World Cup 2010 Blog: “Documentary: Ukraine’s FEMEN Activists” plus 2 more

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• Documentary: Ukraine’s FEMEN Activists
• Euro 2012 Gets A “Psychic” Pig
• The England Dynasty

Documentary: Ukraine’s FEMEN Activists Posted: 21 May 2012 08:34 AM PDT It seems a week can’t go buy without some celebration of Euro 2012 being hit by a topless activist from FEMEN. Their purpose is simple yet broad: women’s rights, particularly in relation to the sex trade. (Though they do venture beyond.) The methods of protest are rather eye-catching, making them arguably the most visible group in the buildup of the tournament, and likely to be the most discussed topless “fans” until Michel Platini whips out his own pair during France’s knockout games. It’d only be appropriate to give a background, since they’ll probably play a bigger part in the tournament than, say, Denmark. (Sorry, fellas.) If their purpose and motivations are laudable, their methods don’t appear to be in universal favor. Agree or disagree, they’re going to be a part of Euro 2012. A Finnish TV station made a documentary on the organization, which is just after the jump (including English subs). Obviously, this is (very) NSFW. The Finnish subs are hard-coded, so click the CC button to get the English subs on overlay. (Not ideal, but going from Ukrainian to Finnish to English never is.)

Euro 2012 Gets A “Psychic” Pig Posted: 21 May 2012 07:51 AM PDT This is a gimmick that should’ve died with Paul the ‘Pus, and hopefully he tasted utterly delicious for putting us through the next [large number here] tournaments with a psychic animal which isn’t really psychic at all. The Ukraine took the bait this time around and will dazzle our minds with a psychic pig. How? No one yet knows, nor have we been informed of his qualifications, but my bar for being impressed is now at sings a show tune for Germany versus a one-pig interpretation of Charlotte’s Web for the Netherlands. “A unique oracle hog, a real Ukrainian pig and a psychic which knows the mysteries of football,” a statement said. “Every day at 16.00 it will predict the result of the upcoming match.” Kiev officials said they wanted bring similar excitement to Ukrainians by bringing the telepathic pig to the city’s fan zone before matches. So there you have it. Get to the fan zone for your daily dose of side show, possibly right next to the conveniently sponsored stand selling bacon products.

The England Dynasty Posted: 21 May 2012 07:30 AM PDT Admittedly a little bit of an oxymoron in football, that, considering England’s only ever hauled in one trophy over the two major competitions, and never even reached the final of the Euros. But a little bit of fiction and child-like imaginantion never hurt anyone, so ITV has gone on to remind everyone what could’ve been. Or what might’ve been in some parallel universe where Steve McClaren and others are replaced by more capable versions of themselves, perhaps even one where Steve actually speaks Dutch and uses a bucket hat instead of an umbrella. And wasn’t the whole benefit of this Euros campaign for England being low expectations? [101gg]

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World Cup 2010 Blog: The Girls Of Germany Sing For Holland

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The Girls Of Germany Sing For Holland Posted: 18 May 2012 11:34 AM PDT I haven’t the slightest clue what’s going on here, but no one’s complaining. The lasses in the German shirts are singing the Dutch national anthem in a suspiciously bouncy van. Obviously this has some link to these rivals in the same Euros group. Outside of that, its effectiveness is up for debate. It’d be more effective if they all showed up at the Oranje’s hotel on the night of the 12th before these two kick off on the 13th, if only to be photographed. YouTube doesn’t really get done what a front page worth of distractions will do – just ask Cruyff. [Spotted on 101gg]

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World Cup 2010 Blog: Roy Hodgson Names Squad, Already Confused

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Roy Hodgson Names Squad, Already Confused Posted: 16 May 2012 08:05 AM PDT The Roy Hodgson era has begun for England with a slight stumble, and a delightfully promising one at that. He named his official 23 today, and two of the names garnering the most attention seem to be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andy Carroll, two youngsters with lots of potential, but actual contributions to the Euros up for liberal speculation. The former is 18 and uncapped, thus making this a rather big deal for him. But Roy’s pretty comfortable with the selection for reasons which don’t actually exist, which has to be reaffirming for the fans. This was Roy’s justification of the selection… The Arsenal midfielder was one of the surprise inclusions to the 23, after starting just six Premier League matches this season. "He is a very exciting player who has made an impression on me, not least in his performance against AC Milan at the Emirates," Hodgson said. "I was there live and saw how well he dealt with Pirlo and Ambrosini. He can play wide or central and for future and can continue as he started." Squad sheets on the day: Nowhere will you find Massimo Ambrosini or Andrea Pirlo. In fact, Pirlo’s checks are now being cut by Juventus, which makes this whole scenario implausible, if not impossible. Perhaps he simply confused him with Zlatan? Long hair all looks the same from a distance. Which might explain the Carroll selection as well. (The remainder of the squad can be found here.)

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