What Olympic Postponement Means for the USWNT

Discussion in 'USA Women: News and Analysis' started by FanOfFutbol, Mar 25, 2020.

  1. FanOfFutbol

    FanOfFutbol Member+

    The Mickey Mouse Club or The breakfast Club
    May 4, 2002
    Limbo
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
  2. Smallchief

    Smallchief Member+

    Oct 27, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    In the cruel world of soccer inaction, I recommend a netflix series called "The English Game."

    It's set in 1879, which is even before Carli Lloyd played, and is based on history, about how football became a professional sport for the masses rather than just a pastime of the public-school toffs.
     
  3. hotjam2

    hotjam2 Member+

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    after just watching Ford vs Ferrari got to say soccer seriously lag's behind other sports in terms of quality, lol. Best soccer film I've seen was The Damned United.

    Very few choices for woso; Bend It Like Beckham-Gracie -She's the Man though all average at best
     
  4. FanOfFutbol

    FanOfFutbol Member+

    The Mickey Mouse Club or The breakfast Club
    May 4, 2002
    Limbo
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    I liked "Victory" AKA "Escape to Victory" quite a bit. But I have not watched it in some time and I do not know if it holds up. I do and did think that casting "Rambo" as the goalkeeper was a bit of a stretch. But I guess they needed a high profile American for balance or to ruin the same. Actually Stallone has been in a few OK movies and at least one great one.

    Pele is featured in the movie and some of the soccer sequences are quit memorable.

    From IMDB:
    As I remember it "Victory" is worth viewing at least once.
     
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  5. lil_one

    lil_one Member+

    Nov 26, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Definitely is.
     
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  6. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    I agree with you two, guys.

    I probably saw that movie at least twice (but I'd say even some more) and I remember that the football sequences were indeed very good, for the standards of movies of that era, probably because, beyond Pele, they were including other former football stars (off the top of my head I remember Argentinian Ardiles, for instance).

    Show Spoiler
    The final sequence, with the saved PK and the crowd shouting "Victoire" still gives me goosebumps (sorry for the spoiler, but I assume everyone watched that movie)(on second thought, I'll anyway hide this sentence behind a "spoiler alert" window
     
  7. hotjam2

    hotjam2 Member+

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    A little disappointed on your choice here; even though it’s anti Nazi, it’s still anti German as well(and here we were all hoping politics would be kept out of soccer).
    Germany wasn’t even an power in soccer back then(as they lost in the round of 16 at the 1938 WC) so why throw this ‘we’re superior human beings’ none sense at them?

    Coming out of the ashes of WW2, soccer was an enormous pride for Germany when as underdogs(they were banned previous all competitions) they ended winning the 1954 WC. As well in 1974 even though they were the hosts, they struggled to make it into the finals, gave up an goal in the 1st minute in the final without even touching the ball against what was called the most advanced/tactical team ever in Holland( as they invented the Total-Football concept at the time) and still came back to win(that’s what a Hollywood movie should be about)
     
  8. FanOfFutbol

    FanOfFutbol Member+

    The Mickey Mouse Club or The breakfast Club
    May 4, 2002
    Limbo
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    #8 FanOfFutbol, Mar 31, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2020
    [not directly soccer related]
    That movie was no more anti-German than many other much better movies like "The Great Escape," "The Longest Day," "The Battle of the Bulge, "Schindler's List" and "Stalag 17."

    In 1936 Hitler tried to "prove" German superiority during the 1936 Olympics in Germany but that attempt was thwarted by the performance of many many non-Germans. That attempt to politicize the Olympics would prove to not be the last time politics overshadowed the Olympics and other sporting events.

    The Nazi party and Adolf Hitler led the people of Germany to near destruction and there are many movies that depict that there were many German people that did not follow the Nazi plan but went along because of fear.

    There is nothing wrong with movies that show Germany (and Japan and Italy) in a negative light when showing that era just like there is nothing wrong with movies and books that show other countries, even my home the USA, in a negative light. Movies like "The Ugly American" that show the worst of America's international agenda are NOT anti-American and movies like "Gandhi" are not anti-British and movies like "The Bridge on the River Kwai" are not anti-Japanese. and "Victory" is not anti-German. It does depict some Germans, mainly Nazis, in a negative light but that depiction is well earned by the Nazis.

    The whole world, at least most of it, went insane during WWII and movies that show that insanity are good things and if they are also fun to watch like Victory and many of the others I have mentioned that is a huge plus.

    The Jews and others involved on the "hated" side of Germany's insanity are often quoted as saying they will "Never Forget" but I believe the whole world needs the look at WWII as "We will always remember." and movies help that remembrance.

    The football in the movie "Victory" is pretty good and the whole movie in no way reduces or casts in a bad light what Germany has accomplished since WWII in spite of the splitting of the country enforced by the victors and the other concessions that Germany had to give in their surrender. Their performance in football in particular is a great accomplishment but that does not make movies like "Victory" less fun to watch.

    BTW: I also enjoy watching "Hogan's Heroes" in reruns on TV. That does not mean I hate Germany but rather in means I enjoy good performances and good funny comedy.

    "Victory" is a good movie but it falls short of the greatness of many of the other movies I have mentioned here. It is well worth watching but I would also recommend some of the others mentioned as many are great movies.

    I would like to add one other WWII movie to the list and that is "Das Boot." It is a great depiction of many sides of the German war time persona and, because it is so claustrophobic (set on a German submarine) it brings out an intensity rarely seen in WWII movies. I strongly suggest if you understand German you watch it in the original German or turn on subtitles to aid in understanding. There is an English dubbed version that is almost unwatchable because the dubbing is poor and you miss the great voice part of the movies. At least 60% of the meaning in many scenes is carried in the inflections of the actors and the dubbing is so poorly done that those important items get missed.

    Sorry for ranting a bit but I feel that there is much too much political correctness in the world. Just because someone is cast in a bad light in a movie does not make the movie bad and the reverse is also true.

    "Political correctness is tyranny with manners." Charlton Heston

    Edit to add: There is a 2018 remake of "Das Boot" that is not the poorly dubbed version I mentioned but it is not nearly as good as the 1985 original.
     
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  9. hotjam2

    hotjam2 Member+

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    #9 hotjam2, Mar 31, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2020
    Just saying leave politics out of soccer((yet it’s your fav soccer flick). Don’t you think it’s not coincidental that it’s star, Sylvester Stallone, would exploit his conservative views in so many of his movies?(Rambo, Rocky, an anti union film &
    now against Latins)
     
  10. FanOfFutbol

    FanOfFutbol Member+

    The Mickey Mouse Club or The breakfast Club
    May 4, 2002
    Limbo
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    As much as saying "leave the politics out of soccer" seems like a good sentiment it is practically impossible and your point of tying the person playing a part to the value of a film just shows that you are at the minimum somewhat foolish. That sentiment would mean that two of my favorite actors (Jane Fonda and Charlton Heston) would have their movies missed by many because of their political views. Heston is a little to the right of Attila the Hun and Fonda is about as far left. I would not want to have missed Klute, The China Syndrome, Cat Ballou, A Doll House, Ben Hur, Airport, Planet of he Apes, Soylent Green or many many others just because I disagree with the politics of the actors. Nor would I want to miss films like "Birth of a Nation," "Big Jim McLain," "Across the Pacific," "Inherit the Wind" or others just because I disagree with some of the politics presented.in the movie. When watching a movie I try hard to dissociate my beliefs from the movie and accept the world as presented in the movie as reality for the duration of the movie.

    It is impossible to truly disassociate politics from sports or from movies but what is presented in a movie should never be construed as either true or good. The only thing that matters is weather or not the movie is enjoyable. TV and movies do not reflect the world as it is and the few times it is attempted it makes for bad movies or TV shows. I do not care if a show is true or not. The only thing that matters is do I have fun watching a movie.

    A movie, like Victory or The Great Escape, The Dirty Dozen, Custer's Last Stand, Zulu, Glory or most of the rest of what is presented as "historical" should never be thought of as in any way mimicking real life. Movies are fantasy and should never be considered as real or depicting real life. BTW: There are almost no movies that depict historical times as they really were. We do not see the poor hygiene the poor diet or the stupid beliefs of people of the past. How many "westerns" show the muddy streets and the horse crap that littered them? Also I am pretty sure that no one wants a movie that shows the actual conditions in "camps" run by Germany, Japan or the USA. I have friends whose parents were interred at several different camps in the US were conditions were as bad as all but the worst of the German camps. We avoided, pretty much just by luck, having death camps.

    In sports EVERYTHING that happens internationally is riddled with politics or they would not play national anthems before playing. You cannot disassociate international sports from politics and it would be foolish to even try. Victory is no worse or better than other movies set during WWII at displaying the politics of the times.

    I believe that movies should be watched without taking preconceived notions into the viewing and should be left without allowing what has been seen as real.

    BTW: Jerry Lewis stared in many films or skits the disparage the Japanese yet he remains one of the most popular actors in Japan. The people of Japan do not have my view of what is funny or interesting (I think Jerry Lewis is not a very funny person) but I have never heard any Japanese group calling for others to not watch him because he cast Japanese in a bad light.

    I believe "Victory" is one of the best movies with soccer as a main theme but it is NOT reality and in no way casts Germans in a bad light. It is just a movie that is mostly fun to watch.
     
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