Quarterfinals
It's down to the final eight teams in Euro 2004, and while I don't know much about the remaining teams, why should I let that stop me from trying to make foolish predictions? I can't do much worse at picking these games than I usually do at picking the NCAA basketball tournament (actually, I probably can do much worse):
Tonight: Portugal vs. England. Lots of drama in this one. I'd kind of like to see Portugal win since they're a small country and are the hosts, but my gut tells me England pulls it out. (Side bet: a minimum of 100 drunken Brits will be arrested after the game--more if they lose. I highly recommend Among the Thugs by Bill Buford for a fascinating look at British hooligan culture.)
Friday: France vs. Greece. The "who cares?" game. Greece is a nice story for making it this far. France is hard to support for a variety of reasons completely unrelated to the war in Iraq--I mean, France is one of my favorite places and I visit as often as I can but, c'mon, they're French for chrissakes. The whole Jerry Lewis thing alone is reason not to pull for them. But Zinedine Zidane is so freakin' good it's scary. Plus, I can't stand ouzo. So I guess I'll take France in this one.
Saturday: Sweden vs. Netherlands. While Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities (don't get any funny ideas about that...), I think I have to celebrate my Nordic roots here. The Netherlands are probably the better team but they're perpetually on the brink of self-destruction, plus their orange uniforms remind me of Syracuse University, which I've never liked. So, what the heck--I'll go with Sweden.
Sunday: Czech Republic vs. Denmark. This will probably be the most fun game of the four to watch since both teams have a balls-out playing style. Forget what I said in the earlier game about my Nordic roots; the Czech Republic has to get props for beating Germany last night with their second team. Plus, before the tournament a well-informed Dutch colleague told me the Czech Republic were his sleeper team, and that has to count for something.
So, England, France, Sweden, Czech Republic are my picks, which is probably the kiss of death for at least three of them...
Tonight: Portugal vs. England. Lots of drama in this one. I'd kind of like to see Portugal win since they're a small country and are the hosts, but my gut tells me England pulls it out. (Side bet: a minimum of 100 drunken Brits will be arrested after the game--more if they lose. I highly recommend Among the Thugs by Bill Buford for a fascinating look at British hooligan culture.)
Friday: France vs. Greece. The "who cares?" game. Greece is a nice story for making it this far. France is hard to support for a variety of reasons completely unrelated to the war in Iraq--I mean, France is one of my favorite places and I visit as often as I can but, c'mon, they're French for chrissakes. The whole Jerry Lewis thing alone is reason not to pull for them. But Zinedine Zidane is so freakin' good it's scary. Plus, I can't stand ouzo. So I guess I'll take France in this one.
Saturday: Sweden vs. Netherlands. While Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities (don't get any funny ideas about that...), I think I have to celebrate my Nordic roots here. The Netherlands are probably the better team but they're perpetually on the brink of self-destruction, plus their orange uniforms remind me of Syracuse University, which I've never liked. So, what the heck--I'll go with Sweden.
Sunday: Czech Republic vs. Denmark. This will probably be the most fun game of the four to watch since both teams have a balls-out playing style. Forget what I said in the earlier game about my Nordic roots; the Czech Republic has to get props for beating Germany last night with their second team. Plus, before the tournament a well-informed Dutch colleague told me the Czech Republic were his sleeper team, and that has to count for something.
So, England, France, Sweden, Czech Republic are my picks, which is probably the kiss of death for at least three of them...
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