The last poster wins

[billyro]

Damn. New South Wales finally won against Queensland in State of Origin. :down:

 

We were on an 8 year win streak, but they finally prevailed...

[Vindekarr]

Well, it's not all bad on the sporting front for Australia.

 

There's a young Australian Formula 1 driver called Daniel Ricciardo who's currently being considered one of the best new talents in several decades. The kid's undeniably brilliant, with amazing driving skills and a lot of maturity-he's already won a race driving a very sub-standard car.

 

He also has a really fantastic attitude: even standing on the podium he acts like a completely ordinary 20-something Australian. Which is really refreshing, in a sport dominated by ultra-photogenic European drivers such as Lewis Hamilton(part-time model) Nico Rosberg(former model) and Susie Wolff(former lingerie model)

 

We also won the Hockey World Cup this year, and we took a goal off the Netherlands in the Soccer World Cup. Considering how omnipotent the Netherlands are at Soccer, that's a pretty good achievement.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Vindekarr

[billyro]

I've never really been a fan of soccer. It seems like such a sooky game (seriously, they get ankle-tapped and they act like they broke their effing leg) and I don't like that. It was fun to play at school though, because no one acted like that.

[Thor.]

So The word Soccer is more mainstream then i thought, i guess Australia is more America but with gun control lol.

 

John Oliver sure made fun of that :laugh: , John Stewart and the rest are the real news. They are literally the best news team in the world i believe, always true and none biased with a hint of comedy.

 

heres a good example.

 

Edited June 19, 2014 by Thor.

[billyro]

So The word Soccer is more mainstream then i thought, i guess Australia is more America but with gun control lol.

 

We call it Soccer because we have our version of Football (AFL) and it is vastly different. :happy:

[Thor.]

I can sense a hint of sarcasm there :confused: , Kangaroo football. I can see how that could be plausible. :laugh:

Edited June 19, 2014 by Thor.

[billyro]

Huh? No, AFL is a real sport. It stands for Australian Football League, and it's nothing like the American Football.

 

And sadly, kangaroos are not involved. :P

[Vindekarr]

I've never really been a fan of soccer. It seems like such a sooky game (seriously, they get ankle-tapped and they act like they broke their effing leg) and I don't like that. It was fun to play at school though, because no one acted like that.

 

I can understand that, sports are a very personal thing. I prefer motorsport, and that's another case of love-or-hate. The thing I would say about Soccer though, is that while it's not a contact sport it's very cut-throat. The reason players roll around on the ground when breathed-on, is to try and influence the referee into penalising the opposing team. In Soccer, a downed player can result in a team getting a Penality Kick, which can easily turn the tide of a match.

 

Formula 1 would probably be my favourite sport. It's very niche: you've got to have a very particular set of interests to find it entertaining, but once you delve into it, it's very complicated and very interesting. The main appeal for me is that the battles on track are just half the story. Winning the Championship relies on so many factors it's not even funny, and an obsessive level of commitment. Ferrari spent $450,000,000.00 AUD on last year's cup campaign, and lost miserably.

 

The other reason I like F1, is that it's the pinnacle. It's the car racing equivalent of the International Rugby league: ludicrous prizes(last place gets over ten million) the best drivers(the worst F1 drivers often drop-out and then utterly dominate other sports) and of course, no rules.

 

But then again, you're ultimately watching noisey cars drive around in circles for two hours while people with European accents yell at eachother, occasionally broken up by a massive fireball. It doesn't surprise me at all that some people can't stand the sport, just as it doesn't surprise me that each race draws 100,000+ people in the crowd.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Vindekarr

[billyro]

 

I've never really been a fan of soccer. It seems like such a sooky game (seriously, they get ankle-tapped and they act like they broke their effing leg) and I don't like that. It was fun to play at school though, because no one acted like that.

 

I can understand that, sports are a very personal thing. I prefer motorsport, and that's another case of love-or-hate. The thing I would say about Soccer though, is that while it's not a contact sport it's very cut-throat. The reason players roll around on the ground when breathed-on, is to try and influence the referee into penalising the opposing team. In Soccer, a downed player can result in a team getting a Penality Kick, which can easily turn the tide of a match.

 

Yes, I know, but it's just so weak and pathetic. It's unsporting behaviour to pretend to be hurt, just so you can get an opportunity to score, and then hop up fine and dandy to take the kick. If I was playing soccer and someone on the other team did that, I'd probably shoulder-charge them and see if they got up from that.

 

 

 

 

Ferrari spent $450,000,000.00 AUD on last year's cup campaign, and lost miserably.

 

Four... four hundred and fifty million?! What... is the point? :wacko:

[Vindekarr]

Four... four hundred and fifty million?! What... is the point? :wacko:

 

I don't know if I can explain this without boring you to sleep, but I'll try.

 

F1 is nearly irresistible for car makers. The rules encourage experimental tech, and teams are rewarded with money for big new ideas. This in turn attracts the best scientists in the field, and creates an amazing breeding-ground for tech. It's also a perfect marketing opportunity: F1 attracts about six to ten million viewers per race, and sponsors pay tens of millions of dollars to advertise on the cars.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Vindekarr