Please Forgive Me, Puckheads

So, it has been brought to my attention that there is something going on in the world of sports that has not gotten any attention from us here at BSB that probably should be getting at least a mention.  At first, I wasn’t sure if I could swallow my pride and write about what I’ve called a “niche sport,” but then I thought about it and there were many reasons why I should give at least a rudimentary opinion on a sport about which I know very little.  Here’s why I decided to suck it up and do this post:

1. The “home team” to just about everyone on Philadelphia’s Broad Street is playing in the world championship of its sport.
2. They are not playing just anyone–they are facing one of the oldest, most celebrated, and beloved teams in the history of the sport.
3. Neither team has won a championship in my lifetime
4. Even more so, despite a rabid fan base, the other team has not won a title since the 1960’s.
5. Our team is a decided underdog, but thrilling, historic upsets leading up to this championship has given us hope that maybe they can take us through one more incredible ride to a title.
6. And, finally, as hard as this is to say:  while I have criticized the sport in the past for being a “niche” sport, it really does have a lot more followers in this country than most people give it credit for and…-gulp-…I actually do REALLY enjoy watching it every once in a while.

For all of these reasons, I think that the Broad Street Believers blog, a website that prides itself on covering the home teams of Philadelphia, owes its fans and followers this post.  I am sorry it has been this long, and I apologize for my incredible lack of knowledge about the sport.  So, I will swallow my pride and actually write this blog’s first ever article on…

…I can’t believe I’m doing this…

…I’m going to lose a lot of respect from a lot of people…

…on…

…USA SOCCER!!!

What?  Wasn’t it obvious?

Anyway, I think that Team USA has a really good chance to get out of their group and into the elimination round, but they have to get off to a good start in the very first game against England.  The other two teams in the group–Slovenia and Algeria–are probably pretty good draws for the two red, white, and blue nations, but they are not to be taken lightly–especially Algeria.  Algeria and Slovenia are both solid, and either can definitely steal a qualifying spot from one of the two powers, if they’re not careful, so getting at least a draw with England in game one is a must for the Americans.  Beating them would probably assure themselves of a trip to the elimination round.

And, that first game with England remains incredibly important, even if you discount the chances of Slovenia and Algeria of stealing a spot.  This is because the way the brackets will be set, getting that C1 spot over the C2 spot could be gigantic, in terms of matchups in the second round.  The second round pits Group C against Group D with the first-place team from one playing the second-place team from the other.  Well, a quick look at Group D will give you a nice understanding of why winning Group C is very important.  Germany (one of the kings of the sport) is sitting in Group D and is the odds-on favorite to be that D1 team.  Avoiding Germany in the second round is a must.  But, furthermore, there is some real intrigue in that second-place team from Group D.  Would anyone be surprised if Ghana (an African nation with a history of World Cup success) shocks Serbia and Australia and grabs that D2 spot, despite being outside the top 30 in the FIFA rankings?  It wouldn’t shock me, so that might actually be a nice little matchup for the Americans in the second round, if they can win Group C–not that Ghana is a pushover, but to be able to get to the quarters without facing a European or South American power would be nice.

Okay, let’s look even further at the bracket.  Let’s say the Americans finish second to England in Group C.  Then, they head over to face D1, which would presumably be Germany.  Now, let’s say they pull off a pretty big upset and beat the Germans.  They would then, probably be staring right at yet another of the favorites to win the whole thing in the quarters–Argentina.  Again, there would be no shame in a quarterfinal loss to Argentina, but still, let’s not take “moral victories” until we have to.  So, to get to the semis after finishing second in Group C, you probably have to beat Germany AND Argentina–brutal.  Now, let’s look at the probable road for C1–the winner of Group C.  As we said earlier, it would be D2, which might be Ghana, but even if it’s not, as long as it’s not Germany, it will be against a team ranked lower than the USA in the FIFA rankings (Serbia or Australia).  Moving on from there, the quarterfinal matchup would be against the winner of the second round game between A1 and B2.  Group A’s best team, France, is the worst of the “top seeds,” while the B2 team will probably be either Greece or Nigeria.  So, if Germany and Argentina both win their groups (pretty likely), the hardest quarterfinal matchup for the C1 team would be either France or Greece.

Again, let’s compare the most likely roads to the semis of the Group C champion (C1) and the Group C runner-up (C2):

• C1 –> Serbia THEN France
• C2 –> Germany THEN Argentina

And, the C1/C2 might be decided in the very first game the Americans play against our old rulers.  It’s could be “revolutionary!”

Expect more World Cup coverage to come, since I absolutely love this event.

Oh, and I apologize to all the Flyers fans out there (one of you, in particular) for that little intro…if any of them are even still reading BSB after this.