<p>You gotta love those Italians.</p>
<p>My daughters and her friends play soccer and have for years, but is it only love for the beautiful game that drove them to watch the world cup matches?
<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003089570_soccerguys28.html[/url]”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003089570_soccerguys28.html</a></p>
<p>We are rooting for Italy in our house since D is spending the next year in Florence. gli azzuri!
Neither of our girls play soccer but our dog does.</p>
<p>France and France only! No win for diving Italians, no way!</p>
<p>I’m pulling for the Germans over Portugal, even if it means we get no sleep Saturday night from the noise. And then, I’m pulling for the Italy-France game to be so full of red cards that FIFA disqualifies them both. :)</p>
<p>I’ll feed the cats!</p>
<p>(to a wild predator)</p>
<p>from that article:
</p>
<p>may your trip provide much serious abdominal achievement
with knife and fork,…</p>
<p>
I dont remember italians diving at all in this cup, at least no more than the french. now portugal, thats a different story :p</p>
<p>mini,</p>
<p>What program is your D in? Has she been to Florence before?</p>
<p>Rooting for France, bien sur!, but love gazing at the Italians!</p>
<p>mini,</p>
<p>Pardon me if that question seemd inappropriate and please do not answer if it makes you uncomfortable. </p>
<p>I only asked because I lived in Florence 35 years ago and spent sophomore year of college at one of the “junior-year-abroad” programs (Gonzaga-in Florence – then located at Palazzo Antinori on Via Tornabuoni in the heart of the city!) that have mushroomed there since then. Ah, Florence! It also helped that I lived in a spacious apartment on the Arno, with a large covered veranda that overlooked the “oltre” arno, specifically Santa Maria del Camine, where Masacio’s frescoes helped mark the advance of art from the more symbolic, flat Byzantine influence into the more natural, humanistic form that was the signature of the Rennaisance. For that reason alone, he was one of the giants of that incredible epoch… but, I an rambling. </p>
<p>Going to study art by any chance? lol</p>
<p>that was rambling with a capital R,…</p>
<p>What’s this World Cup thing that I’ve been hearing a bit about? Is it some sort of prelude to the NFL season about to start?</p>
<p>(running for cover as all manner of weaponry are aimed in my direction.)</p>
<p>Allez Les Bleus!</p>
<p>it’s football for the skinny set. nothing you’d be interested in,…</p>
<p>Andrassy,
That penalty Italians got against Australia? riiiiiiight…And “begging for fouls” all through the Germany game? I don’t remember the French doing anything like that. Allez Les Bleus! :-)</p>
<p>It’s football for the guys with the killer abs (see post 21) and great acting skills (see posts on diving).</p>
<p>Vas-y Zizou!</p>
<p>My daughter is living and working in France this summer though will be studying abroad this fall in Florence, Italy (mini, I did not realize your D will also be in Florence when mine is) and so she finds it interesting that the two countries she is living in this year are in the finals. Needless to say, it is a big deal where she is in France and apparently tomorrow they are taking all the kids in the program she on the staff at to go watch it somewhere in the town. It will be cool for my D to be there during this time. My D is a lifelong soccer player since K and still plays in college.</p>
<p>All of England, it seems, blames Portugal’s Christiano Ronaldo for their country’s premature ejection from The World Cup. As you may recall, Ronaldo (when he was not diving and crying) played a role in getting Wayne Rooney sent off in the quarter final, winking to his team-mates after Rooney was red-carded. Tabloid terror The Sun labelled Ronaldo “the world’s biggest winker” and a “Portugese Nancy Boy”.</p>
<p>Winker?
Ive heard of “wanker” but not winker.</p>
<p>I also admit I haven’t watched a lot of the cup games previous, jsut what happened to be on when I was at the gym, but I think Italia/France are pretty well tied for diving ;)</p>
<p>Well, I’m heartbroken. I could not believe what Zidane did. After that, I suppose, it was fitting that France lost. He took himself out of the game when he was most needed, and in such ugly fashion. Sigh.</p>
<p>I have to agree, marite. That was so out of character for Zidane, I can’t imagine what was said to him to make him react in that way. France outplayed Italy through so much of the game that I was hoping that they would prevail but when it comes down to PKs, it’s impossible to predict.</p>