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Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 13th, 2018, 11:38 am
by Gertie
FIFA is running a World Cup Fantasy Football game. If anyone's interested we could set up a mini group for ourselves to see who is the champ Armchair Manager on Philosophy Forums. The more the merrier!


The first matches are today, so it would be good to get it going quickly, but it doesn't really matter.


Sign up on this thread if you're interested, and let the games begin!


Link to FIFA site https://fantasy.fifa.com/en/home

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 13th, 2018, 3:02 pm
by Steve3007
Fantasy Philosopher Football might have some legs?

My opening line-up for a fantasy philosopher football team:

1, Goalkeeper: Friedrich Nietzsche
2: Plato
3: Bertrand Russell (capt)
4: René Descartes
5: Immanuel Kant
6: David Hume
7: Karl Popper
8: Ludwig Wittgenstein
9: Eric Cantona (obviously)
10: Jean-Paul Satre
11: Karl Marx

I'd be playing them as your basic 4:4:2 formation. The Karls on the wings. Marx on the left. Popper on the right. A solid defensive back 4 representing the main defensive philosophical positions. Nietzsche's nihilism ensuring the absence of any goals. Cantona as the only one who, as far as I know, can actually play football and is still alive.

I'd be interested in seeing any other ideas for line-ups and whether it's possible to analytically calculate which team would win, or whether the matter would have to be decided by empirical observation (i.e. playing football).

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 13th, 2018, 3:25 pm
by Gertie
Haha well played!

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 13th, 2018, 3:26 pm
by Gertie
Wasn't Camus a goalie?

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 14th, 2018, 2:03 am
by Sy Borg
Too funny! :)

Alas Plato, Nietzsche and Sartre failed tests for use of performance-enhancing drugs, although some blame de Qunicey for spiking the drinks.

Fortunately, there's some strong backup on the bench ... Aristotle and Hobbes as backup defenders.

Heidegger as reserve striker and shock weapon. His pal, Husserl is also in the squad. Each is a sharpshooter but prone to error.

Spinoza, of course, reliably fills gaps in the midfield. Schopenhauer, alas, didn't bother leaving the dressing room because he couldn't see the team winning in a pink fit and went home to read.

It was a difficult campaign, with Hawking and NDGT arguing that the team should not be admitted because they are too outclassed by modern athletes with big budgets, state-of-the-art facilities and quality support staff.

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 14th, 2018, 5:14 am
by ThomasHobbes
Gertie wrote: June 13th, 2018, 3:26 pm Wasn't Camus a goalie?
Continuously scoring home goals.

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 14th, 2018, 5:15 am
by ThomasHobbes
Buridan can never choose what team he wants to be on.

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 14th, 2018, 5:28 am
by ThomasHobbes
Steve3007 wrote: June 13th, 2018, 3:02 pm Fantasy Philosopher Football might have some legs?
1, Goalkeeper: Friedrich Nietzsche
2: Plato
3: Bertrand Russell (capt)
4: René Descartes
5: Immanuel Kant
6: David Hume
7: Karl Popper
8: Ludwig Wittgenstein
9: Eric Cantona (obviously)
10: Jean-Paul Satre
11: Karl Marx
On the opposing team, designed to counter.
1. Rudolf Karnap
2. Aristotle
3. Jacque Derrida
4. Thomas Hobbes
5. Jeremy Bentham (with J S Mill as substitute)
6. Samuel Johnson
7. Antonio Gramsci
8. A J Ayer
9. A tub of lard ( can out think Cantona)
10. Martin Heidegger
11. Since you have already taken Popper - I'll have to make do with the entire panoply of the capitalist military/ industrial complex.

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 15th, 2018, 9:39 am
by Steve3007
Greta wrote:Alas Plato, Nietzsche and Sartre failed tests for use of performance-enhancing drugs, although some blame de Qunicey for spiking the drinks.
You make a good point there about performance enhancing drugs. I'm guessing that a lot of great thinkers and literary types from the past would fail a random drug test.
It was a difficult campaign, with Hawking and NDGT arguing that the team should not be admitted because they are too outclassed by modern athletes with big budgets, state-of-the-art facilities and quality support staff.
Good satirical point there, but perhaps Hawking and NDGT should join the team. I'm not sure how much we should relax the definition of "philosopher" but, judging by his appearances on The Simpsons, Hawking is/was surprisingly physical. And NDGT is another one who has that rare quality of actually still being alive. I can't help thinking that's bound to help.
ThomasHobbes wrote: 1. Rudolf Karnap
2. Aristotle
3. Jacque Derrida
4. Thomas Hobbes
5. Jeremy Bentham (with J S Mill as substitute)
6. Samuel Johnson
7. Antonio Gramsci
8. A J Ayer
9. A tub of lard ( can out think Cantona)
10. Martin Heidegger
11. Since you have already taken Popper - I'll have to make do with the entire panoply of the capitalist military/ industrial complex.
Re: number 11. I do like the idea of having a vaguely defined and amorphous collective concept playing on the right wing. It might make it quite difficult for the linesman to decide whether he/she/it/them is/are offside.

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 15th, 2018, 10:46 am
by ThomasHobbes
Steve3007 wrote: June 15th, 2018, 9:39 am
11. Since you have already taken Popper - I'll have to make do with the entire panoply of the capitalist military/ industrial complex.
Re: number 11. I do like the idea of having a vaguely defined and amorphous collective concept playing on the right wing. It might make it quite difficult for the linesman to decide whether he/she/it/them is/are offside.
The capitalist military/ industrial complex is always offside, but since they own the pitch, the club, the stadium and both teams they tend to behave how they bloody like.

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 16th, 2018, 1:59 am
by Sy Borg
Steve3007 wrote: June 15th, 2018, 9:39 am
Greta wrote:Alas Plato, Nietzsche and Sartre failed tests for use of performance-enhancing drugs, although some blame de Qunicey for spiking the drinks.
You make a good point there about performance enhancing drugs. I'm guessing that a lot of great thinkers and literary types from the past would fail a random drug test.
So as to avoid misrepresenting anyone, I checked and these seemed to be the main known chemically enhanced philosophers in the team. Many seemed to be surprisingly cleanskin. Could this be the difference between writers and philosophers?

To be fair, coffee provided by many employers is actually a performance enhancing drug. Even sugary treats at afternoon tea time during the post-lung fade where any excuse is enough - someone coming, leaving, going on leave, returned from leave, going and returning from maternity leave, birthdays, major sports and cultural events, or simply because someone is desperate for a sugar fix and needs partners in crime to assuage calorie guilt.
Steve3007 wrote:
It was a difficult campaign, with Hawking and NDGT arguing that the team should not be admitted because they are too outclassed by modern athletes with big budgets, state-of-the-art facilities and quality support staff.
Good satirical point there, but perhaps Hawking and NDGT should join the team. I'm not sure how much we should relax the definition of "philosopher" but, judging by his appearances on The Simpsons, Hawking is/was surprisingly physical. And NDGT is another one who has that rare quality of actually still being alive. I can't help thinking that's bound to help.
Yes, I think they are philosophers, but I don't see much of a line between science and philosophy. Scientists are perhaps more brutal and exacting when you stuff up.

Can we find a place for Nagel and Singer? Or poor old neglected Chalmers? Dennett would make a decent goalie since he can always be relied upon to stay in the box.

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 17th, 2018, 5:16 am
by Mark1955
Who will be referee.

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 17th, 2018, 9:28 pm
by Sy Borg
Einstein?

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 18th, 2018, 6:21 am
by Steve3007
Re ref:

Einstein might have a problem making judgements involving the offside rule, since it involves many object all moving at different velocities and a decision as to whether two events (a player passing the ball and his team-mate's position relative to the players on the other team) are simultaneous or not. He seemed to get worked up about stuff like that. Also, apparently he had some kind of prejudice against Chinese people. Or so I've read.

How about Jesus? Or His dad? I wonder if they count as philosophers.

Re: Fancy Playing World Cup Fantasy Football?

Posted: June 18th, 2018, 11:17 pm
by Sy Borg
Not sure if the Pharisees team would be confident that JC or his pa would give them a fair shake. Those guys have a bit of history, so it is told.

Given the problems of human error and objectivity, perhaps the officiating should be given over to machines?