Caught the Japan-U.S. women’s soccer game yesterday, which the U.S. won 4-2.

The game was pretty good and both teams should be congratulated for giving their all and fighting it out right up until the final whistle.

Less than stellar, however, was the Japanese coverage both during the game and in the aftermath. As very often happens when Japan is beaten in an international sporting event, commentators spent most of their time serving up the same old tired litany of excuses of why the Japanese side fell to defeat.

Here are the ones I can remember off hand.

• The other team was physically bigger and stronger.
• The bad condition of the pitch.
• The heat and humidity.
• A schedule that had the Japanese team play two games with little rest.

What they always seem to forget is that, except for the first point, both teams are playing under the same conditions.

One particularly humorous remark I heard during the game was by one of the color commentators on the broadcast after the Japanese side went off side for about the fourth time in a row, “The fact that they keep jumping offside is testimony to the speed and agility of the Japanese team.”

Check out this great video of an American guy and his Chinese girlfriend interviewing each other.

Via Danwei

The Onion seems to think so. . . Be sure to watch past the ad at the end for a bonus clip.

The Beijing Olympics: Are They A Trap?