Soundoff: What Grade Would You Give World Cup 2010 So Far?

First off I'm a novice to football (watched a little bit of the last two world cups) so let me know if my views are off base.

I'd give this world cup a C- so far. My reasons for my grade are a lack of exciting and close games, superstar players not showing up (rooney and ronaldo i'm looking at you), and some terrible officiating.

I feel like the world cup could end up getting an A from me by the end of it though. Brazil v Netherlands and Germany v Argentina should be amazing games and a final involving any of those teams would be awesome. I'm also a Germany fan so that's made the cup fun for me. And even though I think the cup could've been better so far, I've been completely obsessed with it.

Agreed; C- from me as well. Basically it just hasn't felt like a World Cup for me.

My complaints:

-Those annoying friggin vuvuzelas, made in China, about as culturally significant to South Africans as samurai swords are to Germans. Annoying is annoying in any culture.

-Possibly the worst officiating in the last 3 World Cups resulting in absolute howlers.

-Low (if that) scoring games do not entice neutrals and actually alienate real fans. It means either a) there was a lack of talent, or else b) both teams played way too defensively. No goalkeeper is perfect.

-Stadiums 60% full because there aren't enough football fans in South Africa, not to mention the poverty that made buying tickets a moot point for most. Security concerns also resulted in lower overseas tourists, and hey! Even some of the footballers were robbed in their hotels.

I would say C. Many of the games have been low scoring.

Things that I have liked about the tournament:
Upsets (Japan, Slovakia, New Zealand)
Tension from low scoring games

Things that I have not liked:
Vuvuzelas (I love having a lawn mower running for two hours on my TV)
Jabulani (The ball just seems to go up after you kick it, that's why there have been so few free kick goals)
Referring (many elbows to the heads have been missed, while light fouls have been given yellows)
France and Italy failures

I would give it an B+ most games have been very entertaining, and the tension is in the air. About the referrees bad decisions, I think people are blowing it out of proportions. That kind of things happens sometimes, but are not that frecuent.

D+ . The biggest issue is the play has not been great, not for the top teams and not for the upstarts. I wonder if the club commitments are more than in the past, so these national teams have less time to play together, resulting in less rapport and cohesion between teammates. Also, many of the players play in different leagues so even the style of play is different and then they have 2 weeks to figure it out.
Of course the vuvuzelas are a joke, its a gimmick not SA culture. Half full stadiums and horrible officiating hurt the integrity and emotion of the game. But its still the WC so there have been moments. Hopefully the final rounds will deliver the quality we've all hoped for and were excited for when the cup began. Sadly I find myself looking past the next 2 weeks and waiting for the EPL to begin.

All I know is that there should be a live-blog going right now. I don't know what for… but I feel something is missing.

I am not sure I can live for two days without the World Cup!

I think it has been a good world cup! The bigger picture is that this world cup gave hope and joy to so many poor people. As a privileged citizen of a first world country, nothing warms my heart more than knowing that people who are less fortunate than me have benefitted…

Id give it a C..the jabulani is pretty much a beach ball..poor refereeing…and many of the games have been a waste of time watching them because of the catenaccio style every0one seems to have adopted..this world cup really let me down

As a TV follower, I probably would give it “Average” grade. Better coverage from major networks and HD tech. There is a room for improvement in FIFA's feed to cover things outside of the pitch. All cups have controversy and bad ref decisions, so that's right along the lines of past cups, no changes there. Teams — well, lots of defensive play in first rounds lead to tense last round of eliminations – one made up for the other. There were some minor upsets but nothing to be remembered for cups to come (well, maybe italy's early exit and all the fuzz about French team). Again, “Average”. And when I say average I mean, tension, excitement, drama, fun and the atmosphere of international matches! For me, watching past cups was just as exciting and this cup hence the “average” (not to be confused with poor or dull).

I would love to hear from someone who actually went to SA to see the games in person. I am shocked by the number of empty seats and the on-location reports aren't the most positive, however I'd like to hear from an “independent” party not just what the networks chose to cover.

The teams I like lost and the teams I hate are winning, so on a totally emotional basis I give it an F

What's funny about these comments is that we've still ended up with teams that have weathered through the vuvus, officiating, and the ball to play excellently and are poised not only to play good quarterfinals but at least five of the final eight look like potential champs and the winner of Uru/Ghana could provide exciting football as well. So we still have overwhelming odds that the semis, third place and final will be good/great games. A grad of Incomplete from me until the Final.

The first set of games in the group stage were much too conservative. That was a large disappointment.

Bad calls happen, but some simple reviews should be done. A ball passed the line operation, similar to hockey, should be put in place. We should be helping to make the refs jobs easier. They are in an impossible situation at times. That said if there is a foul the ref should be able to clearly state what they saw. The US disallowed goal by Edu happened in the second game and I still don't really know why that call was made. That is inexcusable.

Over all it has been a fun World Cup. B+

Overall, the WC is a C- to me. Some games were straight A or B, but most of the games was simply D or sometimes even E or almost F. So there ya go, a 3-.

Negatives:
• Jabulani
• Vuvuzelas
• Italy getting knocked out in the first round and not winning any games, in a group composed of Slovakia, Paraguay, and New Zealand (NZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
• Two horrible refereeing mistakes that knocked out Mexico and England.
• The two games I was expecting to end in a scorefest ended in a boring 0-0 (Brazil v. Portugal and Spain v. Portugal… ok fine 1-0 for that last one, but largely disappointing)

Positives:
• Tshabalala's first goal of the tournament.
• Domenech lasting no more than 3 games.
• USA vs. Ghana for the late-game drama.

Overall I'd give the tournament a C so far. Definitely hoping the best is yet to come.

get real man, the football has been crap so far, the only money made here is by fifa, in 6 months the stadiums will be overgrown and striped bare of everything that can be sold by the locals for scrap or recycled into more shanty towns, how much was spent on this blatter circus? A LOT, and guess what before this summer is over the do gooders will be out with the begging bowls telling us they need a shit load of money to throw at some disaster or another in africa,

B-

So far, nothing this World Cup has delivered has brought on more attention than the drama of its failures. People all over the world only talk about the sub-standard quality of the games, the atrocious decisions made by referees, the sad outcome of many teams that carried with them high expectations, and no one seems to talk about the football itself.

Nothing in this World Cup has turned out like the greater majority of fans expected, and now, more than ever, FIFA lets its obsolescence and incompetence become clear as crystal. Usually most fans remain excited throughout the tournament, regardless of whether their team made it through. This time around everyone has lost interest by now.

Giving this Cup any grade higher than a 'D' would be unfairly generous.