The Steelers were 7-5, then won their final four regular-season games to secure the AFC's last playoff spot. They went to Cincinnati and won a wild-card game. They won at Indianapolis, which had the league's best record. And then they handed Denver its first home loss in the AFC championship game. And now they're the first 6th seed playoff team ever to win the Super Bowl. History made.
posted by allkindsoftime on Feb 5, 2006 - 138 comments

Hey you on the couch! Isn't it time to cozy up to your favourite pitch battle? Yes, warm to such classics as "Birmingham vs. Wigan 94" or the great classic "Wolverhampton vs Luton 89". Yes, go back to a time when the game meant nothing and wearing ya Fila or Burberry was everything. & Who can forget those cheeky Tonge Moor Slashers, Mongoose Cuckoo Boys, and Billy Whiz Fan Club So, get out ya "Headhunters for life" pre-shrunk and free from animal testing tee, put the kids to bed, and relive those glory days of mindless violence from the comfort of your suburban semi-detached.
posted by Mr Bluesky on May 30, 2005 - 15 comments

Kick-off! With only five days to go to this year's main sports event (sorry, Athens!), it's time to get down to some serious preparation.
The excellent official Euro 2004 website has team news, video-on-demand, tournament history and - this is crucial - the official Euro 2004 spreadsheet. Because nothing beats a good "I told you so!"...
7 billion people worldwide is expected to tune in to the broadcasts from beautiful Cardoso-land. But if you won't have access to a tv, The Beeb is offering live audio commentary (and if your boss is cranky, The Guardian usually offers fast and witty SFW text-based play-by-plays). Vive o 2004!
posted by mr.marx on Jun 7, 2004 - 23 comments

This guy has more credibility than an effete intellectual like me when it comes to talking about violence and football (as opposed to music and breasts).
posted by kozad on Feb 6, 2004 - 19 comments

This Super Bowl halftime, make it to the Lingere Bowl. American TV hits a new low by inventing another sport along the lines of Foxy Boxing and Hot Oil Wrestling. The gridiron action features Team Dream vs. Team Euphoria (featuring washed-up former NFL players as coaches) in full contact football while wearing skimpy clothing. Even weirder, but there will be cheerleaders to cheerlead the players that are already dolled up to look like cheerleaders in some sort of subtle hot lesbian action. It's all pay-per-view, but this "Girls Gone Football" seems more like a new low than a step forward for real women's sports.
posted by mathowie on Dec 3, 2003 - 40 comments

Perhaps This Public Image/Persona Thing Has Gone Just A Little Too Far: Luís Campos Lopes, the manager of the Portuguese football team Vitoria de Setúbal has just been sacked for "projecting a negative image of the club". [Link in Portuguese, but please read on.] The reason? Just watch the photo-sequence in the main link. Luís Lopes had trouble putting on his Setúbal vest during a crucial game with Benfica! I.e. the powerful sports media in Portugal and Brazil have had a riot with the photographs and the poor widdle proprietors were embarrassed. So? He may not be a brilliant manager - but isn't this blatant lookism? Isn't "image" becoming much too big for its boots, as it were, in professional sports? [Here is the only English language reference I could find. Please scroll down to "Luís Campos".]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Mar 31, 2003 - 26 comments

Not your average athlete He walked away from pro football glory to serve his nation, and he's loving every minute of it.
posted by oissubke on Feb 7, 2003 - 51 comments

O-H-I-O! I know Metafilter's not exactly a huge group of sports fans, but this was a great (and unexpected) victory! Go Bucks!
posted by valval22 on Jan 3, 2003 - 26 comments

Run Ricky Run. Ricky Williams, running-back for the Miami Dolphins, gets an A for effort for designing and maintaining his own website. He keeps a journal where he sounds off on everything from battling fame and the perks that come with it, to meeting his idol (Jim Brown). He even talks about money problems, just on a much larger scale then you or I would have.
posted by Starchile on Nov 26, 2002 - 15 comments

It's sad we lost, but the Mayor got what she had coming This woman is an atrocity to the beautiful city of Dallas - she is grossly uncouth, lacks class, and is not fit for the position of mayor in one of the greatest cities in America. She made a bet on the Cowboys when they started the season with a game against the Houston Texans - and lost. The agreement was that if the 'boys won the game, the Mayor of Houston would wear a 'boys cap and jersey at a city hall meeting. Likewise and reciprocal from the herself. Yeah.
posted by JessicaRose on Sep 18, 2002 - 25 comments

Brazil vs. Germany. The 2002 FIFA World Cup has come to an end. History was made today.
posted by riffola on Jun 30, 2002 - 48 comments

World Cup Conspiracy. Here's one for the X-Files. The Azurri believe they were the victims of a conspiracy to oust them from World Cup 2002.

Alessandro Del Piero broke his usual cool exterior as anger seeped through. "In ten years of my career I have never complained," said the Juventus star, "but in four games too many strange things have happened."
posted by percine on Jun 18, 2002 - 19 comments

Korea 2-1 Italy. A classic World Cup in the making? First it was Senegal dumping out the French, and then the Argies and the Portuguese were left biting the dust. Spain and Ireland fought out a nail-biting penalty shoot-out, Saudi Arabia got hit for eight, and now South Korea continue their miraculous journey by sending Italy home. Next on the cards: let's hope for another classic when England take on Brazil!
posted by arrowhead on Jun 18, 2002 - 39 comments

Check out this soccer/baseball stadium. You can fold the baseball field and roll in the soccer one. Animation here. Amazing.
posted by sikander on Jun 1, 2002 - 17 comments

I have a bad feeling about this. The UK government has urged employers to be leniant to staff who want to watch the World Cup when they should be working. Isn't this instantly discriminating against people who happen to like football (Soccer) all that much? For example, I'm sure I know what would happen if I broached the idea of turning up for work late on May 16th after I've been to the first showing of this thing.
posted by feelinglistless on Apr 29, 2002 - 15 comments

It's the Shperiks! Those wacky mascots for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan! I can't tell what the heck is going on here, and if it weren't for the upbeat BGM, I'd probably be scared to visit this site again. But it was an interesting little adventure...
posted by Bixby23 on Mar 26, 2002 - 6 comments

Preparing Asia for the World Cup.
posted by Spoon on Mar 15, 2002 - 1 comment

Worst losers ever. Get over it LA
posted by Greener on Feb 12, 2002 - 41 comments

'A willing participant'? A woman parties and cavorts with athletes, brags about posing for Playboy. Fast forward a couple of days and she presses rape charges. NFL defensive lineman is one of the guys supposedly holding the camera videotaping the sex, so he's charged. He's got a record of drug use so he's no angel either. Of course, "no means no" but what was she doing there in the first place?
posted by owillis on Feb 8, 2002 - 21 comments

Think you're dedicated? Aussie football player has a finger chopped off at the first joint because it was affecting his ability to catch the ball.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet on Jan 23, 2002 - 11 comments

"It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't World War III" Watch the Browns/Jaguars game? Maybe it was a bad call, but throwing plastic bottles full of beer? Anybody who knows me knows I speak out loudly and firmly against the ridiculous sports culture we have in this country. This incident makes me ashamed to be a Clevelander, even a transplanted one. What is it that gets people this riled up and stupid?
posted by starvingartist on Dec 17, 2001 - 120 comments

The Women's American Football League recently debuted their new season and may be coming to your town soon. "One hundred percent of the women (playing in the league) have always wanted to play but never had the chance."
posted by mathowie on Nov 13, 2001 - 26 comments

Is there some sort of rumor I don't know about? I mean c'mon now. Garcia's Gay Lover Pick of the Week? Well, the picks have been good, apparently, but still... (Page includes disclaimer that it is not a betting site and that Jeff Garcia is not actually gay, but even the disclaimer sounds pretty tongue in cheek).
posted by Bixby23 on Oct 9, 2001 - 11 comments

Celtic's Taliban? . Glasgow smeltic fans are a disgrace to Scotland
posted by hector on Oct 1, 2001 - 27 comments

Sometimes my faith in the world is restored. Not that a girl playing NCAA Division I football is going to change the world, but at least life's not all bad. Check out her teammates in the photo, they look genuinely psyched.
posted by o2b on Aug 31, 2001 - 13 comments

stopping football holigans in the gambia security forces banned from football tourney - "the beating of some of the footballers, team officials and supporters of the opposing team which resulted in the admission to hospital of a footabller and the serious wounding of some supporters is a total violation of fair play and can no longer be entertained by the committee." well you've got to draw the line somewhere
posted by quarsan on Aug 26, 2001 - 7 comments

It worked in the Super Bowl... it can work as our military strategy!

The main quote in this article is, "I think our allies need to look at the Baltimore Ravens. They'll realize good defense wins. A good defense is one which adjusts to the times. A good defense is modern. A good defense is clear."

So let's build lots of missles!

posted by goto11 on Jun 8, 2001 - 11 comments

Victor Kiam dies. This is quite a shame... just thought I'd post and let all know
posted by monkeyJuice on May 29, 2001 - 9 comments

Go to a football match. Police arrive with tear gas and start a riot. 130 people die. I wonder if the police get some kind of bonus for killing innocent civilians...
posted by timbooker on May 10, 2001 - 16 comments

The XFL takes to the field this Saturday.
posted by tamim on Feb 2, 2001 - 33 comments

Rae Carruth is acquitted of first-degree murder. Guilty of 3 other charges. Football fans out there: another OJ?
posted by swank6 on Jan 20, 2001 - 18 comments

Futurama's been pre-empted by football again, and I'm not gonna take it anymore.
posted by teradome on Nov 21, 2000 - 16 comments

Duke kickers testify in gender case. Asked to rank her leg strength, Sims Lenhardt told jurors: "It was inferior to other guys out there. I would say 35 yards was probably the most she could kick."
posted by owillis on Oct 11, 2000 - 1 comment

Weak leg? A female kicker is suing Duke University because she was cut from the team. She says it was because she's a woman, the coach says she wasn't as versatile as other kickers on his roster. With colleges passing illiterates through based on football skill, I'm skeptical that a coach would make a roster decision based on sex.
posted by owillis on Oct 3, 2000 - 13 comments

So Charles Schulz ran out of ink about two hours ago, preceded in death by about five hours by Tom Landry. The worst part is, both were in my dead pool, which starts in about 24 hours. (The second-worst thing is all the "It's a sad day for Snoopy" and "Good grief" ledes we're going to have to endure. Blech.)

The Dallas Morning News obit went over the wires at 85 inches before Landy was even cold. Gee, you think they saw this one coming?
posted by luke on Feb 12, 2000 - 9 comments