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GHcool 
"Forever a curious character."
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 Posted - 01/12/2007 : 20:20:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
Luckily for America, David Beckham is on the way to save the day. He is being paid �128 million (�500,000 as week) to go and play for the ridiculously named 'Los Angeles Galaxy' and is going to "transform football in the USA".  
I once attended a Galaxy game and was quite bored by it. I can't wait to go this summer though (assuming tickets won't be sold out).
BTW, its not so ridiculous to call the Los Angeles team Galaxy. |
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lemmycaution 
"Long mired in film"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 20:34:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by lemmycaution
I thought 'dustbin' was the British equivalent of the NA 'garbage can'.
It is, but only a large one outside (I assume the same applies to 'can'). Normally one would just 'bin' for any. But one of the right type in the right place could be a 'waste paper basket' - do you use that?
Common in NA, esp. in school & office. |
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lemmycaution
"Long mired in film"
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Conan The Westy 
"Father, Faithful Friend, Fwiffer"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 23:09:35
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Go Aussie Rules. To misquote wildhartlivie - Best bums in the business.
Which reminds me... which states in the US would arrest me for bumming a fag?   |
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Airbolt
"teil mann, teil maschine"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 23:13:42
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I've heard callers to the radio today saying that although they live in the US they would rather watch the "real thing " ( ie the English Premiership,Italian Serie A or Spanish La Liga ) than see their local teams. It's pretty much the same attitude the NFL faced when they attempted a European League ( London Monarchs anyone ? ) where 4th stringers or has-beens played. They found that after an initial surge in interest at exhibition matches at Wembley , a lot of European fans preferred the "real thing " on TV ( ie The NFL on various channels in the UK and Europe ).
Thus given the choice between the Monarchs and the Steelers , even the live Game wasnt enough to keep momentum going. There wasn't the cultural impetus behind it that you get with a sport woven into the fabric of a society.
Of course there will be a tremendous surge with Beckham and possibly a few other players like Davids and Ronaldo ( far less well known in the US ). There will be a huge audience in Hispanic speaking areas and on spanish speaking media. One radio sports correspondent said his wife who knew nothing about Sports had become very excited and wanted to go a see a Game ( with Beckham in , of course )
It might even gain a larger awareness on the main channels for a while. However it will still be Blown away by Football, Basketball and Baseball on TV.
Couple of thoughts . If your team has a Star who is earning ten times what the rest of the team earn in total , it will make " team Building " all the more interesting.
Also , please never let Diana Ross take any more penalties! |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/13/2007 : 09:26:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Randall
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
He can do what he likes, but he'll never make "soccer" a popular sport in the USA for any player over the age of 12, and their mothers who go to oogle the coach.
I try to avoid "never," Chocky. One day, you might have to eat that word...but chocolate-covered crow might actually taste nice! Becks will be all over American pop culture by summertime, when he starts. You never know what such a wave might just trigger. Wait, I said "never"!
Hehehe. Okay, so not 'never' but chances are very slim. Keira Knightley staring in that movie didn't get Americans to get more involved in 'soccer'. When her co-star Parminder Nagra showed up as the newest cast member in E.R., and Jay Leno interviewed her, you could see he was at a loss about both that movie and the sport. I just don't see it happening.
(Not until Beckham gets a part in a Hollywood movie, that is.)
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Koli 
"Striving lackadaisically for perfection."
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Posted - 01/13/2007 : 09:32:11
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
He can do what he likes, but he'll never make "soccer" a popular sport in the USA for any player over the age of 12, and their mothers who go to oogle the coach.
I try to avoid "never," Chocky. One day, you might have to eat that word...but chocolate-covered crow might actually taste nice! Becks will be all over American pop culture by summertime, when he starts. You never know what such a wave might just trigger. Wait, I said "never"!
Hehehe. Okay, so not 'never' but chances are very slim. Keira Knightley staring in that movie didn't get Americans to get more involved in 'soccer'. When her co-star Parminder Nagra showed up as the newest cast member in E.R., and Jay Leno interviewed her, you could see he was at a loss about both that movie and the sport. I just don't see it happening.
(Not until Beckham gets a part in a Hollywood movie, that is.)
This morning the BBC's sports reporter Steve May told listeners to the Today programme that Beckham was "moving to play American football".
I was tempted to write to the BBC demanding an assurance on behalf of his many female fans that his visage won't be obscured by a crash helmet and his upper body by ridiculous padding. Perhaps the answer is to rename the US game 'American rugby'; it seems to bear a closer resemblance to rugby (probably league rather than union) than to soccer. |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/13/2007 : 09:49:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Koli
This morning the BBC's sports reporter Steve May told listeners to the Today programme that Beckham was "moving to play American football".
I was tempted to write to the BBC demanding an assurance on behalf of his many female fans that his visage won't be obscured by a crash helmet and his upper body by ridiculous padding. Perhaps the answer is to rename the US game 'American rugby'; it seems to bear a closer resemblance to rugby (probably league rather than union) than to soccer.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
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w22dheartlivie
"Kitty Lover"
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Posted - 01/13/2007 : 14:43:31
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quote:
Do any countries play baseball apart from the U.S., Cuba and Japan? I have never seen any other mention of it.
Just out of curiosity, I compiled some statistics on the breakdown of country of origin for the professional baseball players on the rosters this year:
USA (713) 70.9%
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (133) 13.2%
PUERTO RICO (35) 3.5%
VENEZUELA (31) 3.1%
CANADA (18) 1.8%
JAPAN (15) 1.5%
MEXICO (18) 1.7%
CUBA (11) 1.1%
PANAMA (7) .07%
AUSTRALIA (6) .06%
SOUTH KOREA (5) .05%
COLOMBIA (3) .03%
NICARAGUA (2) .02%
WEST GERMANY (2) .02%
TAIWAN (2) .02%
GUAM (1) .01%
INDONESIA (1) .01%
ENGLAND (1) .01%
CURACAO (1) .01%
So to make a long answer short, there seems to be players in American baseball from many other countries. Of the USA, Japan and Cuba, only the US is amongst the top 3.
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 01:50:05
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For my English friends:
Whenever I'm cooking in the kitchen, I don't have digital cable service, just the basic kind. So I usually watch either C-Span or PBS, the latter which at this time of day is usually British series. Here was one just today. Something called, I think, KEEPING UP APPEARANCES, but I'm not sure. I watched an entire episode. Incredibly dumb sitcom, ridiculous laugh track. [Yes, I know, PYTHON had one too.] In between sauteeing and the like, I was heartened to realize that you yobbos have to wade through as much dreck on TV as we do. [People's Exhibit #1: THE YOUNG ONES!] Apologies to any KEEPING fans I may have just offended, but please, in future do not lecture us on any heightened sense of British comedy. As my countryman Mark Twain once wrote, this is one of the things we know that just ain't so. |
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 03:32:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Randall
For my English friends:
Whenever I'm cooking in the kitchen, I don't have digital cable service, just the basic kind. So I usually watch either C-Span or PBS, the latter which at this time of day is usually British series. Here was one just today. Something called, I think, KEEPING UP APPEARANCES, but I'm not sure. I watched an entire episode. Incredibly dumb sitcom, ridiculous laugh track. [Yes, I know, PYTHON had one too.] In between sauteeing and the like, I was heartened to realize that you yobbos have to wade through as much dreck on TV as we do. [People's Exhibit #1: THE YOUNG ONES!] Apologies to any KEEPING fans I may have just offended, but please, in future do not lecture us on any heightened sense of British comedy. As my countryman Mark Twain once wrote, this is one of the things we know that just ain't so.
Assuming it was the same episode that aired on PBS in Los Angeles (the episode in which Hyacinth and her husband go to an auction at the house of an aristocrat), I thought it was pretty funny, but not one of the all time best "Keeping Up Appearances" episodes. It may be dumb, but I think its a lot better than most American sitcoms.
P.S. I don't watch the show every week. I just happened to have read this post at the exact moment that "Keeping Up Appearances" was on TV. |
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Shiv 
"What a Wonderful World"
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 07:01:20
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An Australian TV channel just did the top 30 of best comedy shows over the last 50 years of television over here. Something about influences on the national consciousness. Of the UK shows, Fawlty Towers was in there, as was Absolutely Fabulous. Neither are Aussie humour - but they are recognisable situations and the absurdity of both shows is such that you don't need to know much about the country's culture to understand what's funny. Friends is an example of a show that has travelled worldwide for the same reasons. Keeping Up Appearances is very much about the British trait of 'keeping up with the Joneses', or having half an eye over the next door neigbour's fence to make sure their ornamental garden isn't more stylish than yours (as the title implies). It goes back to the class system, and how middle class people wanted to be upper-middle, and lower to be middle and so on. The intricacies of being acceptable to society are about small niceties, and not neccessarily money. After the industrial revolution, the upper classes found the bourgeoisie, the newly made business class with more money than they had, to be disgusting and ill-mannered, but couldn't keep them out of their social circles. So the new money tried to replicate the old money, as it were. Keeping Up Appearances doesn't travel well for this reason. Neither the US, and later Australia, adopted the class system. KUA is actually very funny - unless you don't get the joke because you think Hyacinth is a role model! Oh, and what made it to number one over here in comedy shows? M.A.S.H. Go figure!
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 07:32:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
It goes back to the class system, and how middle class people wanted to be upper-middle, and lower to be middle and so on. The intricacies of being acceptable to society are about small niceties, and not neccessarily money. After the industrial revolution, the upper classes found the bourgeoisie, the newly made business class with more money than they had, to be disgusting and ill-mannered, but couldn't keep them out of their social circles. So the new money tried to replicate the old money, as it were. Keeping Up Appearances doesn't travel well for this reason. Neither the US, and later Australia, adopted the class system.
That's actually quite an intelligent analysis of the show. I suppose I have always subconsciously understood this, but I never bothered putting it into words. Also, one reason I like the show is because I know people who are not that much different from Hyacinth. I think I like the show even more after reading that analysis. Thanks. |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 13:17:22
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| Well put, Shiv. I think we Americans have a crude understanding of British class consciousness [FLYING CIRCUS taught us a lot], but probably not enough for the humor to really stick. Although I'm not a comedy snob and love some examples of low humor [e.g., I thought most of IDIOCRACY was a scream until it ran out of gas toward the end, but Benny Hill leaves me cold], oddly enough I found KEEPING UP way too broad and music-hally. The show that followed it, AS TIME GOES BY with Judi Dench, also had a laugh track, but I found the first ten minutes much more droll and pleasing. But then it was time for dinner. |
Edited by - randall on 01/14/2007 13:18:01 |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 14:09:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Randall
Well put, Shiv. I think we Americans have a crude understanding of British class consciousness [FLYING CIRCUS taught us a lot], but probably not enough for the humor to really stick. Although I'm not a comedy snob and love some examples of low humor [e.g., I thought most of IDIOCRACY was a scream until it ran out of gas toward the end, but Benny Hill leaves me cold], oddly enough I found KEEPING UP way too broad and music-hally. The show that followed it, AS TIME GOES BY with Judi Dench, also had a laugh track, but I found the first ten minutes much more droll and pleasing. But then it was time for dinner.
Many of the old British comedies don't age well. While I was totally faithful to Monty Python in its day, today the gags just don't seem as funny as they did then. Benny Hill and Mr. Bean never were funny to me - ever. Are You Being Served faired better, but they're very dated. Keeping Up Appearances can still be funny because the class humour doesn't fade as quickly, but it was a one-joke comedy, as was My Hero (is that what it's called? The one about the alien superhero married to a mortal). As Time Goes By is still cute in places, but is also starting to fade on second glance, and I couldn't get into My Family at all. Red Dwarf and the Blackadder series have a bit more lasting power. I'm not terribly fond of Little Britian or The Office (UK or US). Absolutely Fabulous is still fun to watch, but it won't age well, either. Green Wing is very funny and I'll happily watch reruns of that for some time. But, so far for me, the best British comedy show that makes me laugh every single time I watch any episode is Coupling and it may prove to be one that stays funny over the years.
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How much British/U.S. culture confounds MERPs?
