No, it was just a boring game Elmer. Much like a 20 punt, 3-0 football game in the NFL. Saturday's third place match was much more enjoyable to watch.

My same comment applies. For those who understand the game, each half offers 45 minutes of continuous action. No other sport does nor for so long. The hydration breaks hopefully will not continue in the same format in future tournaments.

Did you happen to notice that but for replays of certain actions, the camera view is always panned out to show the whole field and all players (except times when a goalkeeper at the far end of the field, away from the action, isn't shown.). If you did, did you wonder why? Unlike in other sports, what happens away from the ball is often more important and must be followed. If you don't understand the game, you wouldn't know that and apparently you don't. If you kept your eye on the ball, you missed what was happening.

^Definitely much like that, LJ!

Yep, I understand the game just fine. My same comment applies. Boring!

ETA: how did you like T at the award ceremony?

"These comments are common from people who don't know or understand the game, how it's played, what tactics are, etc."

Good grief 🤦‍♀️ I could give a'rat's patootie about how it's played, the tactics, etc. I personally never played soccer myself but did have tiny family members who did. If you can call that soccer 😂 I loved watching their games. Half the time they were running the wrong direction on the field 😆

I can really appreciate the athleticism, skills, talent, etc, that goes into playing soccer at a professional or world cup level. I loved watching the different games. Some games were really exciting. I did that without really understanding the game, tactics, etc. Not knowing those things didn't diminish my excitement or enjoyment.

But yes, watching an entire game with no scoring and several extra times only to score one goal?

Yes, boring 🥱 😴 💤

" I could give a'rat's patootie about how it's played, the tactics, etc. "

Then it's a sport that from your description you really don't understand and as a result or in addition, it doesn't interest you. That's fine, we all like different things. But there's no reason for anyone so disposed to share their reactions without including that as a preface about a prejudice against or dislike.

I have no interest in gymnastics, figure skating, ski and snowboard events (or the Winter Olympics overall), distance running, car racing of any kind, the Tour de France, etc. I'd rarely want to comment about any such things but if I did, I'd preface it with "I really don't like x but I saw .........."

Elmer, your lack of reading comprehension is on display.

"It doesn't interest you."

Let me help you. I'll copy & paste what I wrote:

"I loved watching the different games. Some games were really exciting. I did that without really understanding the game, tactics, etc. Not knowing those things didn't diminish my excitement or enjoyment."

You sit on your phone or behind your keyboard and presume you know everything about everyone and what they're thinking. Why do you care anyway? If someone said they thought the game was boring, why in the hell do you even care?

What part of what I wrote tells you it doesn't interest me? 🙄

And no one cares about what you're not interested in. Not interested? Don't watch those activities.

We are avid football fans here. I'm a Spurs fan, and hubby is an Arsenal fan. Makes for some fun "discussions" in our house! My partner is English, and I've been following footie since he and I started seeing each other.

I am beyond pleased with the outcome of the World Cup.

Argentina's team is the nastiest, foulest (pun? Maybe intended?), cheating assembly and has been for years. Lionel Messi has short man syndrome and it shows. I laughed when he cried - he's such a jerk! And Enzo getting sent off in the game was sweet, poetic justice. The team should have been disqualified - or at least the players who displayed their political banner should have been banned from the final.

FIFA is a corrupt organization, and they did everything they could to help Argentina win. Luckily, it didn't work.

Elmer, if rage-baiting was a sport, you'd be the undeniable world champion. You literally have nothing better to do with your time, don't you?

LoneJack, I know your latest question wasn't directed to me, but I'll offer my reaction, which is secondhand embarrassment. Yet I expected nothing else.

Embarrassment for our country and for the world to see this bumbling, clueless idiot trying to get in on the action and adoration. Didn't the 10000s of boos clue him in?

I’m not usually a sports- watcher at all, but after watching a few games with fellow Francophile pals (Allez les Bleus!!) I got into it! I was really excited to watch this beautiful game, low scoring as it was. The best team won! T, as usual, was comic relief at best, and a national embarrassment to so many. I loved that he was mocked by the winners.

Ferran Torres likes red hats too!

The player who scored Spain's winning goal in the World Cup final.

@LoneJack Zn 6a, KC: "ETA: how did you like T at the award ceremony?" I didn't see him anywhere, lol! Photoshop is a blessing sometimes.

Cope. LOL

OJ be honest if it were Sleepy standing there on stage cluelessly and someone had to run over to prod him outta there, you’d be all over it. I admit Sleepy was out of it sometimes, can you admit same for T? This, just a couple days after the chips episode? Too old is too old. R or D.

Spanish fans in attendance were booing him, and at least one Spanish player passed by him on the podium refusing to shake his hand.

Must be someone who votes in Georgia?

Coping is good advice, something everyone should do.

If coping means going with the status quo, no thanks.

Idk what Torres’ red hat means to Torres, but lots of folks think he’s mocking T and MAGA by wearing it. T is widely loathed in Spain; no surprise there. And then there’s the fact that T said, pre-final, “It’s very hard to bet against Messi.”

"Know", not "think". Any other interpretation is entirely delusional.

And Spain is not alone in the loathing.

There is a subset of US culture that cannot detect mockery from flattery.

uggg TDS LET IT GO!! We are so over the media the left telling us so and so hates so and so!! For three weeks our social media was FLOODED with foreign visitors telling us how wonderful USA is, how all the negative hype flooding their media were LIES. Move on with the hate people it's really not moving the needle at all.

Oh...it's flattery alright! The Right in Spain are wearing the T inspired red hats who love T. Torres isn't stupid. Nice try on trying to change the narrative though. It's not working.

Regarding the picture and T: Some of the team wanted him to be part of their victory picture (with some even doing the T dance!) while the FIFA president tried to drag him away. So, T was a little confused what to do.

Just watched the ceremony, noting awkward. Nothing forced on anyone. Ya all are sooo steeped in your TDS ya can't SEE truth, beauty or honesty anymore. Keep this up and your irrelevance will not serve you well.

^^^ That last statement above is spot on, just as I mentioned earlier Mr T clearly defined TDS on January 23, 2016 when he told the truth, rare as that is.... :

"I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?"

Yep, his voters are still ok with it, even more so today since they have continued to trade in their scruples for mulligans over the past 10 years. If you flag this post you only further prove his point. I only hope that you see the light as others have, even many T voters, who still cling onto the scruples that they still have intact.

I do like that the soccer coverage shows more of the field. Baseball should always be more like that: the movement of players in the infield and outfield can tell a lot about what they anticipate will happen when a batter comes up. Hockey, though, THAT is exciting beginning to end. Constant movement, moderate scoring (honestly, too much scoring is not as exciting as a low-scoring game). I don’t really follow or know the rules about a lot of sports, but I know what I find exciting.

And for television coverage, get me started on gymnastics. I do not need to see a closeup of the competitors’ face. Show me the whole person, and the entire apparatus and run and whatever.

Hockey is football/soccer on ice.

I suspect evolving television technology and increasing screen size has allowed for more wider shots. I used to find hockey unwatchable on TV, but it’s a lot better now.

It's no surprise the felon is at the bottom of the worst president in history list by every poll taken. There is no TDS , I simply hate him like I never did before. I thought Bush was a buffoon for his war mongering, but I didn't hate him because he's probably a nice guy and Michelle Obama's good friend. I didn't hate Ford, Reagan, or the first Bush. Felon is a nasty, vindictive, and really stupid man. Do you ever listen to his ramblings of nonsense? When his people try to steer him away? You guys are the ones with TDS . With his increasing health issues, it won't be long, but we won't know like we know McConnell is either dead or comatose.

" I suspect evolving television technology and increasing screen size has allowed for more wider shots. "

That hasn't been my experience.

Just as when at a match in person, most spectators know that to follow the action, it's necessary to keep most of the field in view. More action happens off the ball than on - if only following the ball, one misses more a good portion of what's going on.

I was first attracted to soccer at the very beginning of the 1990s. I can place it within one year or two for a reason that doesn't matter here. TV coverage was limited in my area - mostly Mexican league matches and occasionally others. I remember quite fondly going to FA Cup finals at a local British "pub" for a good number of years. They had a projection TV with a large screen.

With the time difference to the West Coast, the usual British time 3pm Saturday start for the FA Cup meant the match started at 7am. The pub opened at 6am, and it was a good idea to get there at opening to get a good seat and be able to down a couple of pints and make a bathroom stop before the kickoff. The hefty price of admission included a proper British breakfast, so orders for specifics were taken and the food delivered during the 1st half. It was a lot of fun, I rarely if ever get tipsy so early in the morning. I always asked my wife pick up up afterwards and we'd go back to get my car later. .

Here's the point - not quite 40 years ago when I started following the sport and watching on TV, the camera views of the action were exactly the same as now, covering most of the field. It has to that way because that's what a knowledgeable viewer wants to pay attention to. There's no comparison of images then with now as regards image clarity, screen sizes, color resolution, and refresh rates. The images were blurry and clunky by comparison but that was what was available. What the television and camera crews presented, image-wise, was just as it is today.

"T was obviously exaggerating about voter loyalty. No one thought he was being literal."

T was being quite serious about how loyal his supporters were, and he was right. Thx for not flagging my post though.

Article from 2005 when HD was getting more common:

”Kafno's experience with HD and sports stretches back over several Olympics. He has found that the Japanese, in particular, have been adept at making separate coverage in HD. Because of the level of detail available, coverage tends to be shot differently, with more wide shots and fewer close-ups. It is possible, when watching the wider shots on a big display, for the viewers to read the images and scan the images themselves, without the cameraman having to pan. This crucial difference is one of the joys of HD and brings a different visual approach to shooting.

The BBC's experience with shooting sports, such as football, has shown that only seven or eight cameras are needed to give a good range of these wider shots, compared with the 20 or more cameras typically used now for SD coverage. That's because of the number of close-ups that are needed to tell the story of what's happening in the game. The director needs those close-ups in SD to show where he's putting the emphasis. In HD, you frame it differently, and the frequency of cutting is less because the camera can hold the shots for longer.

In HD, the camera does not need to be in so tight; a big, wide shot looks fantastic. If it's done well, the viewers will feel as if they're looking through a window at something real, almost like 3-D. They can see and read all the positional play and tactical maneuvers. There is no better way to see and really understand what's going on in a football game, apart from being there in the stadium.“

https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/hd-and-sports-broadcasting-in-europe

i can’t speak to your personal experiences watching soccer. Edit: I also don’t know how much improved technology has altered our common broadcasting. Might vary by sport, I don’t know. But it could. It also coupd be that I find hockey easier to watch now becaue I can see the puck

"Thx for not flagging my post though."

Okay?... Should I have? Very strange comment coming from you.

Not strange at all, many of my posts have vanished when I mention T, most likely flagged by original TDSers unable to handle the truth.

Vgkg, don’t you DARE say bad things about their cult daddy. 😂

I wonder what your motivation is to pursue the issue in this way.

I’m quite sure I’m not alone in asking myself this very question about you on the regular. What’s your motivation in promoting your soccer expertise in riveting tl;dr posts, time and time again? This was a simple discussion about people’s interest in the finals, with some minor diversions. Plus a major one, ahem.

Do you think there's something to find to contradict what I've said? I have no idea nor care about what your searching might find, I know what I know. And I know what you clearly don't know.

No idea what’s to find, searching. I made a simple suggestion that technology may allow for better viewing at wider shots. If you disagree with me then it may be time to upgrade your TV. How technology relates to what’s actually broadcast, I can’t say with any certainty. Which is specifically why I allowed for uncertainty in my edit: to avoid this. What’s your motivation? Maybe I’ll ask my wife’s cousin, who had a career in the technology of these sorts of productions, traveling the globe to work at major sporting events including multiple Olympics. Not that he’d know anything more than some blowhard at the bar of course, but it might be interesting.

Feathers11, I didn't really say anything bad about T, just reposted his quote which was one of the few honest things he has ever said. But I know you were just playing ;-). One can easily google up his 2016 quote/recording, he was serious and basically saying that all of his voters were deplorable 8 months before Hillary said the same thing about a subset or "basket" of them who marched on Charlottesville later that summer. I know his supporters don't like hearing it, but it's history.

Dude your raison d’être here is to be impolite. The only time you’re not rude on this board is when you take a week off. I challenge you to post non-confrontatoinally for a week straight. Just to be fair I’ll do the same. Expext no responses from me for s week unless you fail, or rudeness to snyone starting 1, 2, 3 now!

“So, T was a little confused what to do.”

His usual state.

Okay, anyhow. Back to the game.

From the OP : ”am happy about the many positives that have come from the games and that people, for the most part, had great fun.”

Yes!

“On Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $1-billion investment in Canadian sports infrastructure, aimed at improving facilities, expanding access to sport and supporting the next generation of athletes“

Great for our kids!

PM Carney kicked the ball around with some of the players when they were in Canada. He’s very into fitness.

Since he was Governor of the Bank of England for seven years Carney almost certainly knows a lot more about football than the other person in a tie.

I would think so, floral, but I don’t really know what the other person knows.

I know Carney has had his signature on our bills/banknotes already. LOL

He was Governor of the Bank of Canada 2008-2013, as well.

The other person knows how to "work" banks, confirmed at least 34 times.

"Carney almost certainly knows a lot more about football than the other person in a tie."

Didn't T himself openly admit that...even saying, “What do I know about soccer?” while talking about the World Cup? He’s said multiple times he doesn’t know as much as the real fans. So what? That describes most of America. He definitely knows A LOT about the popular sports here in America! He still helped bring the FIFA World Cup here, and big props to Andrew Giuliani for doing a great job organizing it!

OllieJane, then it was an especially poor choice for T to intervene in the 2026 World Cup by calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review a controversial red card given to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun.

It certainly didn’t look good.

I see there are reports (I’m not sure if true) Bryson DeChambeau, an American golfer, threatening to call T, over a two-shot penalty at the British Open that he didn’t like. I know T can’t control what DeChambeau says or does, but he sets himself up for these things.

T brings a lot of the criticism on himself.

And yes, it was wonderful having the World Cup in North America.

True, T calling the FIFA President to review the red card wasn’t the best look. That said, it was blatantly a wrong call. And, everyone knows FIFA has a long history of corruption. Given how much T LOVES AMERICA he probably figured it was worth making the call to ask for another review. As we all know how it turned out, Infantino told him it was already being reviewed-and they had reversed the red card. So T was actually right again! But no, I agree he should not have called.

T only loves how America is making him and his grifting family billions while not giving a flying F about housing, groceries, and $5 gas prices for the average family to endure. And with 100 billion on an illegal war, it will just get worse.

OllieJane, the point wasn’t whether it was a bad call or not. All sports can have bad calls made by the officials. Politicians don’t need to be involved, no matter how much they love their country. I would hope that all elected leaders have a love for their country!

I’m glad you agree that T should not have intervened.

OJ, your comments suggest you live in a fantasy world. Truth and facts will prevail and the aftermath of the moron which will be reversed and undone with impunity will tell the tale. How people can ignore basic right and wrong and swallow each day's blatant lies is what puzzles me. It has nothing to do with political views or who believes what.

Have a nice day.