With three-and-a-half days remaining for BISERGS participants to submit their draft order preferences, an alarming trend has emerged. It seems that BISERGSers based in Europe, South America and the Middle East have been very prompt getting their picks in, while participants based in America are struggling to put together a BISERGS strategy. The following response rates reveals the startling trend.
* I know that Matt is back in Edmonds now, but this makes the story so much more interesting.
As you can see, our international based BISERGSers with the exception of the usually prompt Germans, have a perfect response rate, while the Americans have only submitted their preferences at a rate of just over 14%. Furthermore, of the American based BISERGSers that have replied, all of them have lived outside of the USA at some point in their lives. The BISERGS has never been won by somebody living in the United States, and based on early responses, this trend looks likely to continue. Or perhaps astute American based BISERGSers are waiting until the last possible moment, gathering more and more data, before making their final predictions.
If the delay in American replies is a result of a lack of World Cup information in America, here are some more links you may not be aware of that may help you. (The bold section headers below are all links to these resources).
As you can see, our international based BISERGSers with the exception of the usually prompt Germans, have a perfect response rate, while the Americans have only submitted their preferences at a rate of just over 14%. Furthermore, of the American based BISERGSers that have replied, all of them have lived outside of the USA at some point in their lives. The BISERGS has never been won by somebody living in the United States, and based on early responses, this trend looks likely to continue. Or perhaps astute American based BISERGSers are waiting until the last possible moment, gathering more and more data, before making their final predictions.
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| Global response rates are outpacing American replies. |
Warm-up results - In the weeks before the World Cup, teams play matches to try out new tactics and to get used to playing with their teammates. The results of warm-up games have don't always reflect how a team will perform in the tournament, but if a team is not gelling into a unit that can be worrying. On the other hand, if a striker starts scoring goals with ease against international competition, that can be a very good sign. The link above has the latest results.
The eye test - If you want to see some highlights of the warm-up matches, my favorite website for highlights is https://highlightsfootball.com/ Since I won't be able to watch many of the World Cup matches live, I'll be relying on this site throughout the tournament.
Wallchart Videos - FIFA has created a 1-minute informational video for each team in this year's World Cup. If you need to decide between three teams for your number 14, 15 and 16 spots, look at these videos and see if it helps you make up your mind.
Gamer's insight - EA Sports is the maker of the hugely successful FIFA Soccer game that you saw kids playing on Xbox or PlayStation demos last time you walked through BestBuy. EA Sports ran the tournament through their most recent game engine and came out with (spoiler alert) France as the winners.
The clock is ticking so make sure you get your picks in. Don't leave your BISERGS fate to random selections made for you by the BISERGS bot.
What do you mean by saying you won't be able to watch games in real time? I am hoping to watch a lot of games with you, getting your insightful comments in the process. cb
ReplyDeleteYes!!! Of course I can’t wait to watch with you in Cheyenne, but I don’t know what tone of day the matches will be on. We may decide that sleep is more important for some of the matches and then we can watch the highlights together on this website. In Abu Dhabi the time zone is much better, but we don’t have the television package to watch games live.
DeleteI think those 14 percent of timely responses were mainly from Cheyenne. But now that you have piayed the new links, I wonder if I should have waited.
ReplyDeleteI meant "placed", that is, posted
ReplyDelete