Thoughts on vuvuzelas and La Furia Roja, among other things

As of today, the first set of matches has come to a conclusion. Whoda thunk that the Swiss would have knocked off the Spanish to grab three points and the leading spot in Group H along with Chile? Not me, that's for sure. Seems like la furia roja was trying to play the beautiful game, perhaps, a bit too beautifully. They had quite a few chances from in or around the 18 yard box, the best of which were Pique's 24th minute attempt on goal (in which he had a difficult time finishing against the Swiss keeper Diego Benaglio), Iniesta's pass to David Villa in the 45th minute (in which Villa chipped the ball across the box, with no one waiting to finish) and Xabi Alonso's screamer off the bar in the 70th minute. The Swiss nearly scored a second goal in the 73rd minute, putting a ball off the post that was eventually cleared by the Spanish defense.

It seemed as though the Spanish team just never quite found their rhythm in the presence of the stout Swiss defense. I also got the feeling, while watching the match, that the Spanish offensive thrusts were missing something with Fernando Torres absent until he was subbed on later in the second half. Although to be fair to Spain's manager, Vicente del Bosque, when niño Torres did come on, he looked a bit rusty due to having not played for the past 2 months (I'm a subscriber to the 'Samson' theory here, where Torres has lost some of his touch due to the cutting of his golden locks... Feel free to disagree, if you please. He looks like a goon with that new hairdid). Hopefully (for Scottie, and the nation of Spain's sanity) La Furia Roja will come out and play a better match when they face Honduras next Monday. Also, the Swiss have not given up a goal in world cup play in 490 minutes, so we'll see if they can keep up the streak... For a more enjoyable match, I sure hope they don't.

On to more important matters... Vuvuzelas! There was recently talk about FIFA taking steps banning the horns after numerous complaints on the part of fans and players alike. I've given this one some thought, and although the BUZZZZIIIINNNNGGGG made by the horns can be irritating at times, I think it's all in the fun of hosting the tournament on the African continent and I'm pleased FIFA has allowed them to stay. As one South African put it in a recent interview I read, "Going into the stadium without the vuvuzela really is like going to war and being unarmed." I'm not quite sure I'd take it THAT far, but again, the tournament is in South Africa, and it would be pretty pathetic to tell the local supporters they couldn't partake in something engrained in their cultural/sporting history (Imagine someone telling you, you couldn't go to Celtics game and get absolutely tanked, or that you weren't allowed to buy $8 beers at a Patriots game... You'd be pretty angry, I bet.). The BBC is allegedly doubling its audio filters as to help alleviate some of the buzzing on the video feed, as it received over 500 complaints regarding the noise-makers during the broadcast of the first match.

Anyway, if you can't take the constant buzzing while watching the matches, some tech savvy folks on the interwebs have found a way to ease the constant buzzing on the ear:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk5cnCGgq0I&feature=player_embedded

Hope it helped if you really don't like the noise, but I think everyone should fully embrace it (like Max, and his 'vuvuzelas for life') and watch the WC, vuvuzelas buzzing and all.

As for tomorrow's matches, it seems like the first match, South Korea v. Argentina, and the final match, Mexico v. France, are going to be pretty interesting. South Korea look pretty fantastic in their first match, as did Argentina (albeit Argentina only scored one goal, thanks in large part to the heroic efforts of the Nigerian keeper), while France looked, as always, dysfunctional and flat in its first match, and Mexico looked decent in their opening match draw against the emotionally charged efforts of Bafana Bafana.

I'm going to put my money on the Argentines scoring upwards of three goals, with Diego Milito starting over Higuain. While, I think the South Koreans are going to put in at least one, if not two, with both teams eventually making it out of the group to the round of 16.

Aso for the other match, eh, I'm going to say France jells a bit better than last time, getting a goal, but in the end they lose to the Mexicans 2-1. We'll see if Giovani Dos Santos, with his hairband and child-like facial features, is able to lead Mexico to a win.

Predictions? Comments? Concerns?

Soccer gods, please help heal Timmy's ribs,

Ryan