The other day I saw an ad on the social medias that wasn’t about Cambridge Analytica, but was for some liquor stating that due to the United States not qualifying for the World Cup we should all be rooting for Iceland. Now, I found this quite peculiar, because I’m fairly sure Iceland is in the United States because I have passed by it on my way to teach numerous times.
Iceland is located entirely in New Hyde Park, NY, in western Nassau County, just outside New York City’s limits. Even though they consist entirely of an ice rink and its parking lot, their team, the IceCats, with a logo that’s definitely not an bootleg/old Florida Panthers logo,
has managed to make the World Cup in Russia, although I guess a hockey team could compete well considering the Russian winter. Except it’ll be the summer in Russia, so being that out of their element will probably hinder their chances.
But hey, if the Vegas Golden Knights can make the Stanley Cup Final their first year in the league, and if Leicester can win the Premier League that one time, and if Wigan can beat Manchester City in an FA Cup matchup with a player named Max Power (no seriously, that is not a joke), then why can’t an amateur hockey team from Long Island shock the world on lesser footy’s biggest stage?
Hang on, I’m getting something in my earpiece.
(Even though he covers the earpiece with his finger, the words “Not the ice rink, the country, you dumb shit” can clearly be heard through it.)
…Huh.
So it appears that there may have been a miscommunication. Uh… take two.
Iceland is in the North Atlantic. Its capital city is Reykjavik.
WHICH OF THESE is the nickname for the Icelandic national team?
A. Norðmenn, “Norsemen”
B. Strákarnir okkar, “Our Boys”
C. Liðið, “Our Team”
D. Odin er valinn, “Odin’s Chosen”
The answer is… B! (Although I give myself some points for coming up with D.) Question 2: Does anyone know how to pronounce it?
Iceland is the team that shocked all of Europe two years ago by being the least-populated country to ever qualify for a major competition, Euro 2016. Then they shocked all of Europe some more by making the knockout rounds. And a third time by beating England in the Round of 16. It took the hosts, France, to finally get the Cinderella squad out, eliminating them in the quarterfinals. Perhaps one could chalk this up to the Euros upping from 16 teams to 24, but that would be discounting the rise of the Icelanders. See, two years prior, in 2014, they were on the cusp of making the World Cup in Brazil, making the UEFA playoffs but losing to Croatia. So in that case, Iceland’s Euro success was building on the success of that near-miss in the World Cup. And now that success has blossomed into this, becoming the least-populated country to qualify for the World Cup. That population is estimated, by the way, at around 350,000, which would put them on par with Honolulu, HI, the 56th-most populous city.
They did that by going 7–1–2 in their group, winning it and earning the automatic qualification that comes with a group win, their only two losses at Croatia and at Finland. And impressively, even though their home ground Laugardalsvöllur has a max capacity of about 15,000, they won every match in Reykjavik. For their efforts Heimir Hallgrímsson’s group, ranked 22nd in the world by FIFA, are placed in Group D, which also holds the mighty Argentines, the Super Eagles of Nigeria, and their rivals, Croatia. Their matches:
vs. Argentina, June 16th, 9:00 Eastern (16:00 local), Moscow
vs. Nigeria, June 22nd, 11:00 Eastern (18:00 local), Volgograd
vs. Croatia, June 2, 14:00 Eastern (21:00 local), Rostov-On-Don
Not exactly the easiest match to start their campaign, getting one of the best teams in the world with one of the two best players in the world. Nigeria is a little bit more forgiving of a matchup, so it may ultimately come down once again to Iceland and Croatia, this time for a spot in the knockout rounds.
I’m going to say 4 points (1–1–1), but a draw with Croatia means they lose out on goal differential and finish third in the group.
And now an Icelandic hymn to close out the segment. From a train station!
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Going to Iceland as a tourist has got to be almost a guarantee that you’ll score because they know that you aren’t related to them, which is a thing of concern for Icelanders
New Thread!
I can see why she’s concerned; it is overripe for good eating.
Jeebus.
Moar liek Mary Magdalene.
Got damn
One thing I’ve noticed about Slavic languages (like Russian) is that they kind of sound like English spoken backwards.
The Bludsoe’s episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is on and all I can think of is that genius joke by Spanky about Cripso’s
Can’t belive I found the screen cap. Who do I thank again for making it?
I should have added “… and is it painted blue?”
I think it was Unsurprised
You know the original one in Compton closed.
They have a new location in?
Hollywood. Right on La Brea near Pink’s.
Any time you have a chance to improve your station in life…
All right, we still have Charlotte tonight. Who’s covering Le Mans in a few weeks since we missed the 24h of the Nurburgring?
New thread coming in 2 1/2 hours.
“You said if I made your rockets I wouldn’t have to go to Nuremburg!”
-Werner Von B. listening to this comment with a subpar text-to-speech program
I absolutely HATE how ABC focuses on the wives at the end of the Indy 500.
So weird. They almost preempt the end of the race for it every year.
This is a good time of year for produce. The locally grown strawberries are outstanding right now as are the California cherries. It’s still a little early for corn but that didn’t stop me from buying some for the grill tomorrow.
Today is the first of consecutive grilling days and it’s going to be fucking delightful.
I’ve never been to Iceland, and I don’t know anyone who is from there. I did, however, have a college friend who lived there for a couple of years while doing research for her Ph.D. She visited for about a week while I was living in South Africa. I wish I had reciprocated – she said that it’s generally pretty easy to find someone to go home with for the night if you’re a foreigner in Iceland, what with everyone else being fairly closely related to each other limiting their options. So I missed my golden opportunity (I’m still very interested in visiting Iceland), though as it happens I am eskimo bræður with a few of them.
Also this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5fAWpv_axs
Who did the IceCats use as a model for the logo? Tommy Lister?
Happy I don’t have to go into work tomorrow Sunday.
And remember those who have fallen for the noble cause of defense, regardless if the reason for the conflict was unjust, unwise, of in the interests of the wealthy and powerful eve.
Maybe a coma?
“Not only am I going to eat this goddamn apple, I’m gonna be the be-all, end-all power in the next world!”
-Powerful Eve
/at the brothel
Indy Driver: [cums early] “Can I get a re-start?”
“I’ll be back tomorrow.”
-Me
I just woke up from a Power nap. Go Rossi!
Spider Pig roolz!!!!!
Like all wars that we’ve gotten into for the wrong reasons and didn’t plan for properly, we lost.
The logical plan there is to legalize and tax it. The original reason was mostly because people could grow it so it was cheap, the poor used it, Blacks and Latinos were the real target of that “war.” So here we are.
That’s the same turn as the other two crashes
Don’t like the artist, though i love the song…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61EyJsOKE88
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rog8ou-ZepE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuN6gs0AJls
How drunk did you get?
“OH! PICASSO!”
Picasso drunk is pretty drunk.