"I've seen the future and it's much like the present, only longer"

Quote courtesy Dan Quisenberry.
Got a kick out of it. So I put it in the title.

Also thought this analysis of the Dutch team was very astute:
"It appears that Robben and Van Bommel have perfected soccer powers antithetical to each other," theorizes Subash from Chicago. "Robben's gift is in drawing a foul, often when there is none, and Van Bommel seems unable to be whistled for a foul despite repeatedly committing them."

Very true.

Not sure how those two 'gifts' will play out in the game on Sunday but I want the Dutch to win. Not sure how they are going to beat Spain, though. They haven't played well enough so far. They will have to get a bit lucky and also get a performance from Robin van Persie, who hasn't done dick in the tournament yet. The issue isn't that they have to keep a lid on Villa, it's that they have to somehow break down the brutally efficient Spanish back line. Heard on the news that the back 8 (3 midfielders, back 4, goalie) have started every game together for the past couple years or 50 games or some similar nonsense. Every. Game. On top of that they are really, really good. Lucky for the Netherlands their midfield players are better than ze Germans, and their wide players are a LOT better (esp. since Muller was out). Unless it's van Persie playing wide and doing nothing.

One last thing about Robben: he's got to be one of the most annoying players I've ever seen. It's not only that he goes to ground like a whimpering baby at the slightest contact. That's SOP for lots of players. The annoying thing is that he's very, very strong on the ball. Exceptionally so for a winger. He's a beast, like Didier Drogba, not a waif like Torres or a midget like Villa (5' 7" in his cleats). That is why the Brazil players hated him so much: because he was a barbarian away from the ball, and then when he got touched he would collapse. It would get a bit tedious, donchathink?

Prediction: Holland 2 - 1 Spain

If it goes to pens again this year I will be bitter.