Friday, June 13, 2014

World Cup is a Colossal Bore

Soccer is the fine art of diving.....
As the hockey season winds down, I am reminded why soccer is such a colossal bore and while billions and billions of people all over the world are fans, over here in Canada and the USA, most native born cannot stomach the sport, with good reason.

Yes we mere mortals are told that we do not properly understand the sport, that it is a game of anticipation and it is that anticipation that is to be celebrated.
Really?
The Chinese Water Torture is also about anticipation.
 
What's not to understand about a sport where the object is to put the ball in the opponents net, something that happens barely often enough.

So here is my top ten reasons to hate soccer and skip the World Cup in Brazil altogether.

10. Low scoring.  Just too few exciting plays around the goal and way too few  goals.

09. Lack of complexity. How come all those fancy backward/forward, inside/outside soccer moves that we see players strut in practice are NEVER seen in a real game.

08. Diving players. It's just pathetic to see these so-called 'talented' athletes pretend they've been fouled by an exaggerated dive. It's even more pathetic that referees who are standing too far away fall for these antics more often than not. Cheating defines soccer.
07. Refereeing. The field is gigantic and the two referees have no chance to accurately call the game. Considering the rampant diving, it's ridiculous that every big game is contested by the losing team complaining about poor refereeing. And how about no video review for goals. What century is soccer in?
06. The field is too big. It takes forever to get from one end to the other and so most of the action is in the utterly boring mid-field.

 05. Penalties. They play too large a role in the game. It's hard enough to score in soccer but ridiculously easy to score on a penalty kick awarded near the goal. The free kick  is just too large an advantage when the success rate is 87%. Considering that most penalties in soccer occur after a dive, it somehow doesn't seem fair.

04. Game-fixing. The Sport is rife with cheating on and off the field and any sport you can't bet on with confidence is no fun at all.

03. The time clock. First problem is that the clock counts up not down, a senseless state of affairs, when the only thing that counts is how much time is left to play. Then there is the fact that soccer hasn't learned how to stop the game clock at an appropriate time as in the case of a player being carted off the field. Instead the game is extended by the referee after time runs out, but nobody knows for how long until the end of regulation time. Confused? Yup......

02. FIFA. The organizing body makes the International Olympic Committee look like choir boys. The governing body of soccer known by the acronym of FIFA the shadiest international sports body in the world. Bribes are alleged to be in the millions otherwise how on Earth can you explain awarding the 2022 World Cup to QATAR,  a tiny middle eastern oil with no soccer stadiums or even soccer teams, a country that regularly hits 50 degrees Celsius in the summer when the tournament is scheduled to be held.

01. Hooliganism. The sport attracts the very worst elements of society and this across the continents. From skinheads to Nazis, antisemites and various other racists. A large proportion of soccer fans are a drunken band of brawling misfits who tear up cities and towns across the world.
And here's a bonus reason ... The annual soccer stadium disaster that invariably happens somewhere in the world, caused by a deadly grandstand collapse, fire, or just general overcrowding and poor safety measures, resulting in dozens, if not hundreds of deaths.

Yay, soccer!!

95 comments:

  1. now that's a provocative post mate.

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  2. Well, OK, let’s see if I can play the devil’s advocate here:

    - Hockey has low scoring too. Montreal lost its final game 0-1. Their first Eastern Conference match at 7-2 tied for the biggest rout of the series. Might as well watch basketball if one wants to see high numbers.

    - The Habs have a reputation for being divers too, at least according the Boston/NY press… I didn’t hear much about this in the Canadian press until Pleky got an extremely rare “embellishment” penalty during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

    - Refereeing was very criticized during the playoffs too. Still, it’s true that Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura’s call during the starting Brazil-Croatia match was especially highly disputed. Croatia says might as well give the Cup to Brazil now, if that’s how it’s going to be.

    - The Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, which has been played since the 12th century, has goalposts that are located 3 miles apart. It is played over 2 days (Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday) and makes Association Football seem quite compact in comparison.

    - What? People bet on sports?

    On the plus side, they do trade jerseys after a match.

    Also, I happened to be in Tokyo during the 2002 World Cup that was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. My English friend that I was visiting lent me an England T-shirt and people in the metro and on the street were congratulating me on England’s win, as if a Canadian wearing their shirt had anything to do with anything. There were no hooligans to be seen but certainly lots of international camaraderie.

    But yeeeeaaaahh, you’re right. Especially with the clock thing. I had to Google the rules to find out why the clock was still running even while play was stopped. Seems to me it’s just not cricket!

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  3. I too dislike watching the World Cup. The refereeing in the first game between Brazil and Croatia was terrible. What annoys me is that there is a team from England. What can't there be a team from the entire United Kingdom? Quebec Nationalists will use this example to justify having separate Quebec teams at international sporting events.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is a list of the men's national association football teams in the world. It consists of all association football teams representing recognized and semi-recognized sovereign states, as well as other representative teams which are members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the world's football governing body, or a FIFA-affiliated continental confederation. Excluded from the list are teams representing sub-national entities that are not members of the organisations mentioned above, or teams representing unrecognized states.

      Delete
    2. @anonymous

      "Quebec Nationalists will use this example to justify having separate Quebec teams at international sporting events."

      and that would be a problem because...?

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    3. @anonymous

      "Quebec Nationalists will use this example to justify having separate Quebec teams at international sporting events."

      and that would be a problem because...?

      Delete
    4. If Quebec wants to enter its own team to qualify for the World Cup, be my guest. No Muslim garb allowed! Right?

      Quebec will never make it through the qualifying rounds. Canada hasn't had an entry in 28 years, and when they last did they lost all three round-robin games and didn't score a single goal. Canada is a nation of ball kickers, and that's fine with me. I encourage little league play because it is an inexpensive sport were there is little more than a jersey and shorts required...oh, yes, and a ball. Hockey and North American football are much larger investments.

      I agree with our esteemed editor...soccer features too little scoring, too few exciting plays and too much hooliganism. I attended the traditional Hegemony (New Year's) match in Glasgow, Scotland between the cross-town rivals, the Rangers (a.k.a. "The Protestant Team") and the Celtic (a.k.a. "The Catholic Team") that took place on January 2, 1988. Ah...the Protestants and the Catholics on opposite sides of the field «ahem» pitch.

      Interestingly, I was briefed on how to prepare for the game «aha-ahem» match. I was to wear neutral colors (I wore my red-on-white away authenticated Canada Cup 1987 jersey). Too, I wasn't told this until after the game, but my given name by my late parents, while a genuine Hebrew name, is common among Irish Catholics, and had somebody addressed me by name on the "wrong" side of the pitch, I'd likely have had my head knocked in. Thus, ergo and therefore, I was assigned «aha-aha-ahem» forced to assume my position on the Catholic side of the pitch.

      The Celtic were the home team, and on the Ranger team was a black...um...I mean African American....uhhhhh...African British player who I didn't realize it until I saw the highlights on the telly that night had bananas constantly tossed at him by the home pitch faithful. Too, every time he touched the ball (with his foot, natch), had many of the faithful uttering monkey noises. What sick-os!

      Oh, and did I mention I must have learned about five new profanities that day. What a way to enrich my English vocabulary!

      A few years ago I had the good fortune to procure a couple of tickets at the Air Canada Centre AT FACE VALUE no less (proving that yes Virginia, there is a God) to knock one off my bucket list and experience a Leafs-Habs game. My buddy and I went in full tricolors as loyal expatriates cheering the Habs. Obviously there were about as many Leafs fans there and the worst thing that happened was there was a woman in the row behind me that just about shattered my eardrums bellowing GO LEAFS GO! I really wanted to have that one opp to go to a game and cheer my team on the road because my late father had the same opp about 64 years earlier at Maple Leaf Gardens while stationed in Trenton (yes, Ontario) during WWII. For me it was a pilgrimage of sorts. My colours were biased, I cheered for my favourite team, my buddy could call me by my name anywhere in the building without retribution and like Toronto's age-old reputation, I heard no profanity.

      Hockey 1, Soccer nothing «aaakkk-aha-aha-ahem» I mean, nil.

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    5. While it is not anything to brag about, I think hooliganism in America is underreported. Here are two articles you might want to read:

      Blinkered America Is Already Among The Thugs

      Does Europe Really Have A Bigger Hooligan Problem Than America?

      P.S. Although both articles are mostly about fan violence in my country, the second article mentions the riots that took place in Montreal in April of 2008 after the Habs beat the Bruins in seven games. The Editor has already commented in his blog about the riots that hit Vancouver four years ago when they lost the Stanley Cup in 2011.

      Delete
    6. Very interesting stories, and sadly, very true. Perhaps the best cure for the problem would be to stop selling alcoholic drinks at these events. Yes, beer is traditional as hot dogs and peanuts at ball games, but if this is leading to wreckless abandonment of proper primal behaviour, perhaps it's the best thing to try and somewhat, if not totally alleviate senseless violence.

      Sadly, overdrinking has been a problem forever, but those who partake in animalistic behaviour should be held fully responsible for their actions.

      Gee, I wonder how many millions of people have written and stated what I just wrote?

      Delete
  4. @Editor

    Well that's a little harsh! Lol. I suppose this sort of thing, is in the eye of the beholder. North American's for the most part, (unless you are of European decent), don't have a great appreciation for The Beautiful Game. But when you watch certain teams....like that Netherlands team yesterday, holding back pent-up rage from the World Cup Final 4 years ago against Spain, (who barely managed a win against them the last time) not only came to play, they had something to prove. Sorry, it was anything BUT boring, especially that header. OMG, and Brazil, scoring on their own net, in the opening game against Croatia, how could you have just not felt sooooooo bad for the host Team, considering soccer is a religion in that country. Boring ...you say? Mmmm. Maybe the problem is that some of you haven't found a team you fell true passion for and can cheat for, perhaps that's the issue?

    I won't try and convince anyone here to change their minds, what you like or dislike is your business, but to call the World Cup a bore is rather unfair and downright wrong, simply not true. I will say that I am not a fan of FIFA, but that is another story altogether.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fell=feel
      Cheat=cheer
      Sorry autocorrect.

      Delete
    2. @montreal ville état

      why don't you re-read your rants before publishing?

      Delete
    3. student:
      Why don't you rethink your vacuous comments before publishing?

      Delete
    4. @diogenes

      which ones of my comments are you refering to mate? if it's this one above, i don't think it's vacuous. don't you also wonder why would someone only re-read his rant once it's too late to make corrections?!? puzzling isn't it mate?

      Delete
    5. @diogenes

      She's seething cause I slammed her little hero mario (the bigot) beaulieu, and probably realizes her seppies are all but crapped out. It's funny and sad at the same time...lolololololololololo.

      Delete
    6. Perhaps the individual who posts gems such as "personnal level" and "it makes your your deed harmful", and is unacquainted with the shift key, should not be puzzled as to how someone does not catch all corrections before posting, lol time to turn in student.

      Delete
    7. @whowhatzit

      thanks for pinpointing my typographical errors mate. but i think you should stop, it is likely to make for some cumbersome reading for our community.

      Delete
    8. Whowhatzit and everybody else: Don't respond to student, you're adding fuel to his fire when you do. STOP IT!

      Delete
    9. @whowhatzit

      yes mate please don't respond to me you are ruining sauga's circle jerk.

      Delete
    10. I just find soccer soooooo boring. Could they make the net any bigger?

      Delete
    11. "thanks for pinpointing my typographical errors mate. but i think you should stop, it is likely to make for some cumbersome reading for our community."

      The irony of Student's statement was lost on him lmao.

      Delete
  5. If you're over 10 years old and you take any sport seriously, let alone seriously enough to write a giant screed on your blog comparing it to other sports, you have a problem.

    These are children's games. Seriously. Get over them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Children's games? Tell that to the entire world following the World Cup the next few weeks. We suppose the Olympics is children's play too? Hockey and the Habs? None is children's play, from any point of view, but most especially when you consider that grown men are profiteering at the backend. Sports is BIG Business, or haven't you heard? Children's games....yeah ok...vote that one dumbest comment of the day.

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  7. Off topic...Mario Beaulieu leader elected leader of Bloc Québécois...hahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahHahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahhahahaahhahahahahahahaha.

    HahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahHahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahhahahaahhahahahahahahaha

    Can someone get me a tissue please....Laughing so hard I'm crying..lol

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    Replies
    1. The seppies have sunk to a new low. What an ass he will make of himself - get ready for all of us needing tissues if he even wins a seat during the next election.

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    2. and the first thing he does is quote the FLQ, even Gilles Duceppe was shocked.

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    3. Isn't that just f---ing wonderful. Oh well, as I said, people will get an eyeful and an earful of the real crazies behind this whole movement. This is a big game chicken to them and they think we are too cowardly to fight back - they will bring this province and the whole country to civil war before they are happy and we kick their asses to the curb. Racist bigot pigs.

      Delete
    4. @whowhatzit

      he said we'll win. you'll have to find something else if you'd prefer your outrage to be taken seriously by our community.

      Delete
    5. This is not your community, you little imposter; although one can understand how you want so desperately to feel some sense of belonging and connection to a REAL community, since your own offers nothing, ....less than nothing actually.

      I say this is a great thing, ...this SOB getting picked to head the a Bloc...lol... People are completely turned off NOW...with the seppie movement. With this racist bigot at the helm, it will keep sinking to a new low, repulsing people further still....if that's even possible. We should encourage this move...Win Win.

      When the enemy is self-destructing, don't interrupt him! Lol

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    6. lol what a shocker student supports parroting the FLQ. Worry not student, I have no intention of wanting to be taken seriously by your separatist community, to be accepted by such a group would be the height of insulting. Perhaps you should return to it though, so you can watch it dwindle and die first hand as the newer generations reject and tire of the same old victim rhetoric, first the BQ, now the PQ, separatist parties are dropping like flies, though I'm sure invoking terrorists will make the party be seen in a more favourable light lmao.

      Delete
    7. He said "we'll conquer" - quite different than "we'll win" - the only people you will conquer are the ones that inhabit some faraway planet; it won't ever happen in Canada - go pick your nose somewhere you little snot.

      Delete
    8. @cutie003

      "He said "we'll conquer"

      no it's not. if that's what he meant he would have said nous conquerrons. please stop making up stuff. it makes your your deed harmful.

      Delete
    9. @montreal ville état

      "This is not your community."

      of course it is. when i don't contribute for a few days others start wondering where i am and what i would write about this and that. it never happens with you mate. i'm sorry for you mate, but i'm in. i think you would gain on a personnal level if you were more inclusive.

      Delete
    10. You're delusional, student. When you don't show up for a few days we're grateful. The sky seems bluer, the sun seems brighter, the air smells fresher and the water is clearer without your snotty little missives fouling the pool. And, by the way, it's an egotistical reach for you to call anything you post a contribution, since you add nothing of value. Your posts here are the equivalent of throwing garbage in the Salvation Army kettle at Christmas: yes, technically you have added something, but nothing that anyone but you would consider a 'contribution'.

      Delete
    11. @dioagenes

      "When you don't show up for a few days we're grateful."

      yes i can understand you and other circle jerk enthusiasts don't appreciate when i'm around. but other more relevant contributors do. maybe you should run your own blog and only accept gratuitous quebec bashing crap to be published. you'd be happy there mate.

      Delete
    12. @diogenes

      She's a legend in her own mind…lol…delusional indeed! People wonder about her like they wonder about Lice…yuk. She contributes alright…Trash. A contribution worthy of a troll.

      @Pinstripes

      You're a circle jerk personified…all by yourself. No skin off our noses if you want to keep sticking around and getting abused. We don't mind kicking your sorry ass around if that makes you feel better. Who are we to deny you being ridiculed. lol

      ps: your quebec brand is still broke-ass, it can't be rescued, certainly not with a racist bigot Loser like the Bloc chief, spreading more hate, more racism and more exclusion lol…broke-ass is as broke-ass does…lol. We'll all enjoy watching you all self-destruct. You can't help it, it's in your DNA.

      Delete
    13. @montréal ville état

      your last comment is a mix of insults and non sense. therefore i won't reply as i am certain not to constitute a worthy match for you down there. let our community know when you manage to emerge.

      Delete
    14. ahhh…you feelin' bruised pinstripes? If you can't take it …Get Lost!! lol

      But before you go..remember…broke-ass is…as broke-ass does!!! Your quebec brand is broke-ass…never truer than now. It boggles the mind when you think about how dumb the seppies are. Quebecers kicked the Marois posse out on their asses on April 7th, and now the bq elects someone even worst than the crap we just threw out. Again ..Win Win for us, cause this clown wouldn't stand a chance at a circus..lol..but hey..knock yourselves out…

      Pastagate anyone?? LOL

      Delete
    15. At least SR had the good grace to slink off into a dark hole when he finally realised the PQ was done for the next 4 years, student unfortunately seems to be a bit slow on the uptake. I wonder where these mythical "relevant" community members that appreciate student are, can't rightly say I've ever seen any, if anything most people are glad when Student is gone for a few days when his welfare check is delivered.

      Delete
    16. SR..disappeared, lol, cause he couldn't stand being told the PQ is no longer in charge...the tide has turned and it is his turn to pick up and scram ....to abitibbbbbiii. LOL.

      (Or maybe it's wishful thinking that he disappeared..Maybe he still sticks around ...with other monikers)

      Delete
    17. student
      Research: 0
      Analysis: 0
      Style: 0
      Refraining from vulgarity: 0

      Fail again

      Delete
    18. Fatal error #1: This thread has degenerated fast and foolishly by responding to the trolls.

      One wise thing stated is that where Melonhead Polio ends up running in next year's election or, better still, in a by-election, he should do so unapposed. Hopefully he wouldn't last more than one term, so that means no MPP platinum-plated pension benefits, and he'd be the absolute laughingstock of parliament. It would be a field day for the media and point the finger at how backward Quebec really is, as if Pastagate and other faux pas haven't already.

      Delete
    19. Of course he's doing this for a shot at the federal pension...duh...but we really doubt he'll get that far. And btw, he's already a laughing stock. He got ushered in with barely 54% of the vote apparently.... getting through by the skin of his teeth. Even the seppies aren't completely sold on him. As far as the rest of us our concernered, this is a gift. With this asshole in charge of seppies...they're sure to dwindle and croak and their movement with them, ...payback for what they've done to Montreal.

      Delete
    20. lol Bloc members are quitting the party over Bobo's election, saying that they want an open and inclusive Quebec and do not agree with his vision for an independent Quebec.

      As to his FLQ parroting he defended it by saying "'We will conquer, we will win,' there were all kinds of slogans being yelled. I did not make the link between ‘nous vaincrons’ and the FLQ," so the question the editor raised 4 years ago remains, is Bobo Dastardly Clever or Just an Idiot, I'm going for the later if he claims to be unaware of the history separatist movement, while being an ardent separatist and the head of the Bloc lmao.

      Delete
  8. One big advantage of soccer over the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB: no commercial breaks every 3 minutes. Once the game starts, it goes.

    Another advantage: no pitiful patriotic crap at the beginning of the match, like last night before the Kings-Rangers game: the flag, the anthem, the soldier standing at attention and saluting. And they even involved kids in this. Yuck.

    Three: I managed to watch only 15 minutes of the last night's NHL final. The commercials every 3 minutes were one thing, but the game itself can be charged with the same crime as soccer: it is just boring. The rink is small meaning that the game is very physical, so all you end up seeing is guys checking each other against the boards, or dumping the puck into the defensive zone of the opponent. Now, that is a bore.

    Editor is absolutely right though about some things about soccer that gradually turn people away from it, even people like me who grew up playing and watching the game: the pathetic diving and pretending that the players mastered to the level of art, the cynical culture of soccer players who see nothing amoral about cheating and diving and even celebrate the minute they realize the trick worked on the referee, awful refereeing and game fixing, penalties are too easy to score and make a perfect way to fix games - all that the paid referee can do is award a penalty kick and his job is done.

    On another note, Mario Beaulieu is the new leader of the BQ. That should be interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  9. stick to quebec and seppie bashing, it's what you do best and why people come.

    every single hockey or sports article you write has be shaking my head wondering why you even bother.

    ReplyDelete
  10. FROM ED
    Soccer was never meant to be a spectator sport. It was invented by players in poor areas for their own entertainment. The popularity is because it does not require much equipment. Children find that all they need is a ball and they have fun. IAs a boy during WWII we played often with a football (British/round) a basketball or beach ball. We could afford it. This is why the hame advanced quickly in poor Asian and African countries.
    We sometimes played baseball. One kid would have a ball and another would bring a bat. With luck someone might have a catcher's mitt. We played mostly softball since there were not many mitts or gloves available.
    In winter we needed only a pair of skates which could be shared and borrowed, sometimes exchanging at the rink side as play went on. A typical winter evening in Verdun would have an game from goal to goal on an outdoor rink. Obtaining permission from the city got you the good part, Other games were being played from corners to corners and small kids playing from side to side. We streaked in and out of the other team players often with unavoidable crashes, but we played on often with as many as 50 kids on the ice.
    Soccer was also popular with sailor crews who would grab a ball when they had a chance to go ashore.
    When I worked on the Montreal waterfront in the fifties we often had a crew playing on the pier while we were repairing their ship.
    It is boring to watch but some people will try to turn anything into big money. Ed

    ReplyDelete
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    1. For the same reasons you mentioned (and with apology to cricket fans), I believe basketball is the second most popular sport in the world.

      Delete
    2. @Anomynous (a.k.a. "Ed")

      Looks like I may be wrong about basketball being the world's second most popular sport. Here is a list which is truly humbling for North Americans. For Americans like me, it's humbling to see basketball listed fifth and no mention of the sport that WE call "football." As for Canadians, check out the "hockey" that is listed as the world's fourth most popular sport...

      The 10 Most Loved Sports In The World

      Delete
  11. The FLQ terrorists’ slogan “Nous vaincrons” can be translated as “We shall conquer”, “We shall overcome” or “We shall defeat”, although the latter is probably not the intended meaning. On his first day following his narrow victory, the hardest of hard seppies has already managed to insult 20 years’ worth of seppie leadership, especially Gilles Duceppe, who would have been ahead of PKP for leadership of the floundering PQ had he chosen to run.

    The PQ’s identity politics have been shot down by Quebecers and now the BQ’s perpetual victimhood complex will be too. Self-implosion, here we come!

    It’s the Editor’s dream come true. This is going to be too delicious…

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "The FLQ terrorists’ slogan “Nous vaincrons” can be translated as “We shall conquer”, “We shall overcome” or “We shall defeat”,..."

      overcome is the better translation. but it doesn't matter. what's to be questioned is the relevance of using a flq reference. let's give mario a pass this time and assume he was thinking about paul rose and jacques lanctot's dream of freedom rather than the means they chose to use back then.

      "...the hardest of hard seppies has already managed to insult 20 years’ worth of seppie leadership, especially Gilles Duceppe,..."

      duceppe is the best dude around. but it's under his helm that bq dropped to current showing. i hope he's not too surprised if beaulieu prefers to change the startegy.

      "The PQ’s identity politics have been shot down by Quebecers..."

      no it hasn't. the secularity charter was a big part of it and it was widely supported by quebec francophones and a large part of allophones.

      "Self-implosion, here we come!"

      you interpret every single event pertaining to quebec's independance movement as a setback. so your imprecations can only be conidered wishful thinking. i'm sorry for you mate as maybe you had a credibility once.

      Delete
    2. " let's give mario a pass this time and assume he was thinking about paul rose and jacques lanctot's dream of freedom rather than the means they chose to use back then."

      We'll give Mario a pass alright…cause as long as he's in charge…your seppie movement is toast…it's toast already, but now the bq elected him, it's burnt toast…lol

      This will be soooooo entertaining….I can't wait for all his f$%^up's. It will be like having our own Lucille Ball! LOL

      Delete
    3. @montreal ville état

      beaulieu obviously has a shot at getting all the separatist vote in quebec next time around. there's no jack layton around anymore to push separatists to support a good man's bid to beat harper. it's going to be back to pre-ndp quebec wave situation. he might even get shinier results thanks to a novelty: the liberal-ndp split. don't you agree mate? i hope you don't as it would strengthen my hypothesis.

      Delete
    4. Quebecers are gonna vote Justin Trudeau, he's young, versatile, smart, and good looking unlike the little provincial fart you support. Mostly, Trudeau is accepting of all creeds and races, this suddenly matters to quebecers since all the bad press they've endured at the hands of pastagate....rightfully deserved I'm afraid..LOL

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    5. The sad part is people that actually think voting for, or the bloc actually getting, any seats matter. Hey lets vote for the pointless Federal party that has absolutely no means of pushing towards sovereignty for Quebec in any capacity and in doing so only deprives the opposite parties the seats they need to take over from the Cons, genius! You might as well vote for the "I want a federal salary and pension for doing nothing" party, at least they're more honest about their ambitions.

      Delete
    6. MVÉ: You had my support up until your latest post on this thread: "Quebecers are gonna vote Justin Trudeau, he's young, versatile, smart, and good looking"..

      MVÉ: Justin's smarts can't hold a candle to his father's. He's a pretty boy all right, but he has constantly indicated he has foot-in-mouth disease. He is Pierre's son, but he is no Pierre. Don't be misled, I did not care for Pierre. One way Pretty Boy takes after his father is he's as arrogant as his father was. Very cocky. No doubt most of Quebec will vote for him if for no other reason he's Pierre's son and he's pretty. No shortage of shallow voters, a downside of democracy. No MVÉ. JT is not your salvation. JT is NOT the solution.

      Delete
    7. I’m looking forward to Mario Beaulieu explaining to the House of Commons how much he wants to “overcome” the $20B subsidy that Quebec receives every year from the federal government *with no strings attached*, something that is unheard of elsewhere in the world by aspiring “nations” (and certainly NOT in the European Union), to help it offers services such as the cheap daycare that are unavailable to the rest of Canadians.

      Also, I’m looking forward to how he wants to “overcome” the preferential hiring policies in the federal government for francophones who have learned a very useful language compared to anglophones who haven’t learned a relatively obscure one.

      I guess he also wants us to “overcome” the lynching that occurred with poor, downtrodden francophones who were left hanging from the branches of trees just like in the American South… oh wait, that never happened to the “white niggers of America” … that was nothing but FLQ terrorist propaganda written by a criminal while he was in prison.

      Delete
    8. @Mr. Sauga

      Really Mr. S..did you just meet me? I am under no illusion, and I am well aware no one will come to save us. If it comes down to picking between Mario (the jerk) Beaulieu and Justin T, I'll pick JT any day, and twice on Sunday...but yes, well aware he won't do much..counting on the fact that he's harmless.......so is the other one...but he's harmless AND dumb...this broke-ass province doesn't need the further bad press Mario (the moron) Beaulieu will bring.

      Delete
    9. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    10. @the cat

      good move mate. that was a real bad comment.

      Delete
    11. @montreal ville état

      " If it comes down to picking between Mario (the jerk) Beaulieu and Justin T, I'll pick JT any day..."

      of course you will, cause you are superficial. but separatists won't. no one on offer will be inspiring as layton was, so they will vote for the bloc. beaulieu will win. i don't see another realistic scenario.

      Delete
    12. MVÉ: Any way you slice it, the best of a bad lot is still a bad choice. You can take some solace in the fact Ontario just re-elected a scandal infested government that pissed billions of dollars against a wall through negligence of taxpayers' money. Scarily Ontario is heading Quebec's way but the major players were bad, too.

      I still would rather be in Ontario than Quebec no matter what.

      Delete
    13. Mario Polio surely meant to say he wants to “overcome” the ability of francophones to actually win $12,000 settlements for receiving a Sprite instead of a 7-Up on Air Canada. Canada treats francophones so “atrociously”, it’s absolutely shocking.

      http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/air-canadas-biggest-mistake/

      Delete
    14. So if I go to Quebec and I am not served in English, do I have the same right to sue? It is my understanding that certain businesses have been punished for having English on their signs.

      Delete
  12. This is slightly off-topic, but I receive the Blu-Ray for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey in the mail. But there's something unusual about the Blu-Ray that I was wondering what you would think. The audio is only in the original English, but there are subtitles for every major language spoken in the Americas---including French, twice.

    That's right---there are TWO French subtitled tracks----one for normal French and the other for Quebec French. I know that some people in France have trouble understanding the Quebec accent, but I thought they used the same written language. Have you heard of something like this before on a DVD?

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    Replies
    1. watch both scripts and report on the differences. it would make for an interesting contribution edward.

      Delete
    2. I am not a francophone, and I do not need to watch either script. The DVD/Blu-Ray is available in Canada---you can watch it yourself.

      Delete
    3. @edward j. cunninham

      you don't have to be a francophone to spot differences in two scripts. english and french have the same alphabets.

      it seems to me that you are not really interested in having an answer to your question. then why should i bother?

      Delete
    4. I thought other people here would be interested in reading the French subtitles. I am not going to do your work for you. I have no intention of watching the subtitles, copying down the differences and posting them here. I have other examples of French for me to read, but since I can already watch Cosmos without reading subtitles, I intend to continue to do so.

      Delete
    5. @edward cunningham

      "I thought other people here would be interested in reading the French subtitles. I am not going to do your work for you."

      that's funny. you want others to watch the subtitles on a dvd you have on hand and when they refuse you accuse them of not "doing their work". what are you some kind of slavemaster?!?

      "I have no intention of watching the subtitles, copying down the differences and posting them here."

      ok then i suggest you don't ask a question about something you have so little interest in mate.

      "I can already watch Cosmos without reading subtitles, I intend to continue to do so."

      ok mate you go watch cosmo.

      Delete
    6. @edward j. cunningham

      "I thought other people here would be interested in reading the French subtitles. I am not going to do your work for you."

      that's funny. you ask a question for which the answer is on a dvd you own. when someone refuses to watch it for you you accuse him of not doing their work!?! what are you some kind of slavemaster?!?

      "I have no intention of watching the subtitles, copying down the differences and posting them here."

      in that case let me suggest you stop asking questions about things you have no interest in. everyone would save precious time.

      "since I can already watch Cosmos without reading subtitles, I intend to continue to do so."

      ok you go watch como mate.

      Delete
    7. Basically it's the same script but someone in Quebec replaces all the "stops" with "arrets" because realising the French actually say stop would fracture the nationalists' feeble psyches.

      Delete
    8. A little anecdote. We had a young fellow transfer to our Montreal office from Paris. One day he asked me a question about the parking lot, he said ''le parking'' with his quick Parisian accent and I had to ask him to repeat his question. I said, oh you mean ''le stationnement", he paused and gave me a puzzled look, replied "ah oui" and laughed.

      So ''le parking'' is okay for a parking lot in France, but not in Quebec. Anyone surprised?

      Anyway, he is long gone, he didn't like Quebec much, transferred to our UK office.

      Delete
    9. Here, as Sophie Durocher eloquently put it. I have a question, then. If people of France do not speak that language anymore, can that language be called "French"?

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    10. It’s humourous to see that there is now a generation of post-Bill 101 franco-Quebecers who are only just discovering that the rest of the world doesn’t share their allergy to English. It’s actually franco-Quebecers who have a ”bibitte dans leurs têtes” (a mental block) about English… but they don’t even know that they do, as demonstrated by articles such as this one. Some of them really do think that they’re more French than the French. They don’t even realize that it’s abnormal to pass language laws that marginalize others. Meanwhile, healthy languages continue to borrow from one another constantly, as has always been done forever.

      If anybody has an axe to grind about how their language should be spoken, it’s probably the Brazilians. After all, Portuguese is spoken by almost 260M lusophones in the world and over 200M (~78%) of them are Brazilian. Yet, it’s still called “Portuguese” because the language originally comes from Portugal (which is only the 4th-largest speaker of that language), so there could be an argument made that it should now be renamed Brazilian and that their version should predominate. Fortunately, Brazilians and Portuguese aren’t as petty as Quebecers.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_distribution_of_Portuguese

      Delete
    11. FROM ED
      If people of France don't go to Church are they still Catholic. Of course the Church is still there. Ed

      Delete
  13. I disagree with this post...Football is a great game. However, for those that do not like it, just don't watch it. That is my choice with hockey/curling/etc. (gasp! I can foresee an avalanche of hockey fans about to grill me, hehehe)

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    Replies
    1. UN GARS BIEN SYMPATHIQUE DE FRANKFORTSunday, June 15, 2014 at 2:00:00 PM EDT

      Soccer sucks. Plain & simple... I know as it's all that Germans talk about here.

      Delete
    2. You are right. All those Germans, all 80 millions of them, are suckers for liking football. You are the smart and wise one as you enjoy the sports of the elevated people. Ice hockey and gridiron football.

      Delete
  14. The Editor puts this as the title of this post:

    World Cup is a Colossal Bore

    However, he ALWAYS makes similar comment every World Cup, every four year without fail.

    A colossal bore that merits a whole post every time it occurs?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Bloc Québécois members quit over new leader Mario Beaulieu:

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bloc-québécois-members-quit-over-new-leader-mario-beaulieu-1.2676343

    Two riding president resign. Beaulieu called a "clown". Bloc self destruction continues. Mario endorsed with 53% of the membership.

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    1. Damn...I was hoping the'd keep him.....he was elected fairly and squarely...too bad. He is a clown...but the whole seppie movement is a circus...so he's the man for the job..c'monnnn. LOLOLOLOLOL

      Delete
    2. @Liam,

      What an interesting article! We are getting a front row seat, with free popcorn and special 3D glasses, to witness these separatist parties implode.

      Delete
    3. "Self-implosion, here we come!"

      None of the 4 sitting BQ MPs supported Beaulieu for leader. Half of them (two) have vowed to resign because of “Beaulieu the clown”.

      [Grenier] told CBC News on Sunday afternoon that he has been a separatist since he was 15 years old, but was so disappointed with Beaulieu's election he felt he had to leave the party… [Roche] said Beaulieu is known to rely on issues around insecurity and language, as well as promote anti-English and anti-Canada sentiment, instead of approaching Quebec sovereignty with a spirit of openness. Political scientist Bruce Hicks said it's exactly why Beaulieu was elected. “The drama I think took everybody by surprise. This victory, though, less so, in that the only people who are left in that party are the diehard nationalists, the true ardent separatists," Hicks said.

      Bloc Québécois members quit over new leader Mario Beaulieu

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    4. @MVÉ

      I agree, it's all going way too fast. We know what's going to happen but we want it to take some time, we want to anticipate and enjoy the ride for a while.

      By the way, when explaining who the new Bloc leader was to my daughter, I told her it was the guy who had made the little anti-English sign video she thought was so ridiculous. She said "Oh no, not Tony Hillfinger. Hahahahahah!!!!!"

      Delete
    5. @the cat

      "Half of them (two) have vowed to resign because of “Beaulieu the clown”

      that's false. the two guys who have vowed to resign were not mp's. please the cat stop spreading misinformation. you are harming your readers.

      Delete
    6. Yes! Yes!! It’s really the “Tony Hillfinger” guy!!! Oh, this is just too sweet!!! A gift from the gods! The Rob Ford of separatists. As Laurie says, the trip is even better than the destination.

      Mario Beaulieu for Leader of the BQ..Don Cherry for PM!

      Mario Beaulieu-Separatist Idiot-Child Strikes Again

      Mario Beaulieu Unleashes the Dogs

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    7. The worst part is none are willing to resign from the House of Common to let Beaulieu run in a by-election.

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    8. Because of the abandonment by two BQ members who are “only” executive committee members and councillors rather than MPs, this mysteriously “harms” Quebecers somehow even more than the genuinely disastrous effects of the PQ/BQ, which have actually harmed Quebec over the past half-century…

      It’s disastrous that these people are somehow allowed to continue harming Quebec in spite of Quebecers’ long-term rejection of their option.

      Delete
  16. If Google Translate does not lie:

    Quali Mario stiamo parlando? Voglio Balotelli, non Beaulieu.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Nope Phil, you are a colossal bore! If ice hockey was such a riveting sport, why doesn't the rest of the world play it? Oh yeah, I realize, because it (like Canada) is supremely boring. Ok, so you don't really get football, therefore it must be shit, give me a break mate, it's by far the most popular sport in the world and just because you don't have either the intellect or attention span to enjoy, doesn't mean otherwise. Getting increasingly tired of your constant tirade of verbal diarrhea in your recent posts, which is a shame because you did have some good points once upon a time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To Anon above.....Hockey..first world sport (ie: money)....football ( soccer) 3rd world sport (ie:virtually no money for equilment or even a ball...a skull will do) ......nuff said ! U figure it out!

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  18. It is clear that most Anglo-Canadians have lost their British roots. England is the motherland of football, but this never has reached that colony up North. The British Royals never should have left their subjects alone in the Canadian boondocks for so long.

    ReplyDelete