Then who else buys the tickets and merchandise? We buy tickets and merchandise from the team. We lose all claims to the money and all responsibility for how it is spent the moment that transaction is finalized.
That's between them and their employers. Nothing to do with us. If you want to be bothered, prepare to be bothered a *lot*. Athletes do a lot of stuff.
They really should have had a second three minutes later. Lazy attempt at a finish. I'd rather face Brazil anyway. If nothing else, keeps the U.S.'s upset from sharing the spotlight.
I can get as moralistic and outraged as anyone, but this just doesn't bother me. Athletes smoke pot. If it bothers you to root for people who do things you consider bad (and most people don't even consider pot bad), don't watch sports.
I honestly don't see why it has to be explained. Is it that unusual for a guy to have two hot streaks and some long cold streaks over a season and a half? And if so, is it that unusual for both hot streaks to happen at the same point in the calendar? Could easily just be a fluke.
Plus, getting to the final 8 in the World Cup just means a whole lot more than making the finals of the Confederations Cup. But yeah, this was a huge result.
I'd still rank 3-2 over portugal and 2-0 over Mexico above that, maybe even 2-1 vs. Columbia from 1994. Just because those are the World Cup and this is the Confederations Cup.
When most of the hysteria is about how they are violating the sanctity of the history of the game, the real, non-romanticized history of the game is very relevant.