Rate a Country: BIG FOOTY WORLD CUP - FINALS SERIES

[Plugger35]

Switzerland for me too.

I like the Netherlands and they have some cool cities and people but as a physical country it is pretty dull compared to Switzerland. I mean the Netherlands is virtually dead flat with hardly a hill while Switzerland has awesome scenery with the Alps. I stayed in Interlaken and did a hike near the Jungfrau and the scenery was mindblowing, not to mention all the quaint little villages and old farmers herding cows with bells.

Then why is England one of the top destinations for Aussies?? They should still be in this comp.

That's mainly due to Aussies being able to get work visas for the UK and the fact they speak English there and is quite similar in culture to Australia. England is a good country to base yourself in but there are a lot better countries to travel to in Europe.

 

[mercurial]

People naturally gravitate to what they are familiar with. I mean Bali is up there.

Even though the voting indicates it, why is it no-contest? No one has given their reasoning for the dutch so far. All I can think of is the stereotypical, "cool man they have weed in coffee shops".

The swiss are a medium for balling activities. The dutch are a medium for the dope fiends.

You're right. It is stereotypical. And sure, if you're a 'Southern Cross' type of Aussie tourist or an English 18-35yo male 'on tour' for a buck's weekend, probably correct. However, being at the forefront of liberal drug policy and recognising drug use as a public health issue rather than a criminal offence isn't a negative thing, in my view. Particularly given the fact the Netherlands now have a low level of problem drug users relativel to some of the larger nations in the EU, such as France, Germany, Italy and the UK.

Their big pro for me is their soccer players, but I doubt every single voter here is a soccer fan, let alone one of their players.


I don't even like Federer, but for a seemingly modest country, the swiss are ballers and I give them applause for that.

I agree that a "modest" nation like Switzerland producing a phenomenon like Federer is a great accolade, but Netherlands have him more than covered.

Johan Cruyff remains one of the greatest football players of all time, and probably the best European player ever, having led the national team (who up until 1974 were a minnow of Europe) to within an inch of beating West Germany in their own country in the World Cup Final in 1974, and winning three consecutive European Cups with Ajax in the early 70s. Both teams are still remembered for playing some of the most attractive football ever seen.

He was a pioneer of the revolutionary 'Total Football' movement, and his influence is seen through the likes current Barca supremo Pep Guardiola, who he coached at Barca in the early 90s, winning the European Cup and four conesutive La Liga titles as a manager as he assembled stars such as Laudrup, Romario, Stoichkov, Koeman and Guardiola, who also remain one of the greatest club football sides in history, and on par with the current Barca team.

His influence as a player and manager is unparalled in the biggest sport in the world.

Cruyff > Roger

The swiss also have four national languages - french, german, italian and romansh. Whilst some of these are attributed to other countries obviously, the fact that they incorporate four and are thus multi-linguists deserves credit. Compare this to the singular dutch language, which in itself is one of the least phonetically aesthetic languages I've ever heard.

In addition to Dutch, 70% of the Dutch population speak English, 55% German and 20% French. This is in addition to Frisian, the country's other national language, and several Flemish dialects of Dutch.

________

The physical beauty of Switzerland certainly is some of the best in the world. But who says the Bigfooty World Cup is a contest based primarily on the natural landscape?

Two-thirds of the Netherlands lies below sea-level, and this has produced a country built around meticulously planned man-made canals and dikes, seen below in Amsterdam, the 'Venice of the North'.

The country is famous for its architecture, has produced renowned artists such as Van Gogh and Rembrandt, and is also home for some of the world's biggest DJs, and one of the biggest dance music scenes in Europe.

The majority of Amsterdam's inhabitants commute by bicycle, making it one of the cleanest cities in Europe. Y'know, promoting a healthy lifestyle and providing an alternative to metropolitan areas choked with smog and dependant on motor vehicles.

Swiss-army knives and chocolate? I mean, come on.

 

[Power King]

^Besides your last sentence (swiss army knives are a survival tool and all round gangsta, and chocolate is one of the most unanimously loved luxuries in life), good post. These are the types of discussions I'm hoping for in these last rounds as the boss playas face off. Our two posts should've been made at the beginning of the match-up.

Still though, Switzerland >>> Netherlands.

 

[SA1NTER]

The physical beauty of Switzerland certainly is some of the best in the world. But who says the Bigfooty World Cup is a contest based primarily on the natural landscape?

Two-thirds of the Netherlands lies below sea-level, and this has produced a country built around meticulously planned man-made canals and dikes, seen below in Amsterdam, the 'Venice of the North'.

The country is famous for its architecture, has produced renowned artists such as Van Gogh and Rembrandt, and is also home for some of the world's biggest DJs, and one of the biggest dance music scenes in Europe.

The majority of Amsterdam's inhabitants commute by bicycle, making it one of the cleanest cities in Europe. Y'know, promoting a healthy lifestyle and providing an alternative to metropolitan areas choked with smog and dependant on motor vehicles.

Swiss-army knives and chocolate? I mean, come on.

Great post that. Go Netherlands!!

 

[mercurial]

Agree wholeheartedly. The 6-0 count to Netherlands when I posted meant I'd have preferred to save it for the next round against Germany, but that's ok.

Not that I am trying to tell FJ how to run his tournament (which I think we can all agree is awesome) but perhaps at the pointy end of the tourney, we could call for some form of submission period prior to voting. Only a suggestion though.

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Swiss...

 

[Lemma]

I like how the posts are now going in-depth. Keep it up.

Switzerland, to continue their giant-killing run.

 

[Eagle Empire]

Our two posts should've been made at the beginning of the match-up.

Don't flatter yourself.

 

[MoscowHawk]

Switzerland

 

[Power King]

Don't flatter yourself.

Why not? I added something to the match-up, even if you don't agree with it.

It's basically why mercurial's was by far the most respected vote for the dutch.

The sooner you learn to respect an opinion that you don't agree with, the sooner you might have a chance to start succeeding in life

 

[Surkin]

Switzerland

 

[Catfish Alley]

Agree wholeheartedly. The 6-0 count to Netherlands when I posted meant I'd have preferred to save it for the next round against Germany, but that's ok.

Not that I am trying to tell FJ how to run his tournament (which I think we can all agree is awesome) but perhaps at the pointy end of the tourney, we could call for some form of submission period prior to voting. Only a suggestion though.

I voted for Netherlands and enjoyed your post because it covered many reasons why I voted for them. It is good to see some more discussion but not all of us have time to search for pictures and do a background check on a country. I'll try add a few more points if I have time though

 

[FootyJunkie]

Not that I am trying to tell FJ how to run his tournament (which I think we can all agree is awesome) but perhaps at the pointy end of the tourney, we could call for some form of submission period prior to voting. Only a suggestion though.

I don't mind this. From Round 2 of the Finals Series, a minimum two days will be allocated for each match. The first day will be discussion while the second day will be voting.

 

[Catfish Alley]

I don't think it needs to be turned into a debate. Most people already have their preferences. I think one day is fine but perhaps people could at least make a few points instead of just saying 'Netherlands' etc.

 

[FootyJunkie]

I don't think it needs to be turned into a debate. Most people already have their preferences. I think one day is fine but perhaps people could at least make a few points instead of just saying 'Netherlands' etc.

Fair enough.

 

[Power King]

Good in theory but hard to enforce.

Even if you allocate the first day toward discussion, how do you actually prevent people from voting? Would be ideal though.

I think the best way to go about it is to just encourage people to post their reasoning along with their vote from the get go once as the match-ups commence.

 

[Mr Gor]

It's going swimmingly, but if people want to try and sway others to vote the same then it's all good

 

[Hard Ball Get]

I'm not sure why anything needs to change...
As long as the contest is open for long enough then it should be fine.

 

[The Passenger]

been in these houses in rotterdam. they were so disorientating. was very cool.

 

[FootyJunkie]

Fifth Qualifying Final

C ANTARCTICA

Round 1: Win over 218 NAURU
Round 2: Win over 212 SAN MARINO
Round 3: Win over 161 CYPRUS
First Qualifying Final: Loss to 22 ITALY

V

36 CANADA

[youTube]zwDvF0NtgdU[/youTube]

Qualifying Round 1: Win over 223 NIUE
Round 1: Win over 136 ARMENIA
Round 2: Win over 74 GREECE
Round 3: Win over 53 IVORY COAST
First Elimination Final: Win over 106 UNITED IRELAND

Bring some thermal underwear for this one!

Winner: Canada... blockbuster with Russia coming up!

 

[Power King]

 

[MoscowHawk]

Firstly, I think Antarctica also needs an anthem. I recommend this:

[youtube]VxOQTaLTFrU[/youtube]


I also think with the Australian territories there, and consequentially, a bunch of hardened Aussies living there, they should be too strong for Canada.

Antarctica for me.

 

[Catfish Alley]

I almost wish it was the weather for thermal underwear FJ. I'm in Toronto for work and it's been stinking hot the past week. Not too bad today though.

Anyway, I'm not going to waste too many of my pro-Canada points on this match-up because I think we should win. Canada basically has an Antarctica up in the north but instead of penguins we have the biggest bears in the world. Apart from that, there is the rest of the country which has cities, arts, food, culture, sports and government - none of which are present in Antarctica.

 

[Eagle Empire]

Canada

 

[Plugger35]

Canada

Btw you could use this Midnight Oil song as the anthem for Antarctica, great song too.

[YOUTUBE]3LlMGBZCtXI[/YOUTUBE]