly celebrating every goal in their 13-0 defeat of Thailand."

"The Women's World Cup favorites thrashed the minnows in Riems, France, on Tuesday night leaving their opponents in tears and were then criticized by commentators and soccer fans for reacting to each goal as if it were their first," The Daily Mail reports.

What's the defense? It's hardly worth typing about. It's something like... they had dreams. And this bullshit feminism in the form of a question: "If this is 10-0 in a men's World Cup are we getting the same questions?"

247 comments:

1 – 200 of 247 Newer› Newest»

Fen said...: I'm with our women:

'I think it's disrespectful if we don't show up and give our best and play our game for 90 minutes,' Morgan told ESPN, defending her team's performance on Tuesday. 'It's disrespectful to the Thai team. And I believe they wanted us to play them straight up.

'And for the celebrations, these are goals we have dreamt of our entire life,' she continued. 'I mean, I'm going to celebrate Mal Pugh's goal. I'm going to celebrate Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle. This is their first World Cup and I'm so proud of them. And I couldn't have dreamt of scoring five goals in a World Cup. So it's incredible for us all and I'm happy just ignoring those comments.'

This is the World Cup. If you are going to cry about it, maybe competitive sports aren't for you?; 6/12/19, 1:08 PM
PM said...: If only the men's team could score 13.; 6/12/19, 1:08 PM
Leland said...: It was their first game in this FIFA World Cup. For some, their goal was likely their first at this level and that matters to them. But once up by 5, it is nothing but a trouncing and perhaps some tact should be displayed.

Then again, why must they be ashamed of winning? They didn't choose the match up.; 6/12/19, 1:10 PM
YoungHegelian said...: I'm sorry, 13-Zilch?!

It's not the Americans who should be apologizing. This was a Women's World Cup game, and at 13-0, it seems like the Thais showed up expecting to play badminton instead of soccer.

13-3, 13-4, okay. But Zero? At World Cup level? Naaaaah, not right.; 6/12/19, 1:10 PM
Jim at said...: Megan Rapinoe kneeling during the National Anthem while representing the United States in a World Cup?

Hard pass.; 6/12/19, 1:10 PM
Fen said...: I think it's a difference of perspective. The other teams look to America as the juggernaut favorite. But the America Team isn't taking anything for granted, and may not be as confident in their ability as the other team's are confident in America's ability.; 6/12/19, 1:11 PM
Fen said...: Megan Rapinoe kneeling during the National Anthem while representing the United States in a World Cup?

Oh. Didn't know that. Well fuck them then. I withdraw my defense of our World Cup Team.

So sick of this shit.; 6/12/19, 1:12 PM
khematite said...: I believe the term "running up the score" was coined at a time when there really were only men's sports being played. It was plainly a rebuke even back then.; 6/12/19, 1:13 PM
CJinPA said...: Fox Sports presenter Aly Wagner added: 'It's a World Cup. You score, you celebrate. This is a dream for these players.'

This person gave the only answer she could. She may believe it, but there is 0% chance she would risk criticizing the media darlings.

The number of goals a team scores DOES matter in determining seedings. But celebrating like that is the hallmark of a coddled team that's been led to believe it can do no wrong.

Even pros don't behave this way.; 6/12/19, 1:15 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The linked article has the details of what Rapinoe did.

She did not kneel.

She declined to sing along and put her hand over her heart, which her teammates did, and she raised a fist at the end of the song.; 6/12/19, 1:15 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The criticism isn't for the weird offense of "running up the score." It was for continuing to wildly celebrate each goal once the score was run up.; 6/12/19, 1:16 PM
Henry said...: Any team who runs up the score in any sport will get criticized.

Interestingly, no one cares in individual sports. Think of tennis. Run up the score. No one is going to criticize a 6-0 6-0 win.

Reportedly the U.S. team was celebrating even the late goals in the match yesterday. I'm not all that bothered, but that does seem pretty juvenile.

Don't do that in a baseball game or Madison Bumgarner will throw at your head.; 6/12/19, 1:18 PM
Earnest Prole said...: This team is currently engaged in litigation against US Soccer because they aren't paid as much as the men -- perhaps they were trying to prove women have to work twice as hard for half the pay.; 6/12/19, 1:18 PM
Tommy Duncan said...: Thailand played most of game in front of their own goal. It was hard to watch. Further, if Thailand had fielded a decent goalie there would have been fewer celebrations.; 6/12/19, 1:18 PM
RK said...: Once it's 5-0, guys would be acting cool about it.; 6/12/19, 1:18 PM
tcrosse said...: Justice demands that they be trounced by a team of transgendered men.; 6/12/19, 1:19 PM
Henry said...: I watched part of the game. The Americans had possession of the ball about 99% of the time. But at the end of the first half it was only 3-0. When I saw the 13-0 score later in the evening I thought it was a typo.; 6/12/19, 1:20 PM
CJinPA said...: This is the World Cup. If you are going to cry about it, maybe competitive sports aren't for you?

The vast majority of athletic competitors don't behave this way. Even the camera-loving divas of the NFL dial back the displays in a blowout, or are criticized.

It's not complicated. Competition + Sportsmanship = sports. Competition + Assholery = Reality TV.; 6/12/19, 1:20 PM
Fen said...: I believe the term "running up the score" was coined

Yah but it can bite you. I coached youth soccer and a rival had us at 3-0 at the half. He put in his bench during the second half because he didn't want to run the score up.

What he didn't know is that my star forward had always expressed a desire to play goalie, so I consented. Hence the 3 goals :) LOL. Second half we put him back at center and we proceeded to win 5-3.

Post game, their coach muttered something sour grapes to me about how he was trying to be merciful, but there was a chance to sub in the second half and he misread what was really going on.

I've made the same mistake a few times, pulled back to avoid the poor sportsmanship of embarrassing the other team, only to have them rally and force me to pull out a nailbiter to win. Once you go through that a few times, you never pull up again.

Although I never had a 10 pt lead. That IS a bit much.; 6/12/19, 1:21 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Around Meadhouse, I've been making fun of the idea that it's wrong to "run up the score" (ever since I first heard of the concept). But the excessive celebrating is another matter. I've watched some professional basketball games where the players looked like they were celebrating the end of the whole game and it was just another basket. I find it irritating. They're not children, and us viewers are not their tickled-to-death parents. It's a spectator sport, and the question is how WE feel.

I also don't like too much clapping at concerts.

I was at a jazz club last night (the Village Vanguard) and there was a quartet, where on each song, each musician had a solo, and the audience clapped for each solo, like good for you, and it meant that we couldn't hear the next part of the playing, over and over again.; 6/12/19, 1:21 PM
Quayle said...: Christiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid returned to Old Trafford in a Champions' League Match, but said that he would not, if he scored, celebrate it the goal out of respect for Manchester United, his first professional team and fans that cheered him for the first years of his career.

The Germany team trounced Brazil in front of Brazil's home crowd - they were almost scoring at will. Eventually Germany figured out that they were running the risk of global condemnation, and walked the game out from there.

In the men's game, you'd probably have a fist thrown at you, rather than the opponent crying.; 6/12/19, 1:22 PM
MadisonMan said...: Would the Daily Mail be complaining if it was the UK scoring 13 goals?; 6/12/19, 1:23 PM
Fen said...: She did not kneel.

She declined to sing along and put her hand over her heart, which her teammates did, and she raised a fist at the end of the song.

That's worse.

And what, a black power salute when everyone over here is nutso about "OK" as the harbinger of the white supremacy apocalypse? Really?

Screw them.; 6/12/19, 1:23 PM
RK said...: It's bad karma.; 6/12/19, 1:23 PM
SDaly said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/12/19, 1:24 PM
Fen said...: I've watched some professional basketball games where the players looked like they were celebrating the end of the whole game and it was just another basket. I find it irritating

Yah. I noticed NFL defenses celebrating every tackle like it was a turnover. Get's old.

But then I gave up the NFL after Kapper whatisname and his bullshit.; 6/12/19, 1:25 PM
Browndog said...: I don't know how big soccer is in Thailand. I'd be interested to know if American tourist are suffering a backlash for humiliating their country.

Just another added element no one is thinking about.; 6/12/19, 1:25 PM
Xmas said...: I believe the answer to this question:

"If this is 10-0 in a men's World Cup are we getting the same questions?"

No, if this was a men's team, the questions would be "Did you think getting all those red cards for excessive celebration was warranted, since your red carded players could be suspended in your next match?"; 6/12/19, 1:27 PM
rhhardin said...: It's polite in Thai to add "crap" after every sentence.; 6/12/19, 1:28 PM
Fen said...: What he didn't know is that my star forward had always expressed a desire to play goalie, so I consented. Hence the 3 goals :) LOL. Second half we put him back at center and we proceeded to win 5-3.

There was a sad moment though. After they scored the 2nd goal on my star-forward-turned-goalie, the kid's father approached me and asked me to take him out. The other parents were giving him dirty looks. This was a 6-7 year olds league. Ugh.

That was my last season.; 6/12/19, 1:28 PM
Wilbur said...: I watched the end of the second half, maybe the last 15 minutes, and it resembled a junior high team playing a college team. The Thais were dispirited (not surprisingly) and it showed.

I was surprised at and a bit put off by the wild celebrations after each goal. Maybe the best way to describe it is that it seemed grossly disproportionate.; 6/12/19, 1:29 PM
stevew said...: They should score every goal they can, that's the objective and this is a serious competition.

Celebrating every goal as if it were the first is unsportsmanlike and shows a lack of class and lack of respect for the opponent. Heck, to me wild celebrations for a single goal in a match is classless and disrepectful. Rather like a baseball player flipping his bat as he watches a home run sail into the stands.; 6/12/19, 1:30 PM
rhhardin said...: Women get a dopamine hit out of celebrating together. Or complaining.; 6/12/19, 1:30 PM
Jake said...: "Justice demands that they be trounced by a team of transgendered men."

Well, in 2015 they did lose 5-2 to an under-15 boys club team from Dallas.; 6/12/19, 1:31 PM
Gahrie said...: First of all, I have been a huge fan of the U.S. WNST since the early 1990's.

There should be no attacks on the team for scoring the goals. That was their job, and they did it superbly. It was Thailand's job to stop the U.S., and they were overmatched. The only attack that has some merit is over the celebrations over the goals once you got to double digits.

The defense is that some of those late goals were the first goals those players had scored in a World Cup, and so of course they were excited. I get that. But these women are also professionals, and insist as being treated as such. Part of being professional is being able to control your emotions and excitement in situations like this. Score the goals, and then calmly line up for the kick off.

Would the men's team have behaved the same way? Probably, and I would have felt the same way about it.; 6/12/19, 1:32 PM
rhhardin said...: There's a man in sportsmanship.; 6/12/19, 1:32 PM
Fen said...: I was at a jazz club last night (the Village Vanguard) and there was a quartet, where on each song, each musician had a solo, and the audience clapped for each solo, like good for you, and it meant that we couldn't hear the next part of the playing, over and over again.

When I submit and take the wife to a play, one of our enjoyments is people-watching as each member of the audience succumbs to the social pressure to rise and join the standing ovation. Especially when it's obvious it was mediocre. I love that woman LOL.; 6/12/19, 1:32 PM
Cameron said...: I'm a big (men's) soccer fan, and although I don't really follow the women's game closely, I did watch this one, and I'm pulling for them to win the cup, but I thought the celebrations were embarrassing. Choreographed dance routines with the subs on the bench, Rapinoe with some crazy slide for the 10th goal. Germany played Estonia yesterday as well in a qualifier for the Euros, and beat them 8-0. By the time the match was secure (around 4-0) they basically stopped celebrating at all.

They absolutely needed to score as many goals as possible, the format demands that, but to act like scoring the 9th goal against a team without a single professional player, and a goalkeeper who stands 5'5", is the pinnacle of one's professional career is just plain ridiculous.; 6/12/19, 1:35 PM
Nonapod said...: Yeah, in soccer by the time you've got a 5+ point lead, the odds of the other team making some sort of miracle comeback get pretty long. I think at some point sportsmanship should come into play. It's not that you don't keep trying to get more goals, just that the reaction to each new goal should become a bit more muted. It's not a big deal, it's just being a decent person and not rubbing peoples faces in it.; 6/12/19, 1:36 PM
Fen said...: Well, in 2015 they did lose 5-2 to an under-15 boys club team from Dallas.

I don't put too much stock in this. It's routine for women to use boy's teams to challenge them. But they are more like pre-season for the women - try out new things, give backup players more experience, etc. Whereas the boys are fighting for their reps, imagining all the catcalls in the highschool hallways if they let a girl beat them.; 6/12/19, 1:36 PM
rhhardin said...: It's a little baffling to me but other people are like that, I figure.

Sane people take sports as a technical exercise.; 6/12/19, 1:36 PM
Jim at said...: She declined to sing along and put her hand over her heart, which her teammates did, and she raised a fist at the end of the song.

Oh. Well that makes it all better.

Eff 'em.; 6/12/19, 1:38 PM
Big Mike said...: The criticism isn't for the weird offense of "running up the score." It was for continuing to wildly celebrate each goal once the score was run up.

And that’s a very good point, Althouse. At a certain point in the match it’s pretty obvious that a shot on goal is essentially equivalent to shooting into an empty net, and there’s nothing really to celebrate.

My younger son played on a youth travel soccer team that found itself in a similar terrible mismatch in a tournament two states away. After the blowout our coach made a remark to the other coach about running up the score and goal celebrations, and the other coach told him that he had his third string goalie in the net and was playing his weakest players out of position, including playing his first two goalies at forward. So the team’s goalies-turned-forwards celebrated because usually they were at the other end of the field. There’s no response to that, but my son decided to run track in high school instead of going out for soccer.; 6/12/19, 1:39 PM
Achilles said...: Ann Althouse said...
The linked article has the details of what Rapinoe did.

She did not kneel.

She declined to sing along and put her hand over her heart, which her teammates did, and she raised a fist at the end of the song.

Ok.

Time for these people to gtfo.

One way plane trips to Nigeria. Or Afghanistan. Or Saudi Arabia. Or Mexico.

Take your pick.

gtfo; 6/12/19, 1:40 PM
Wilbur said...: The craziest thing was that there were three minutes of injury time added at the end. I don't know if the referee has the authority to just end a game after 90 minutes, but if the authority to do so wasn't exercised it was criminal (well, figuratively).; 6/12/19, 1:40 PM
Anonymous said...: 1 It's Reims or Rheims, not "thrashed the minnows in Riems, France"

2. The Black Power fist should get her benched in a game as preordained as win as this was going to be

3. Don't total goals scored have some role in determining a tie break moving forward?; 6/12/19, 1:41 PM
PJ57 said...: Part of the problem here is that in women's team sports, the worldwide pool of talent is pretty thin and very unevenly distributed. The Thai team was not much better than a good high school or Division 3 college team. But every half-arsed country seems to think they need to send a team to participate in these sports fests, lest their ladies be left out. I dare say the Thai team would crush the Americans in a bar hostess competition. Compete in what you are good at.; 6/12/19, 1:42 PM
Browndog said...: There's an iconic photo of them kneeling for anthem (protesting not getting equal pay as men) in a virtually empty stadium before a match.; 6/12/19, 1:42 PM
Gahrie said...: Well, in 2015 they did lose 5-2 to an under-15 boys club team from Dallas.

I don't put too much stock in this. It's routine for women to use boy's teams to challenge them.

1) These are competitive women playing at the highest levels of the game, most of them professionally. They wanted to win those matches.

2) It's routine for those boys teams to beat the women's teams, often badly. The Boys are faster, stronger and have more endurance. It's simple biology, and the precise reason there are different leagues for men and women.

3) I love the women's game, and I'm a huge fan of the US WNT. They are superb athletes, and it is fun to watch them play. But they simply cannot compete athletically with males.; 6/12/19, 1:42 PM
Birkel said...: Is there another type of feminism, Althouse?
Where have you been hiding it?; 6/12/19, 1:44 PM
tim maguire said...: I expect every player to give it their all every minute they are on the field. But I expect the coach to cycle in the lesser players once the game is firmly in hand. If that happened and Thailand is just so bad that they couldn't handle even the bench warmers, then they deserve to take a pasting.

Basically the same for the celebrations--this is the World Cup, every woman who scored a goal deserves a cheer. But the woman who scored 5? After the first couple, it's time to act like you've been there before.

And none of this has anything to do with gender pay equity, which has been a fake issue for generations.; 6/12/19, 1:45 PM
Gahrie said...: But every half-arsed country seems to think they need to send a team to participate in these sports fests, lest their ladies be left out.

A lot of the time their ladies are still left out. Over half of the Jamaican team are actually Americans with Jamaican ancestry.; 6/12/19, 1:46 PM
Gahrie said...: But I expect the coach to cycle in the lesser players once the game is firmly in hand. If that happened and Thailand is just so bad that they couldn't handle even the bench warmers, then they deserve to take a pasting.

One of the late goals was scored by a substitute.; 6/12/19, 1:48 PM
Jake said...: "I don't put too much stock in this. It's routine for women to use boy's teams to challenge them. But they are more like pre-season for the women - try out new things, give backup players more experience, etc. Whereas the boys are fighting for their reps, imagining all the catcalls in the highschool hallways if they let a girl beat them."

https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/a-dallas-fc-under-15-boys-squad-beat-the-u-s-womens-national-team-in-a-scrimmage/

I'd bet money the boys went easy on the "pros." Elite male HS athletes routinely out-perform female professionals. https://law.duke.edu/sports/sex-sport/comparative-athletic-performance/

It's all about testicles.; 6/12/19, 1:48 PM
tim maguire said...: Fen said...I've made the same mistake a few times, pulled back to avoid the poor sportsmanship of embarrassing the other team,

I vaguely remember an anecdote about a football coach criticized for going for a touchdown with a big lead (let's call it 32-3 in the second half). He responded "I will stop aiming for the goal line if they promise, in writing, not to score more than 28 points."; 6/12/19, 1:51 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: They defeated a team of short, malnourished brown women -- CONGRATS!; 6/12/19, 1:54 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: You can't put lipstick on poor sportsmanship.; 6/12/19, 1:54 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: It was like Megan Rapinoe was raping the entire nation of Thailand.; 6/12/19, 1:55 PM
Original Mike said...: Sometimes in (American) football you can't avoid running up the score. I wouldn't think that true of soccer.; 6/12/19, 1:56 PM
MountainMan said...: My younger daughter was an outstanding youth soccer player. Was a two-time all-state in high school, played on a highly competitive club team, played for a while in the Olympic Development Program, and had several offers to play in college but decided, by the time she finished high school, that she'd had enough and called it quits. After almost 20 years she is still the high school's all time leading scorer. Because of this I followed women's soccer for most of the past 25 years, but I have lost interest in the past couple of years, like I have lost interest in the Olympics and a lot of other sports. A lot of it has to do with the politicization. I've pretty much quit on the NFL and I doubt now I will watch any of this World Cup,

The behavior of Rapinoe should be punished, like leaving her on the bench the rest of the tournament or sending her home. I think it was already known she has an attitude problem. If I were the coach I would have dismissed her before the Cup and pulled some rising star on the U20 team, it's not like the US team is hurting for players, there are plenty who would love to be there. She is representing her country. She not only showed disrespect to her country and its citizens but to FIFA and the spirit of the World Cup. I might watch the final now but only if the US is not in it.; 6/12/19, 1:56 PM
Farmer said...: Women soccer players are supposed to get paid the same as male soccer players even though pretty much nobody watches women's soccer? Where do they think the money comes from?; 6/12/19, 1:57 PM
Greg Hlatky said...: College football, October 7, 1916

Georgia Tech, 222 - Cumberland, 0.; 6/12/19, 1:57 PM
Achilles said...: US Women's Soccer commits ritual seppuku

"She added: “So it's kind of a good ‘F you' to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don't look exactly like him. Which, God help us if we all looked like him. Scary. Really scary."

So she blatantly lies about people she hates.

She is the captain of the team.

Fuck em. Send them to play a game in Afghanistan and leave them there.; 6/12/19, 1:58 PM
Fen said...: Gahrie: 1) These are competitive women playing at the highest levels of the game, most of them professionally. They wanted to win those matches.

2) It's routine for those boys teams to beat the women's teams, often badly. The Boys are faster, stronger and have more endurance. It's simple biology, and the precise reason there are different leagues for men and women.

3) I love the women's game, and I'm a huge fan of the US WNT. They are superb athletes, and it is fun to watch them play. But they simply cannot compete athletically with males.

I'm in full agreement with points 2 & 3. But not 1. Even men treat exhibition games differently, the 1st stringers primary goal is not to win but to experiment, the 2nd stringers playing them (I've been there as a Red Shirt in Texas Football) is to prove themselves.; 6/12/19, 1:59 PM
gilbar said...: America Team isn't taking anything for granted, and may not be as confident in their ability as the other team's are confident in America's ability.

They respected the other team enough to not take the win for granted, and kept going; seems fair
Also, sounds like the Other team should have conceded (if they didn't believe in themselves); 6/12/19, 2:00 PM
Greg Hlatky said...: "She added: “So it's kind of a good ‘F you' to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don't look exactly like him. Which, God help us if we all looked like him. Scary. Really scary."

Hope the half of the United States she's playing for supports her.; 6/12/19, 2:01 PM
CJinPA said...: I've made the same mistake a few times, pulled back to avoid the poor sportsmanship of embarrassing the other team, only to have them rally and force me to pull out a nailbiter to win. Once you go through that a few times, you never pull up again.

I'm sure if it was 8-0 in the second half, and they were kids, you'd pull back. But goal scorers on defense, defenders on offense, etc. I did that a few times with no danger.; 6/12/19, 2:01 PM
Mike said...: Oh yes, have to bring Trump into it. The worst of the USWNT yesterday reminded me of the worst of Trump - being a bully.; 6/12/19, 2:01 PM
stevew said...: "I don't know if the referee has the authority to just end a game after 90 minutes"

The official time is kept by the referee. It is the referees obligation that 90 minutes, divided into halves of 45 mins, be played. Soccer people call it "added time" or "injury time" but in reality the referee has the discretion to make up for lost playing time due to injuries, time wasting, etc. All of which makes added time discretionary. The game could have been ended precisely at 90 minutes.; 6/12/19, 2:04 PM
Hagar said...: It is a whole different culture.
Since this was on TV, I assume it was professional, which of course is different from amateur sports, and anyway, the players are supposed to act up additionally for the entertainment value.

However, growing up in Norway back when the only known "professional" sports was a league of about 4 ice hockey teams near Oslo, the spectators at soccer games were expected to keep it down to a modest amount of clapping at particularly brilliant plays, and the players were not permitted any expression at all.; 6/12/19, 2:08 PM
eddie willers said...: Thailand played most of game in front of their own goal. It was hard to watch

ALL soccer is hard to watch. A mindless, third world game.; 6/12/19, 2:09 PM
CJinPA said...: Around Meadhouse, I've been making fun of the idea that it's wrong to "run up the score"

This gentlemen's rule is not for the spectator, but for the participants.; 6/12/19, 2:09 PM
Original Mike said...: When Brett Belima (who is an ass) was head couch of Wisconsin he went for a 2-point conversion at a point in the second half that he already had a big lead over Minnesota. When questioned about it after the game his reponse was "that's what the card told me to do". Did I mention he's an ass?; 6/12/19, 2:10 PM
Real American said...: first of all, if you don't want to get beat 13-0, then fucking play better. Secondly, if you're up by 6 or 7 or 8 goals in a soccer game against a clearly over-matched opponent, then show some restraint in your celebrations, even as you pour it on. Third, men would get the same questions - but men probably wouldn't get beat 13-0 or cry about it if they did. They'd fight first. Lastly, that scoring a fucking goal is cause for such celebration means there isn't enough scoring in that boring ass sport.; 6/12/19, 2:11 PM
tcrosse said...: This is like Hillary putting a lot of money into running up the popular vote in California.; 6/12/19, 2:11 PM
Fen said...: I'm sure if it was 8-0 in the second half, and they were kids, you'd pull back. But goal scorers on defense, defenders on offense, etc. I did that a few times with no danger.

Well I was lucky too. 3 of my kids were superstars that played in club leagues. Imagine watching a six year old score a banana kick from outside the goal box. The other teams had one superstar at best. Really hard to keep those 3 in the game and not let it get away from you.

The only real limiting factor was that Mike, my #1, was a ball hog and wouldn't pass to the other two. He would just take the ball all the way in and score, usually 50/50. Most coaches would die to have that be their major concern.; 6/12/19, 2:13 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: MountainMan--You obviously missed Rapinoe on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. "Dominate Today Inspire Tomorrow" is the message.

Whatever.

A couple of thoughts about Sports Illustrated:
1. In its glory days (Dan Jenkins, Frank DeFord, Robert Creamer, Rick Telander, Leigh Montville, John Feinstein), it was great. Like ESPN, it has sacrificed excellence for political correctness.
2. It is a dead man walking. They now only publish every two weeks. In disgust, I let my subscription lapse in February. They are still sending me magazines.
3. It had a franchise--in depth articles about sports men and women and how they got to the top of their games. Lots of insight about what it takes. It became trite--an endless stream of "up close and personal" tear-jerkers about illnesses and life problems overcome. Mental chewing gum for the two-hankie set.
4. Their swimsuit issue is like US News's law school ratings. Does a magazine come with this thing?

Sad.; 6/12/19, 2:15 PM
Anonymous said...: For a moment I wish Bill Belichick were coaching the women's team. It would be a joy to see him dismiss the bullshit with quips like: " if they didn't want us to win they shouldn't have scheduled the game"; and" if people did not want so many goals scored the Thais should have played defense"; and " if the Thais had been able to score we would have expected them to celebrate as well"; and "we were just doing our job".; 6/12/19, 2:15 PM
Meade said...: “each musician had a solo, and the audience clapped for each solo, like good for you, and it meant that we couldn't hear the next part of the playing, over and over again.”

A true jazz aficionado snaps his fingers, daddyo.; 6/12/19, 2:18 PM
Fen said...: Funniest moment (for me) not the parents. Uncordinated kid begs me to play goalie first half. We're up against our league rivals but I'm not concerned, because I have those 3 superstars as pocket nukes.

Kickoff, my boys are asleep. Ball rolls past all of them, goalie is building a sandcastle inside the box, back turned as the ball just rolls on through.

I was sweating a little bit after that one.; 6/12/19, 2:18 PM
CJinPA said...: For a moment I wish Bill Belichick were coaching the women's team. It would be a joy to see him dismiss the bullshit with quips like...

If the game is in hand, Belichick would do like other coaches and run the ball more, throw less. Grind it out and not throw for the end zone.; 6/12/19, 2:18 PM
n.n said...: There's an iconic photo of them kneeling for anthem (protesting not getting equal pay as men) in a virtually empty stadium before a match.

Choice... empathy, viability, and kneeling. Social progress.; 6/12/19, 2:19 PM
stevew said...: I've played soccer since the age of 7 through college and then in men's leagues into my late 50's. I love to play the game, really enjoy competing with my teammates, but it is a godawful sport to watch. I can fully appreciate the play of the stars, and even the superior play of those that just do their job expertly, but most matches are dreary affairs to sit through. Rather like baseball. A 13-0 match would be interminable.; 6/12/19, 2:20 PM
CJinPA said...: The only real limiting factor was that Mike, my #1, was a ball hog and wouldn't pass to the other two. He would just take the ball all the way in and score, usually 50/50. Most coaches would die to have that be their major concern.

I had a "Mike." He was the one who had no concept of passing or sportsmanship. But he sure kept us competitive.; 6/12/19, 2:20 PM
Jake said...: "I was sweating a little bit after that one."

You were coaching 6-7 year-olds?; 6/12/19, 2:21 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: By the way, I now hope that the US team loses. They are rife with losers, so it will come naturally to them. And if they win, I hope Trump doesn't invite them to the White House because they tolerated disrespect of the American flag and the national anthem.

Losers.; 6/12/19, 2:23 PM
Fen said...: John was my #2 but arguable the best player. Played him at halfback, midfield, all alone. No one could get the ball by him, and he had a foot like a rocket. Which meant I could play my benchwarmers all day as fullbacks and goalies, because the ball rarely made it past midfield.

Those days were a soccer coach's dream. Sorry to reminisce. But this thread has brought back so many "Golden Years" memories.; 6/12/19, 2:25 PM
fivewheels said...: "And none of this has anything to do with gender pay equity"

Not true. Running up the score has everything to do with their bullshit crusade to demand more of the money that the men earn for US Soccer. Eye-popping scores drives idiotic tweets from Democratic presidential candidates about how much better then women are and shouldn't they be paid so much more than the men?

Rapinoe has no respect for her country, and she isn't playing for the United States. She's playing for money. She's utterly self-absorbed, so of course she wildly celebrates anything she does, no matter how trivial. It's utterly selfish and the opposite of what a World Cup should be.; 6/12/19, 2:27 PM
Fen said...: I had a "Mike." He was the one who had no concept of passing or sportsmanship. But he sure kept us competitive

Ya what do you do?! Obviously, I was always trying to train him to pass the ball. He would every now and then, his team mate would bumble and turn it over, killing our momentum, and Mike would glance back to me like I was moron.

And crunch time, final minutes when it's all tied up, I'm yelling "pass to John! pass to Patrick!" but secretly I'm pleading oh god just ignore me and take the dman ball up the middle again and score LOL.; 6/12/19, 2:29 PM
CJinPA said...: Those days were a soccer coach's dream. Sorry to reminisce. But this thread has brought back so many "Golden Years" memories.

It was luck of the draw (at least for our league.) My son was just so-so, so I was happy if I had players to keep up in games.; 6/12/19, 2:29 PM
traditionalguy said...: The proud Patriarchy that arrogantly crushes women is now a dumb and nasty Women's archy. Progress!; 6/12/19, 2:38 PM
rcocean said...: "She declined to sing along and put her hand over her heart, which her teammates did, and she raised a fist at the end of the song."

I don't care if she stood on head and whistled Beethoven's Fifth through her asshole. She's a left-wing SJW who refused to respect the flag and this country. Fuck her.

As for the MEN doing the same thing. Go watch the Youtube video. Its a 10-1 Rout of Hungary v. El Salvador. Its gets to 5-0, then Salvador scores a goal then Hungary gets on top about 7-1, and the celebrations decline markedly in time and enthusiasm.

The score got lopsided because Salvador had one of the worst goalkeepers ever. This guy couldn't even keep standard shots out of the goal.

Haven't seen the US Women's 13-0 victory so I don't know if it was the same. Maybe I'll watch because Thai girls are cute.; 6/12/19, 2:40 PM
Andrew said...: If I recall, when Germany was trouncing Brazil in the 2014 World Cup, the German coach prevented his team from running up the score out of respect for the host country.; 6/12/19, 2:40 PM
Swede said...: Meh.

Didn't watch it and don't follow it.

And as long as the team lets at least one loud-mouthed player paint her politics all over the rest of them, then the "national" team only plays for half the nation.

Apparently the other half gets an "F you".

So, F them.; 6/12/19, 2:45 PM
rcocean said...: People need to understand that in the rest of the world, Women's Futball is a joke. In most countries "Soccer" is the No. 1 men's sport and women who play it seriously are considered "butch".

Other countries take soccer seriously, and they see the low quality of play by women and laugh. Imagine a World cup of Women Hardball BB players -with the star pitchers throwing a 60 MPH fastball. Would we seriously? Most wouldn't.; 6/12/19, 2:45 PM
MayBee said...: I agree with most of you here. I agree with the score. Yay! But not celebrating as the score gets run up. It's not a male/female thing. It would be poor sportsmanship in any sport. The NFL even has a penalty against excessive celebrating.; 6/12/19, 2:49 PM
Rosalyn C. said...: I didn't watch the match but got a sense of what happened from the comments. I thought what rhhardin said... "Women get a dopamine hit out of celebrating together. Or complaining." had some insight. Women who play sports professionally have to psych themselves up, toot their own horns, because no one will. They aren't living the life of millionaires to keep up their spirits. As I said I didn't watch the offensive celebrating but I can understand the need to keep themselves in a celebratory mood and not hold back. They certainly didn't need to start out the World Cup by being humble or apologetic about their athletic ability. Why was such a dominant USA team set up against a known weak Thai team anyway? Was this intentional -- a psychological or political trick to embarrass the American team?; 6/12/19, 2:50 PM
BarrySanders20 said...: "But the excessive celebrating is another matter. I've watched some professional basketball games where the players looked like they were celebrating the end of the whole game and it was just another basket. I find it irritating."

The worst is volleyball. One of two teams is going to win a point every serve. Whichever team happens to win the point gaggles together in a screaming frenzy as if it was something unexpectedly magnificent. Volleyball has become the cheerleading of a few decades ago.; 6/12/19, 2:51 PM
Greg Hlatky said...: So, on the whole, it's sexist to attack women's accomplishments. But it's all right when the women are American. Something like that?; 6/12/19, 2:52 PM
rcocean said...: The UK Guardian has a snarky post up about men complaining "The Women's World Cup is being rammed down our Throat". The whole point is accuse men of being Sexists for hiding behind excuses for their indifference to the wonderful women's football.

Its just another variation on "If you weren't a counter-revolutionary, you'd still be clapping for Comrade Stalin".; 6/12/19, 2:52 PM
MayBee said...: Henry said:
Interestingly, no one cares in individual sports. Think of tennis. Run up the score. No one is going to criticize a 6-0 6-0 win.

Interesting point, but tennis (and golf) are a little different in that they aren't timed sports. Baseball is the one popular team sport I can think of that isn't timed (Volleyball?). So running up the score doesn't really exist in a sport where everything can actually turn around, even if only one more score is needed by the winning team to finish the game.; 6/12/19, 2:53 PM
Not Sure said...: 'It's kind of a good 'F you' to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don't look exactly like him,'

says a woman who made a big show of the delight she took in the massive points inequality
and humiliation her team inflicted on a group of women who don't look exactly like her or her teammates.

F you, indeed!; 6/12/19, 2:54 PM
rcocean said...: You need to understand that in "Football" scoring is such a freak event, usually just a matter of luck, that when someone scores 10 or 13, its like a team hitting 25 HRs in one game.

It's one reason why "Football" is so boring. "Oh Look Mabel its 2-0, might as well go home".; 6/12/19, 2:55 PM
Wikitorix said...: Greg Hlatky said...

College football, October 7, 1916

Georgia Tech, 222 - Cumberland, 0.

This was done deliberately, with malice. A few months prior, Cumberland had hired minor league baseball players to don Cumberland uniforms and run up the score (22-0) against the Georgia Tech baseball team, in order to sell lots of baseball tickets that season. The coach of the Georgia Tech baseball team was also the coach of the football team, a guy named John Heisman.

That football game was Heisman's revenge against Cumberland. The numerical symmetry of the 222-0 score only came about because somehow, Cumberland managed to block an extra point on the last play of the game.

Here's a fascinating documentary on that game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doZzrsDJo-4; 6/12/19, 2:56 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: Why was such a dominant USA team set up against a known weak Thai team anyway? Was this intentional -- a psychological or political trick to embarrass the American team?

It's just a matter of numbers, there's not a lot of depth in Women's soccer. Out of the 32 team field, maybe 4 or 5 teams wouldn't be completely outmatched by the US.; 6/12/19, 2:57 PM
rcocean said...: Yeah, women really get a kick out of group activities, where they can all squeal and giggle and hug each other and root each other on.

That's probably what the USA team was doing. It was less, "In your fact Thais" and more of a "Look, Shirley scored a goal, lets give her a hug"; 6/12/19, 2:58 PM
Fen said...: It was luck of the draw (at least for our league.) My son was just so-so, so I was happy if I had players to keep up in games.

Yah, sorry for you. I know what that's like too. I was a year younger than my classmates, played for a champion club team from age 6 to 9. Dad was an asst coach but I was still subpar and spent my of my soccer career begging the head coach to put me in. Got very familiar with the bench.

The Last year they moved to a 10 year old league and I couldn't enroll with them, being nine. Dropped down into the 9 year old league and became lead scorer for my team, specialty being taking my goalies incredible punts past midfield and racing with it to their goal. Made All-Star team twice in a row.

It was good background for my coaching years. All my players, even the younger-Fens, got to play at least half of each game. But if I hadn't had those 3 superstars to backstop me, I'm not sure I would have been so generous.; 6/12/19, 2:58 PM
Francisco D said...: They need a "slaughter rule" in soccer, like they have in HS football.

At some point, the losing team just gives up and the winners treat it like practice. As a coach, I would not want to risk injuries.; 6/12/19, 2:58 PM
MadisonMan said...: It is a dead man walking. They now only publish every two weeks. In disgust, I let my subscription lapse in February. They are still sending me magazines.

My son still gets it. I have no idea who pays for it. It used to be Dad. He died two years ago. Didn't realize it was every other week now.

Our neighbor was once in the 'Faces in the Crowd' part. That was kinda cool.; 6/12/19, 3:05 PM
D 2 said...: Equal pay for equal work is the concept where I think we all get the pay side. It is the work side where people quibble.

If I play pickup hockey for 60 minutes in the local rec league, do I get paid the same as a 4th line winger in the NHL?
Should a professional javelin thrower make the same as a professional shot putter?
I put words on paper at my local heritage society that took me 3 months to research - do I get paid the same as someone at the University that put words together after the same amount of time?

The Romans had a saying I believe still to be true: Something is only worth what another person is willing to pay.

maybe javelin throwers think they should be paid more than shotputters. Maybe NYT writers think they should be paid more than someone writing good local news stories in Bismarck ND.

Ask the market. Where do you want to spend YOUR money?; 6/12/19, 3:06 PM
D 2 said...: Excellent point by Not Sure.
Because it is different when , because.; 6/12/19, 3:07 PM
Louise B said...: I doubt there are mercy rules in World Cup soccer for either the men's or the women's sports. When my son played competitively at the top soccer high school in New Mexico. the rule was the first half had to be played. Then once one team was 10 points ahead, the ref called the game. This mostly worked, except for the time they scored 13 goals in the first half. Should World Cup soccer have a mercy rule? No, but sportsmanship should be required.; 6/12/19, 3:08 PM
OldManRick said...: Fen,

Funny the same thing happened to a very young girls' soccer team my daughter coached where I was her assistant. It was one of those 15 to 10 games, you see in the lower divisions. The other team was beating us, when for one quarter they put their top scorer in goal. She was basically a one person team (you see a lot of that in the AYSO when the ages are under 8). We scored about 5 goals in a row to take a lead and the ref told us to back off because it looked like a runaway. My daughter backed off. When the star when back to forward, she reeled off about 8 goals in the second half. Without our backing off it would have been a close game.; 6/12/19, 3:09 PM
Fen said...: Last story, I promise.

The 6 year olds team went undefeated both seasons, two champion trophies, primarily due to my soccer upbringing (I knew the drills to practice) and my 3 superstars.

After the end of each season, all the teams got to play an "Under the Lights" game, which was a big deal, in the High School football stadium, with all the drama of an announcer and high school cheerleaders who had volunteered to amaze the little rugrats.

But I had enlisted in the Marines by then and my shipout date was before the big game. So a Soccer Mon took over (I trusted her to focus on letting them just have fun and gave her my 3 superstar strategy to insure it). But the high school field is twice a big as our normal ones, and most 6 year old soccer is mob ball - everyone clustered around the ball as it moves up and down the field.

So I'm suffering in Camp Pendleton Boot Camp and get a letter from Soccer Mom. My boys are starstruck that I'm going to be a Marine, a Superhero! hah. So they set out "to win this one for coach". Soccer mom says because of the field size, all the other teams are mob-balling. But not ours. They took the field, spread out and passed the ball 20 yards back and forth advancing down the field as a team, final score 5-0, when most games that day were 0-0 because of the field size.

She says "all the other parents, even the announcer, were in awe of our boys, and everyone was asking who had coached them so well"

My Marine DI asked what I was crying about and made me do pushups until he got tired. Heh.; 6/12/19, 3:10 PM
285exp said...: There's nothing wrong with running up the score, it's the job of the other team to stop you, not for you to stop yourself.

However, they might be well advised to take the advice allegedly given by Vince Lombardi, "When you get into the end zone, act like you've been there before."; 6/12/19, 3:12 PM
Narr said...: Our players have bigger Thais.

Narr
And bigger cups; 6/12/19, 3:15 PM
Gahrie said...: Why was such a dominant USA team set up against a known weak Thai team anyway? Was this intentional -- a psychological or political trick to embarrass the American team?

The first round of the World Cup is the group stage. All qualifying teams are randomly placed in groups of four, and must play each of the other four teams. This year the U.S. squad was placed in a group with Sweden, one of the stronger teams; Chile, who the U.S. should beat almost as easily as Thailand; and Thailand. The top two teams goes through, and most of the third place finishers. (24 Teams in 6 groups of 4, they break to a round of 16)

Every group usually has at least one weak team. When one doesn't, they call it the "group of death". Everyone pretty much knew months ago most of the teams that were going to make it to the next round.

One of the things that few people are mentioning is that this Thai team has been pretty successful in Asian competitions. Only a couple of Americans as far as I can tell.; 6/12/19, 3:15 PM
rcocean said...: BTW, if you try to find a VIDEO of the 13 Goals, all you get is some asshole TALKING.; 6/12/19, 3:18 PM
rcocean said...: "Here's a fascinating documentary on that game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doZzrsDJo-4"

Thanks for the Link. That was hilarious AND interesting.; 6/12/19, 3:19 PM
Sebastian said...: "she raised a fist at the end of the song"

Fuck that. Fuck her. Fuck the team for tolerating it.

Anyway, women's soccer is a joke globally--in only a few countries do enough female athletes train and play seriously. Even the best teams would have a hard time competing against a good HS boys' team. Women's soccer is one of those sports where the difference in quality is actually painful to watch, if you assume men and women play the same game.; 6/12/19, 3:20 PM
BarrySanders20 said...: BTW, if you try to find a VIDEO of the 13 Goals, all you get is some asshole TALKING.

All 13 goals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=5MKIzfXxWMI; 6/12/19, 3:21 PM
rcocean said...: "Interestingly, no one cares in individual sports. Think of tennis. Run up the score. No one is going to criticize a 6-0 6-0 win."

How do you "Run up the score" in a individual Sport? You can't do it in Golf. In tennis you just win 3 out of 5 sets (mens) and go home. In Boxing you have to KO or TKO. I suppose you could torture the guy in boxing and refuse to knock him out, but he can quit anytime he wants.

Its a terrible example.; 6/12/19, 3:23 PM
rcocean said...: "All 13 goals"

Thank you.; 6/12/19, 3:24 PM
Tomcc said...: I'll add to what's already been stated; celebrating vigorously against an over-matched opponent is particularly boorish. The question that occurs to me is: should they win, do they get invited to the White House?; 6/12/19, 3:25 PM
Fen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/12/19, 3:25 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I hate wild celebrations in any sport unless it's for something that wins the game. Otherwise, they're babyish.; 6/12/19, 3:28 PM
Dave said...: My wife's great uncle graduated from Law School at Cumberland. He fought in WWII and used the bill for that. His wife was pregnant when he went to war, and born while he was fighting overseas. The son was called GI his whole life for this reason. GI was the most kindhearted person I've ever met.; 6/12/19, 3:28 PM
Henry said...: @rcocean -- Well clearly in golf you're playing against the course. You could argue that for a lot of individual sports. In track or swim, there's always the stopwatch. But in tennis, if two players are wildly mismatched, no one expects the strong player to stop serving aces.

I think it's interesting because I can't think of a one-on-one sport where the concept of "running up the score" comes into play they way it does in a team sport.; 6/12/19, 3:31 PM
Fen said...: BTW, if you try to find a VIDEO of the 13 Goals, all you get is some asshole TALKING.

I'm getting tired of that. Apparently, some youtuber have gotten it into their head they they are Thought Influencers. They will pitch a review of GoT or some MCU movie that has NO actual content from the movie.

Just watched one today where he basically just read a Hollywood article to us. I can read the damn article, what I tune in for is good analysis.

Here's an example of my favorite YouTube guy, how it should be done. His sarcasm is hysterical.

And an outstanding review by him of Avengers Infinity War and analysis what an incredible job they did to pull it off.; 6/12/19, 3:32 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Also, I don't care at all if athletes do or don't participate in the anthem within the United States, but if you are representing the United States elsewhere, put your hand over your heart or go home.; 6/12/19, 3:32 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: Once it is apparent that the teams are at two different levels of skill and it is going to be a slaughter, celebrating goals wildly at that point becomes unsportsmanlike. However, it is not unsportswomanlike. Women today face constant discrimination and misogyny from the patriarchal overlords and systemic ummm bad stuff and the like, that it would be cruel to prevent them from celebrating.; 6/12/19, 3:32 PM
Dave said...: McCringleberry goes wild in the zone. Perfect catch but the celebration is WAY OUT OF BOUNDS!

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/obd3jl/key-and-peele-mccringleberry-s-excessive-celebration; 6/12/19, 3:33 PM
Temujin said...: Megan was protesting the inequalities and injustices in our country.

Then she went out with her friends- who have virtually everything- and stomped on the faces of the Thai team, while rubbing it in and making damn sure everyone knew they were unequaled on the field.

Funny how inequality is celebrated on one hand, and protested, literally on the other hand, by the same people.

Not sure what they're doing out there, but maybe it's time they got upset. Just sayin. It might be time for a little social equality. Let's see how athletes take to equality.; 6/12/19, 3:35 PM
Big Mike said...: I hate wild celebrations in any sport unless it's for something that wins the game.

Especially true for football. A linebacker tackles a running back and has to strut and carry on -- but linebackers are paid to tackle running backs so he's really, at bottom, just doing what he's paid to do.

I can make an exception for someone who does something very extraordinary, like a defensive lineman picking up a loose ball and lumbering thirty or forty yards to score a touchdown. That's above and beyond and something like a highlight of his career even the career lasts another ten years.

For me the ideal is John Riggins after scoring a touchdown, just handing the ball to the nearest ref and jogging back to the bench. "I've been in the end zone before and I will be here again; it's what I'm paid to do."; 6/12/19, 3:36 PM
JackWayne said...: I have seen a 14-year-old men’s team beat a professional women’s team 6-0. And it could have been worse. Just a little perspective.....

The celebrations after each goal are routine. Yawn for the Puritans tsking.; 6/12/19, 3:37 PM
Big Mike said...: Also, I don't care at all if athletes do or don't participate in the anthem within the United States, but if you are representing the United States elsewhere, put your hand over your heart or go home.

@Freeman, I agree totally.; 6/12/19, 3:37 PM
Fen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/12/19, 3:39 PM
Gospace said...: Two national teams- the top players in their respective countries. Whining because the other team celebrates their win enthusiastically is very unprofessional. Even for amateurs.; 6/12/19, 3:40 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "I can make an exception for someone who does something very extraordinary, like a defensive lineman picking up a loose ball and lumbering thirty or forty yards to score a touchdown. That's above and beyond and something like a highlight of his career even the career lasts another ten years."

Agreed. Game-winning or major highlight. Normal game happenings, no.; 6/12/19, 3:44 PM
MadisonMan said...: Having watched all 13 goals, I will say that celebrations didn't seem that excessive.

Conclusion: Controversy has been manufactured for web clicks. Quelle Surprise.; 6/12/19, 3:45 PM
Fen said...: I don't care at all if athletes do or don't participate in the anthem within the United States, but if you are representing the United States elsewhere, put your hand over your heart or go home.

And that's the crux of it - if you feel so strongly against the America, why did you accept an invitation to be on Team America, wear her colors and represent her to the world?

If you truly believed what you lecture the rest of us about, you would be sitting at home.

Feminist: "hey let's go win one for those patriarchal assholes that oppress us!"

Such hypocrites.

Bonus gripe: you would think playing against women's teams across the world would give The Most Spoiled Creatures On The Planet a perspective on how much they take for granted and how silly all their 1st World problems are. Pissy because you don't make as much as the men? Helga's team practices in an abandoned warehouse with rats. Olga over there is going to be whipped until she passes out for letting that shot get by her. A'isha's family is going to be executed by Saddam because she refused to play with a broken wrist.; 6/12/19, 3:52 PM
Rob said...: You had people that were very fine people on both sides.; 6/12/19, 3:55 PM
rcocean said...: @But in tennis, if two players are wildly mismatched, no one expects the strong player to stop serving aces.

That's because the whole point is to win 3 sets out of 5. It makes no sense. to "let" someone win a game and simply prolong the agony. You get it over as quickly as possible. That's not being a jerk, that's being merciful.

In team sports you play 4 quarters or X minutes or 9 innings. You CANT put them out of their misery and end it sooner. But once you reach a certain score at a certain point, you're guaranteed the win, and there's no reason to keep piling on. IRC, in my little league games if the one team was ahead by X runs by the Y inning, they just ended the game. Why go on?; 6/12/19, 4:10 PM
RobinGoodfellow said...: Blogger Henry said...
Any team who runs up the score in any sport will get criticized.

Interestingly, no one cares in individual sports. Think of tennis. Run up the score. No one is going to criticize a 6-0 6-0 win.

Tennis is a little different. It’s not like you can stop at 3-0 and run out the clock.; 6/12/19, 4:10 PM
rcocean said...: Again, we're not talking about Pro Sports where people getting paid Millions. In those cases, the individual players aren't just looking to win, they're looking to pad their stats.

Steve Curry is looking forward to making every 3 pointer he shoots. It doesn't matter if GS is 100 points ahead or 100 points behind.; 6/12/19, 4:13 PM
funsize said...: goal differential matters in the tournament. I wasn't a fan of the celebrating either, but oh well. If we stopped scoring at 5 and Sweden didn't, we'd look stupid.

We'll see if anyone points out the Thai's last few score lines; they won by similar margins in their (admittedky weaker) confederation.; 6/12/19, 4:13 PM
rcocean said...: As for singing the national anthem we all do shit we don't care about because other people want us to.

We're polite to people we don't like. We exchange pleasantries. We show up at parties we don't want to be at. Etc.

Its not too much to ask some Bitch Soccer play that she spend 5 seconds pretending to sing the national anthem.; 6/12/19, 4:17 PM
funsize said...: Also, Sebastian? You need to watch these women. They are good. Much better than in years past, the game is as fast and as physical as the mens, and they play on the same size field and same size goal, unlike some sports. Some countries don't support their womens teams, but those ladies come here tonplay in college and nwsl, and export that back to their home countries.; 6/12/19, 4:20 PM
tolkein said...: Nothing wrong with scoring the goals - if the Thais are that weak, then goal difference might be important - but wrong to keep celebrating as it seems a bit OTT.; 6/12/19, 4:22 PM
rcocean said...: I despised John McCain, but if I'd met him, I wouldn't have said "Fuck you McCain" and walked off. Instead I'd have said "Hello, Senator" and walked on by.

Lefties are always playing this game. "Respect us, respect our beliefs. Common decency. Not be a hater". Then when its us, and our beliefs its "Free Speech. I can say I hate you and your country. Freedom!!!"

What horseshit.; 6/12/19, 4:22 PM
tim in vermont said...: College football coaches get criticized for this, they usually say "get better."; 6/12/19, 4:25 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Be Gracious in Victory. Always provide a path where a defeated foe to save face and retain a modicum of dignity in defeat.

but kick their ass.; 6/12/19, 4:26 PM
Rick said...: goal differential matters in the tournament. If we stopped scoring at 5 and Sweden didn't, we'd look stupid.

Goal differential is very unlikely to matter to teams in a position to beat another by that much. It only breaks ties in the group stage and since we're going to play Sweden that outcome controls. Even then both teams are going to advance.

GD matters to middle rank teams whose attainable goal is getting out of group.; 6/12/19, 4:26 PM
tim in vermont said...: "Much better than in years past, the game is as fast and as physical as the men."

Okay.; 6/12/19, 4:27 PM
rcocean said...: Whether a women's team sport is "watchable" simply depends on the sport. It usually depends on the gap between the men's and women's performance. Which is usually based on genetics. For example, the WNBA is a joke because everyone can see that a Good Boy's HS team could beat them. Nobody even tries to start a Women's American Football League or a Women's Hardball Professional League. Women's world cup is popular in the USA, because most Americans can't tell the difference between good Men's Soccer and Crap Women's Soccer.

Probably the best female team sport is Volleyball. Because its pretty close to the men's. Or it appears to be.; 6/12/19, 4:32 PM
Michael said...: Class.

My HS coach taught us it was harder to win with class than lose with class. Having been on both sides of blow-outs, I know he was right.

.; 6/12/19, 4:35 PM
Earnest Prole said...: Much better than in years past, the game is as fast and as physical as the men.

If by "men" you mean "boys," sure. I believe the last time the US Women's national team played the men's U17 national team they were defeated 8–2. U17 means sixteen-year-old boys -- in high-school terms, junior-varsity age.; 6/12/19, 4:36 PM
Scott M said...: Obviously the fault lies in the matriarchal power structure on that team and the toxic femininity that pervades meritocratic overscoring of GOOOOOOOOOOALS.; 6/12/19, 4:37 PM
Scott M said...: I dunno about the feminist angle of asking if our men's team won 10-1, wouldn't they also celebrate. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that any man reaching that pinnacle of his sport has been taught not to run up the score on an opponent like that.

On the other hand...and I didn't watch the game, if even your third-string is slicing through them like a hot knife through butter, are you supposed to purposefully miss goals? That's an aside, as the question wasn't about scoring, but rather about the celebration afterward.; 6/12/19, 4:41 PM
Leland said...: " I've watched some professional basketball games where the players looked like they were celebrating the end of the whole game and it was just another basket. "

Do you mean, they should act like they've been there before?; 6/12/19, 4:41 PM
Sebastian said...: "the game is as fast and as physical as the mens"

Funsize, I don't mean to pick a fight, but this is ridiculous.

Against a good HS Boys' team, they'd struggle--athletic HS boys, after all, run much faster than women (compare U.S. HS Boys track records and women's World records).

On every corner kick by a men's team, the ball would go in--the men would just push aside and outjump the women.

Against a good men's team, the U.S. women would have a hard time touching the ball.; 6/12/19, 4:46 PM
mockturtle said...: leaving their opponents in tears

They were in tears because they were so badly beaten, not because the US women celebrated.; 6/12/19, 4:57 PM
mockturtle said...: There's a reason the Seattle Mariner's ballpark is called 'No lead is Safe-co field'.; 6/12/19, 5:02 PM
Scott M said...: If you don't think watching your opponent go nuts with joy over your defeat has an emotional downside, something's wrong with you.; 6/12/19, 5:06 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I am just going to write it- the American women's team embarrassed themselves. I have no problem with them scoring 13 goals and winning by that margin- I think you should play just as hard and as well as you can until the the time is fully expired- but you don't celebrate the last 2/3s those scores like that. It was undignified.; 6/12/19, 5:11 PM
mockturtle said...: If you don't think watching your opponent go nuts with joy over your defeat has an emotional downside, something's wrong with you.

Did they 'go nuts' over the Thai's defeat, or over their own victory?; 6/12/19, 5:11 PM
~ Gordon Pasha said...: What is best in life? Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. Mongol General: That is good! That is good.; 6/12/19, 5:16 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I have been on both sides of such mismatches in basketball and baseball. When I was 12, we were beating the worst team in our Little League 16-0 in the 3rd inning. We were whooping it up in the dugout- our coach tore us new assholes and said that he would forfeit the game if we continued to behave like children and didn't treat the opponents better than that. It was something I never forgot. When you are winning, you go about your business, and you keep the celebrating and end-zone/homerun dancing/trotting to a bare minimum.; 6/12/19, 5:17 PM
etbass said...: "I also don't like too much clapping at concerts."

There are way, way too many standing ovations. It's lost its meaning.; 6/12/19, 5:21 PM
Yancey Ward said...: On the other side, when I was in the 8th grade our team got beat by a much better basketball team 60-8, and it wasn't even that close because we scored the last 6 points of the game. It was a terrible feeling getting skunked like that, but at least the opponent didn't run around celebrating and rubbing it in- they behaved maturely.; 6/12/19, 5:22 PM
Big Mike said...: They were in tears because they were so badly beaten, not because the US women celebrated.

@mockturtle, usually you have your head tacked on straight, but here I think you are wrong.; 6/12/19, 5:29 PM
Big Mike said...: I think next time the Thai squad should have six or seven players who "identify" as women. It could be 13-0 the other way.; 6/12/19, 5:30 PM
Brown Hornet said...: "the game is as fast and as physical as the mens"

Cool story. But women's national teams routinely scrimmage (and get beat by) U14 boys club teams. Women have their own competition for a reason.; 6/12/19, 5:30 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "Participation Trophies", in-your-face celebrating after victory--

wasnt sports supposed to be a character-builder or a vehicle for some narcissism?; 6/12/19, 5:38 PM
Achilles said...: Yancey Ward said...
I am just going to write it- the American women's team embarrassed themselves. I have no problem with them scoring 13 goals and winning by that margin- I think you should play just as hard and as well as you can until the the time is fully expired- but you don't celebrate the last 2/3s those scores like that. It was undignified.

They just sound like a bunch of really lame people led by a captain who is a total piece of shit.

They are leftists and it just seems like they want to destroy everything they touch.; 6/12/19, 5:39 PM
Rory said...: "...each musician had a solo, and the audience clapped for each solo, like good for you, and it meant that we couldn't hear the next part of the playing, over and over again."

Musicians know this, and play diddle-dum-dum till things settle.; 6/12/19, 5:40 PM
Achilles said...: Michael said...
Class.

My HS coach taught us it was harder to win with class than lose with class. Having been on both sides of blow-outs, I know he was right.

I got completely uninterested in matches or games where we were winning by a lot.

Once it was clear we were going to win I was done and my effort level dropped.; 6/12/19, 5:42 PM
Dave said...: Check out Rob throwing in the hoax.; 6/12/19, 5:44 PM
Scott M said...: Did they 'go nuts' over the Thai's defeat, or over their own victory?

Doesn't really matter, does it? It's the sportsmanship of not rubbing in the loser's face we're talking about here. They appeared to be completely unaware of how that would make the other team feel. Isn't complete lack of social cues one of the rungs on the sociopathic ladder? :); 6/12/19, 5:44 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: they just made it harder for themselves in that every future opponent will be all the more resolved to take them down.; 6/12/19, 5:45 PM
RichAndSceptical said...: When I played sports, that kind of showboating got you benched. It's stupid and uncalled for. A high 5 is more than enough. Show some class.; 6/12/19, 5:46 PM
mockturtle said...: @mockturtle, usually you have your head tacked on straight, but here I think you are wrong.

Big Mike: I'm not really defending the showboating. It was juvenile and showed poor judgment. But I also believe sports is about winning and they just got carried away with their success. The Thai team shouldn't even have made the finals and their tears were equally juvenile.

BTW, I'm absolutely against 'participation trophies'. The whole concept of 'everybody wins' makes me sick. In sports--and in life--not everybody wins. Get over it.; 6/12/19, 5:57 PM
mockturtle said...: Scott M contends: Doesn't really matter, does it? It's the sportsmanship of not rubbing in the loser's face we're talking about here. They appeared to be completely unaware of how that would make the other team feel. Isn't complete lack of social cues one of the rungs on the sociopathic ladder? :)

Maybe I'm a sociopath [I'm not] but, when I'm playing a team or an individual sport, how the other team or my opponent 'feels' is probably the last thing on my mind.; 6/12/19, 6:05 PM
Big Mike said...: I'm not really defending the showboating. It was juvenile and showed poor judgment.

@mockturtle, glad we agree.

But I also believe sports is about winning and they just got carried away with their success.

Yes, to winning, but let’s keep in mind that these women are, fundamentally, professionals, and they certainly didn’t act it.

As others have pointed out, they’ve made their road forward that much more challenging. The crowd is going to be pretty hostile the rest of the way and they aren’t going to like it very much.; 6/12/19, 6:20 PM
Gahrie said...: they just made it harder for themselves in that every future opponent will be all the more resolved to take them down.

The target couldn't get any bigger. The U.S. team has dominated international competition in women's soccer since it's inception, and haven't been shy about their domination.; 6/12/19, 6:22 PM
pacwest said...: Beat the crap outta them. Warm up for the real competition. 13-0. Cool. - In your face after the game is assured. Very not cool. They did the USA a disservice. The coach should have gotten control of it. Shame on them all.

I hope they get their asses kicked and their noses rubbed in it.

BTW, there's no crying in soccer. Boo hoo.; 6/12/19, 6:32 PM
Unknown said...: I guess they missed the part where they were supposed to get tired of all the winning. Maybe the president should call and tell them.; 6/12/19, 6:33 PM
madAsHell said...: "Pretend like ya' been there before!!"

-- my high school football coach's comment on scoring a touchdown; 6/12/19, 6:42 PM
madAsHell said...: Hey!! Where's the cafe post??.......or did David Begley really get to ask Biden a question in Iowa??; 6/12/19, 6:44 PM
iowan2 said...: 187 comments. This is way more caring than warranted. Put half that energy into why the potholes still aren't fixed. At least that affects the lives of people.; 6/12/19, 6:46 PM
Narayanan said...: What happens if opponents go for the transgender recruitment option?; 6/12/19, 6:53 PM
Narayanan said...: After scoring 13, they could've let each of other team have open goal for 13-10?!.; 6/12/19, 6:57 PM
mockturtle said...: And I agree with those who point to the team coach and captain for not intervening. I didn't watch the match as I loathe soccer and only watch the men's World Cup because of the eye candy. ;-); 6/12/19, 7:01 PM
mockturtle said...: But, hey, it's time for the Stanley Cup final-final! I don't really care who wins but it should be exciting. Hope the officiating isn't too controversial.; 6/12/19, 7:02 PM
Gospace said...: rcocean said...
Whether a women's team sport is "watchable" simply depends on the sport. It usually depends on the gap between the men's and women's performance. Which is usually based on genetics. For example, the WNBA is a joke because everyone can see that a Good Boy's HS team could beat them. Nobody even tries to start a Women's American Football League

Here's the Legends Foortball League schedule for this year: https://lflus.com/schedule
You might remember them as the Lingerie Football League- that's what I googled them as. Looks like they still wear the same lack of uniforms.....; 6/12/19, 7:10 PM
traditionalguy said...: This is the USA team captained by a National Anthem hater that shows her refusal off as higher morality than Deplorables. She must also think she is better than semi-human Asian women.; 6/12/19, 7:25 PM
Michael Fitzgerald said...: Anyone who's watched soccer knows that that's what they do. When someone scores they run around pointing at themselves, ignore everyone else and act like maniacs. Cause a goal in the most boring game is truly miraculous.

As far as disrespecting your country and your fellow citizens by acting like a fucking asshole during our national anthem, that's what shitheads do. Fuck her, fuck them. Hope they lose, lose, lose.; 6/12/19, 7:30 PM
Lincolntf said...: I've been on both ends of sports drubbings, the chicks were a little unclassy, but not anything that should be punished.; 6/12/19, 7:42 PM
Browndog said...: Here's an idea: If you win 13-0—the most goals for a single game in World Cup history—you should be paid at least equally to the men's team.

Congratulations, #USWNT!

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) June 11, 2019; 6/12/19, 7:49 PM
Martin Gale said...: Megan Rapinoe disrespected the country that gave her everything and that, warts and all, still strives to do what's right and remains a beacon of hope for the world. She is dead to me. U.S.A. vs. XXX? Let's go XXX! Here's hoping someone beats our lousy ingrates like a rented mule.; 6/12/19, 7:49 PM