Comments on: Euro 2004 (England-France)

By: j gallo

j gallo — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 03:50:18 +0000

The $20 issues has irked me for several tournaments now as well. A few years back a bar owner in DC who bought the Sentanta package explained that the cost to the establishment was based upon the the legal occupancy of the room in which the games were being broadcast (I don’t know how this number was calculated… fire code records perhaps). So for a bar with a main room that seats a calculated 100 patrons the owner would have to pay Sentanta 100 times X dollars in advance for the right to show the games. While I can see the benefit to the bar for a weekend England-France match that fills the place, I fail to see how they will make much money tomorrow, a work day, for Latvia-Czech Republic at 11, or even a match like Germany-Holland in the afternoon. In the end I guess their money in recouperated through dopes like me who don’t have the ability to order the match at home and who will spend five hours in a bar on a Tuesday contributing to their till.

By: Thlayli

Thlayli — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 21:21:20 +0000

Ahh, Setanta. Euro ‘96 was shown on ESPN. As much as footy types like to bitch about ESPN, it is basic cable. 2000 and this one have been snagged by the evil pay-per-view-ites. The only “look on the bright side” for me is the smoking ban in NYC bars. There’s no way I could make it through this without it.

By: reuben

reuben — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 16:43:20 +0000

You’d think the Irish would want to encourage as many people as possible to watch England go down in ignominious defeat. Perhaps they should start a new price structure (England matches only): games against poor teams, 20 bucks; games against the likes of France, free.

By: P O'Neill

P O'Neill — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 16:35:02 +0000

Justin— The $20 thing…I assume that you are referring to the price of the match broadcast in the US? If so, I regret to say that the culprits are Irish. You can click on my post ID to see more about the problem.

By: reuben

reuben — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 16:15:09 +0000

Justin, I was referring to that truly terrible week when they lost to Man U to go out of the FA Cup and then to Chelsea at home to go out of the Champion’s League. As you’ll recall, they then found themselves trailing Liverpool in their next Premiership match, but rallied to win in very convincing fashion. It seems as though teams with Henry and Pires on them have pretty good luck coming from behind against teams with Heskey and Gerrard. I am an Arsenal supporter, by the way, and blame the hapless Liverpudlians for England’s defeat.

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 15:11:17 +0000

Correct me if I’m wrong, Rueben, but didn’t Arsenal NOT LOSE A SINGLE GAME this year in the Premiership?

By: NIGHTMARE

NIGHTMARE — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 13:49:11 +0000

If England draw against Switzerland (like their last two results 1-1 in 1998 and 1-1 in 1996), assuming France beat Croatia, France can deliberately lose to Switzerland to knock England out of the competition! Of course the French would not do that…!

By: reuben

reuben — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 10:44:58 +0000

Another fascinating thing (in football in general, it seems) is the lack of professionalism when it comes to taking penalties. For a penalty shootout, it seems so amateurish for the players on the pitch to basically decide amongst themselves who’s going to have a go, rather than the coach or captain choosing the most suitable five in the most suitable order. And as for penalties in the match, why in the name of heavens should Beckham be taking them? For most of his career, he’s not been the one doing this for his squads – and now suddenly he does it for England, just because he’s the captain?! If at all possible, only strikers and goal-scoring midfielders should take penalties. And while Beckham may often be brilliant on set pieces and with his long crosses, he’s not a true goal scorer ala Frank Lampard or, of course, Zidane. Admittedly, the England squad is a bit lacking in reliable penalty takers, but I would have opted for Lampard in the first instance and Vassel in the second.

By: reuben

reuben — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 10:22:09 +0000

Gutting, but hopefully England can do as Arsenal did during the Premiership: pick themselves up, brush themselves off, and look to their French superstar for inspiration. Doh! From an immigrant’s perspective, there is so much to be fascinated by in English football. Just to name a few: the flag debate; English self-esteem (are you one of the great teams/nations, or merely middling?); the almost preternatural ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory; and of course the quite unnerving (for Americans) lack of a comma in the phrase “Come on England”. The never-ending drama and pathos seem only fitting for such a complex nation.

By: Andrew Boucher

Andrew Boucher — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 08:02:49 +0000

Now the oldest son informs me that, despite sitting on the English-supporter sofa all first half, he is really a French supporter.

By: Andrew Boucher

Andrew Boucher — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 06:18:54 +0000

There were even some horn honkings in Paris at the end – an event usually reserved for qualifications, semi-finals matches or better. Fortunately the children, whom I had convinced to root for England by singing New Order’s old World Cup song, had been packed off to bed at half-time. At least in a really important sport L.A. dropped the fourth game to the Pistons.

By: james

james — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 03:50:03 +0000

btw I probably would have supported France anyway, but really, the way every team England plays has their anthem booed does pee me off, especially when its the Marseillaise (sp?).

By: james

james — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 03:44:16 +0000

As I recall Bayern went on to lose the German Cup Final a few days later – very hard to recover from a blow like that.

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 03:29:17 +0000

Wayne Rooney is a PRICK. Also, something must be done about the system of delivering tournaments. That one has to go to a bar (most of which have a $20 cover charge) to see such a major event is silly.

By: WillieStyle

WillieStyle — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 03:11:02 +0000

Personaly, I was rejoicing after England’s loss. The one thing I hate the most in football is when a team takes a 1 goal lead and then packs 10 men behind the box for the rest of the match. France was attacking at will, and you just knew they were going to get a chance eventually. The other thing I hate in football is over-rated pretty boys. Will this game finaly put an end to the beckham hype. This dude couldn’t crack France’s starting 11. One bright spot for England: Wayne Rooney is awesome.