• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Republicans do not trust women.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Shut up, hissy kitty!

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

He really is that stupid.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Sports / Quarter-final III: France v Spain

Quarter-final III: France v Spain

by Randinho|  June 23, 20122:30 pm| 59 Comments

This post is in: Sports

FacebookTweetEmail

Limoux or Rioja?

As regular commenter, Handsmile advised me,today is Zinedine Zidane’s birthday.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Building my own coffin
Next Post: They Shoot Up Horses Don’t They? »

Reader Interactions

59Comments

  1. 1.

    MattR

    June 23, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    Anyone else having trouble with the HD feed of ESPN2?

    (EDIT: ESPN in HD just came back to life so hopefully ESPN2 is close behind.)

    (EDIT 2: And there it is. All is well.)

  2. 2.

    CW in LA

    June 23, 2012 at 2:42 pm

    Zidane’s birthday? That explain my headache. :p

  3. 3.

    burnspbesq

    June 23, 2012 at 2:42 pm

    Allez les Bleus!

  4. 4.

    Leeds man

    June 23, 2012 at 2:43 pm

    The two best anthems, if not the two best teams. Rioja by a goal.

  5. 5.

    pseudonymous in nc

    June 23, 2012 at 2:44 pm

    The Graun’s team lineups made me laugh out loud:

    Proyecto de arte modernista española (0-10-0)

    Honk, honk, c’est l’autobus français (10-0-0):

  6. 6.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 2:45 pm

    @Leeds man: And of course we know what is distinctive about the Spainish anthem

  7. 7.

    pete

    June 23, 2012 at 2:46 pm

    The Grauniad tips their hand by listing the teams thus:

    Honk, honk, c’est l’autobus français (10-0-0): …
    Proyecto de arte modernista española (0-10-0):

    I’d love to see three goals, heck I’d settle for two, but I’m betting one. By Spain.

  8. 8.

    pete

    June 23, 2012 at 2:47 pm

    @pseudonymous in nc: No, no, you’re supposed to flaff around being clever, not just post too quickly for me …

  9. 9.

    Valdivia

    June 23, 2012 at 2:51 pm

    I know, I know, a very girly comment to make but boy was Zidane ever the sexiest player ever. Ahem.

    ok, carry on.

  10. 10.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 2:51 pm

    That should have been a penalty.

  11. 11.

    burnspbesq

    June 23, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    @Randinho:

    Good no-call. Cesc had no chance to play the ball.

  12. 12.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    June 23, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    @Randinho:

    Nah. Good non-call. Fabregas wouldn’t have caught up with that ball.

  13. 13.

    burnspbesq

    June 23, 2012 at 2:54 pm

    This pace can’t hold for 90 minutes, but it sure is fun for now.

  14. 14.

    pseudonymous in nc

    June 23, 2012 at 2:55 pm

    I think it was borderline, but the fact that Fabregas buckled with light contact while the ball was high in the air convinced the ref not to give it.

  15. 15.

    Amir Khalid

    June 23, 2012 at 2:55 pm

    It’s not only Zizou’s birthday; it’s also Jean Tigana’s and Paddy Vieira’s. Per the Graun, Tigana was the engine of France’s Euro 84 winning side; and Arsenal legend Vieira was the engine of France’s victorious teams at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

  16. 16.

    Leeds man

    June 23, 2012 at 2:56 pm

    @Randinho: I thought intent was required, and there certainly wasn’t any. Legs tangled.

  17. 17.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 2:57 pm

    Clichy was all over him like a cheap suit. At least his arms were.

  18. 18.

    burnspbesq

    June 23, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    @Randinho:

    Who was on whom?

    The notion that it’s ALWAYS the defender at fault when two players running side-by-side in pursuit of a ball get their legs tangled up is ridiculous.

  19. 19.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 3:01 pm

    @burnspbesq: Look at Clichy’s arms. Whatever. We’re in dead horse terrotory and t looks like it’s going to be a ong day for Les Bleus

  20. 20.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    June 23, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    Beauty!

  21. 21.

    burnspbesq

    June 23, 2012 at 3:05 pm

    Nifty little shove there. Should be no goal. At least we know that this referee isn’t going to call anything that’s not a felony, and the players can adjust to it.

  22. 22.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 3:09 pm

    @burnspbesq:i only saw one guy go to ground and he wasn’t shoved. He was beaten.

  23. 23.

    burnspbesq

    June 23, 2012 at 3:11 pm

    @Randinho:

    Bullshit. Alba extended his arm, hit the defender in the chest with his hand, and the defender lost his balance. Alba gained an obvious advantage through contact. Unless the rule is “offensive players can do whatever the fuck they want,” that’s a foul.

  24. 24.

    Alison

    June 23, 2012 at 3:11 pm

    I do not like these weird collared jerseys the French have.

  25. 25.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 23, 2012 at 3:13 pm

    The wave? Really?

  26. 26.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 3:18 pm

    @burnspbesq: he went to ground well after Alba put his arm out. He wasn’t off balance at first. He was beaten and lunged. I’ve gone to the commenatry on Goal.com, ESPN’s Soccernet and Guardian MBM. None of them saw it The way you saw it. Not one.

  27. 27.

    Leeds man

    June 23, 2012 at 3:20 pm

    Speaking of questionable calls (and I agree with Randinho on the goal), Ramos was just standing his ground against Benzema. Don’t see a yellow card there.

  28. 28.

    Amir Khalid

    June 23, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    Well, well. France show signs of having turned up for the match at last.

  29. 29.

    Alison

    June 23, 2012 at 3:22 pm

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: Right? Another embarrassing American export :P

    (I assume the stupid thing started here…yeah?)

  30. 30.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 3:23 pm

    Look at how much room Pique just had on that corner.

  31. 31.

    Amir Khalid

    June 23, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    @Alison:
    If I recall correctly, the first association-football crowds to do the wave were at the 1994 World Cup; so yes, it does seem to be an American thing. Only, outside America it’s often called the “Mexican wave”. So that confuses things a bit.

  32. 32.

    Leeds man

    June 23, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    @Alison: Another embarrassing American export

    Not as annoying as the recent(last decade or so?) obsession with meaningless statistics, which I assume is also somehow blameable on the Murkans.

  33. 33.

    Amir Khalid

    June 23, 2012 at 3:33 pm

    BBC live-blog commenter Sir Robin:

    Del Bosque should be French. He looks like he belongs in an Asterix book. Put a couple of pigtails on him and he could be Obelix’s older brother. And yet he seems to have the brain of Getafix. France have their work cut out.

  34. 34.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 3:33 pm

    @Amir Khalid: In the 1991 Pan Am Games at a basketball game you could see Fidel Castro doing the wave. God how I hate the wave.

  35. 35.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    June 23, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    @Alison:

    I don’t think so. It seems to have originated in Canada in the mid-70s and crossed the border in the early-80s.

  36. 36.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    June 23, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    Following up on my previous comment: There’s a good chance that it originated with the Vancouver Whitecaps of the NASL.

    So it’s roots are probably in Canada and soccer.

  37. 37.

    pseudonymous in nc

    June 23, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    If I recall correctly, the first association-football crowds to do the wave were at the 1994 World Cup

    Nah, it was the 1986 World Cup… in Mexico.

  38. 38.

    SRW1

    June 23, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    I think it’s older and the US is entirely without culpability.

    Yahoo answers dates ‘La ola’ to WC 1986 in Mexico, which presumably explain the name ‘Mexican wave’.

    ETA: Corrected for wrong year of WC.

  39. 39.

    Amir Khalid

    June 23, 2012 at 3:42 pm

    @pseudonymous in nc:
    @SRW1:
    I stand corrected.

  40. 40.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 23, 2012 at 3:44 pm

    @Amir Khalid: From what I just read about it, the “Mexican wave” name came about because most people outside North America first saw it at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Also, too, it appears it might be an awful Canadian export, from the NHL.

  41. 41.

    Alison

    June 23, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Damn Canadians! What about my liberal desires to move there should Romney win the election? Humph.

  42. 42.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    In that instance, Alba went down pretty easily with minimal contact.

  43. 43.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    June 23, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    @Alison:

    Why would you want to move there with the PM Canada’s got now?

    And musically, we win any and every day.

  44. 44.

    Alison

    June 23, 2012 at 3:54 pm

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Eh, you know. It’s the default location. Plus I wouldn’t have to fly to get there. There’s only the tiniest bit of sincerity to the whinging :P

  45. 45.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 23, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    There’s an epidemic of shirt-grabbing, apparently.

  46. 46.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    June 23, 2012 at 3:57 pm

    @Alison:

    Heehee…I get it. I’m not too far from the border myself.

    My mom’s plan, dating back to the ’70s, is to invoke her right of return to the Republic of Ireland.

  47. 47.

    MikeJ

    June 23, 2012 at 4:06 pm

    Spain have not given up to scoring again so Torres doesn’t go in yet.

  48. 48.

    Leeds man

    June 23, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Harper would be considered a socialist (or at least a RINO) in the USA. Anyway, there is an actual opposition here.

  49. 49.

    Amir Khalid

    June 23, 2012 at 4:22 pm

    The match has gone flat. It desperately needs another goal — either from Spain to finish it off, or from France to wake it up.

  50. 50.

    pseudonymous in nc

    June 23, 2012 at 4:26 pm

    This Graun comment says it all:

    “This risk-averse Spanish keepball is the footballing equivalent of Mormon sex,” suggests Mitt Romney Alexander Sharkey. “Joyless, dutiful, prissy, and single-minded about producing a result.

    I’d like the ref to blow the whistle and put France out of their misery.

  51. 51.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 23, 2012 at 4:31 pm

    Well, that ought to take care of it.

  52. 52.

    Randinho

    June 23, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    It’s not so much that Spain parks th e bus as it is they grab the ball, put in the bus and drive it all over the pitch.

  53. 53.

    SRW1

    June 23, 2012 at 4:35 pm

    @pseudonymous in nc:

    The Spanish Rasenschach has become kind of boring to watch. Maybe Ronaldo & friends can do something about it.

  54. 54.

    Leeds man

    June 23, 2012 at 4:37 pm

    @SRW1: Maybe Ronaldo & friends can do something about it.

    Well, there will be a lot of whining, and looking to the heavens.

  55. 55.

    Amir Khalid

    June 23, 2012 at 4:38 pm

    Well, there was a second goal — eventually. So Spain are through to the semifinal against Portugal. But this has been a disappointing match, in terms of football.

  56. 56.

    SRW1

    June 23, 2012 at 4:38 pm

    @Leeds man:

    That’s not quite the kind of entertainment I had in mind.

  57. 57.

    Amir Khalid

    June 23, 2012 at 5:04 pm

    BBC live-blog posts reader comments under the heading GET INVOLVED. The latest such comment:

    Akinpelu Kayode on Twitter: “Cannot understand why you keep saying “Get Involved” when most of the French players on the pitch were not?”

  58. 58.

    Thomas Jones

    June 23, 2012 at 5:08 pm

    Hey, its also alan turing’s birthday everybody.

  59. 59.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    June 23, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    @Leeds man:

    Harper would be considered a socialist (or at least a RINO) in the USA. Anyway, there is an actual opposition here.

    I’m sure Harper would take the governor off if he had a base of enablers who were still seeking revenge for their ancestors’ loss in a civil war in which they fought on behalf of the worst cause ever.

    You folks have nothing close to comparable, so it follows that you can’t really make the RINO comparison- which is very good for you.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - PaulB - Olympic Peninsula: Salt Creek Recreation Area & Kalaloch Beach
Image by PaulB (5/10/25)

Recent Comments

  • BellyCat on We Are Just Incubators (May 16, 2025 @ 2:53am)
  • prostratedragon on Lest We Forget: Kilmar Abrego Garcia (May 16, 2025 @ 1:52am)
  • Darkrose on Lest We Forget: Kilmar Abrego Garcia (May 16, 2025 @ 1:27am)
  • prostratedragon on Lest We Forget: Kilmar Abrego Garcia (May 16, 2025 @ 1:06am)
  • YY_Sima Qian on War for Ukraine Day 1,176: Happy Vyshyvanka Day! (May 16, 2025 @ 1:02am)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!