Euro 2012

[Ramirez]

Anyone else following this year? This is the tournament where football fans (or as the colonists call it soccer) get their fix between World Cups.

Spain looks to be favorite, but I am thinking Germany with their talented young squad will be the champions.

Cristiano Ronaldo will once again disappoint...maybe he should stay away from the orgies with the hookers.

Actually been a great year so far, Man City taking the Premier League championship in dramatic fashion, then Chelsea defeating heavily favored Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

[Tripitaka of AA]

Here in England, we seem to be so underwhelmed by our prospects, that we've almost forgotten the tournament exists. The hype and anticipation prior to the last World Cup was so overblown that the dire England performance made many fans lose the will to "fan". This tournament is being hosted jointly by Poland and Ukraine, which are being described as the "home of NeoNazi racism" and a potential death-trap for visitng fans. Players and pundits have actually been warning fans to stay away. Which is all a bit too sad for words. Given that English soccer fans have a not-too-shiny reputation to start with, the opportunities for shame and embarassment to be heaped on my country are multiplying each day.

But in terms of Football performance, who knows?! England may actually produce some fine results - that often seems to happen when the prospects are the most bleak. Italia 90 and Euro 96 were both tournaments where England were considered no-hopers at the start, but got to the Semi-Finals with some style. The club fans here will probably find plenty to smile about since many of the Premiership teams have more foreigners than a Language School. Chelsea and Man City are fine examples of polylingual squads, where there are as many interpreters at the training ground as you might find at the United Nations.

[Erik]

It's amazing how the Europeans and S. Americans take this little game for women and children so seriously...