Totally OT: Euro 2020

[Rainbow Six]

Hopefully Denmark vs Italy or Spain in the final.

[Raellus]

Denmark has looked good, but I expect their fairy tale run to end in the semis. England hasn't conceded a goal in this tournament and is really starting to find its scoring form. I tip England to win this matchup.

Spain has struggled to create chances, and is deficient in the striker department. They've also given up some incredibly cheap goals. Italy has looked really good at times, doesn't seem to have any glaring weaknesses, has faced tougher opposition so far, and has seen and overcome various scenarios. In other words, they know how to win. I expect Italy to beat Spain.

That leaves England and Italy in the final. My gut tells me Italy is going to win it all.

On a related note, both of my former South American home countries- Ecuador and Uruguay- have crashed out of the Copa America quarterfinals. I think Argentina and Brazil will meet in the final, and Argentina will win it all.

-

[Mahatatain]

Italy vs Spain is the first result that I've predicted correctly in the entire competition! A one all draw and then Italy win on penalties!

According to my youngest son (who knows a hell of a lot more about football than I do even though he's 12) Italy winning is better for England (presuming that we beat Denmark in the other semi-final tomorrow). Apparently Italy have lost one of their main attackers and so their attack isn't as potent as Spain's. I'm not so sure myself.

Personally I can see England beating Denmark and then losing to Italy in the final.

[Olefin]

I can see soccer being one of the first sports that starts to come back after the Twilight War - rudimentary at first with just poles for the goal and an old ball, possibly stitched together or the wrong size (i.e. kids size ball used with no adult size to be found). Most likely the biggest issue would be that it would have to be played on dirt - I dont see perfectly manufactured and manicured playing surfaces coming back for quite a while

[Raellus]

Totally agree. Poor kids in Third World countries often play barefoot on dirt lots. All one needs to play football (aka soccer) is a ball, an open space (see street football or beach football), and a couple of random objects to mark out the width of the net. That's it. When the World Cup was in South Africa, the telly showed a piece on how kids there make footballs (aka soccer balls) from wadded up plastic grocery bags. I don't know if they were available or common in the T2k timelines, but I bought an "indestructible" football that doesn't even need to be inflated. It's a little harder (i.e. less bouncy) than a real football, but it's close enough to do the job.

Football (aka soccer) is probably the easiest team sport to play in primitive conditions. Second would probably be American football (of the touch or flag varieties as COs probably wouldn't to lose troops to tackling-related injuries). Sports that require more equipment (e.g. baseball gloves, hockey sticks, etc.) would be much less common.

-

[Silent Hunter UK]

Plenty of shots from Afghanistan of people playing in wrecked stadia.

Also, imagine a battle inside Old Trafford or the Bernabéu...

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Totally agree. Poor kids in Third World countries often play barefoot on dirt lots. All one needs to play football (aka soccer) is a ball, an open space (see street football or beach football), and a couple of random objects to mark out the width of the net. That's it.

When we were kids it was usually rolled up jumpers for goal posts in the school playground (concrete, not grass. Made tackling fun). Any flat surface will do.

Originally Posted by Raellus

Football (aka soccer) is probably the easiest team sport to play in primitive conditions. Second would probably be American football (of the touch or flag varieties as COs probably wouldn't to lose troops to tackling-related injuries). Sports that require more equipment (e.g. baseball gloves, hockey sticks, etc.) would be much less common.

I guess it's likely to depend on which nationality is in the majority. in British / German / Dutch etc cantonments football is likely to dominate, in American cantonments it's more likely to be American sports.

I could imagine 'international' football matches between different nationalities might be popular.

[Tegyrius]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Sports that require more equipment (e.g. baseball gloves, hockey sticks, etc.) would be much less common.

I'll remind you that I've had more than one PC in your games carry a baseball or softball bat and a couple of balls. It's good for building rapport with local kids, and it helps justify levels in Thrown Weapon and Armed Martial Arts.

- C.

[Ursus Maior]

Congratulations, Italy! Well deserved!