The Newest World Cup Villain: The Shadow

June 13th, 2006 | by: WC Bob |

Chances are that if you have watched many of the World Cup games you have learned how to squint. In a good number of the matches thus far the fields have been blanketed by shadows that make television viewing at times a visual challenge. In almost every other way possible the Germans have put on an outstanding competition, but a World Cup wouldn’t be complete without some complaints so if we have to fault them for something it might as well be for having too much sun.

Short of creating new weather patterns, there is little that can be done about this but that isn’t stopping the hosts from trying. Today’s match between Togo and South Korea will be played under a closed roof in Frankfurt even though it is going to be a steamy 30 Celsius (90 Fahrenheit) day.

“We made up our mind to find a solution. The solution is in Frankfurt and Gelsenkirchen there is the optional roof so we thought about closing the roof for the next games. Of course, we have to pay attention. If the stadiums turn into a sauna this won’t work. All the experts say that a closed roof will make the Frankfurt stadium cooler,” said FIFA organisation committee spokesman Gerd Graus.

At least one expert in such matters disagrees.

“It’s possible that we get a greenhouse effect. A lot of sun will heat up the air so the temperature will rise inside the stadium,” said Gerhard Lux, a German weather service spokesman.

This seems like a fair trade off to me. Make Franz Beckenbauer and the 60,000 other people at the game sweat so the hundreds of millions of us watching on television don’t go cross-eyed trying to pick out the players from the shadows.

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http://www.nello13.com Nello

You’re right. Especially on TV, the pitche lookes disasterous … half green half black!

Next matches will be in a sauna if they close the roof, we’ll probably have vegetables growing in the field with that green-house effect.
http://www.piczo.com biilly bob jo

ello dude
Ali Siddiqui

Whooo! “The Shadow” arch-nemesis of Bob and the World Cup Blog team!! I really think by now FIFA should’ve realized that while all this shadow is nice for keeping the temperature on the field…errr stable, it doesn’t make it easier for those watching.

I wonder if FIFA got any complaints from the networks yet asking them to turn on the lights?
Ali Siddiqui

“This seems like a fair trade off to me. Make Franz Beckenbauer and the 60,000 other people at the game sweat so the hundreds of millions of us watching on television don’t go cross-eyed trying to pick out the players from the shadows.”

The sweat of the few for the eyes of the many!! Hear Hear! :D
http://www.voodoo4football.com VooDoo

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[...] 5 minute countdown: Looks sold out. Open stadium which mean nasty shadows and a steamy pitch. Which team is more fit? Team coming on field with flags. [...]
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