16 June 26
Nervous Energy
I’ve never been diagnosed with ADHD, but wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn it’s something I’ve lived with all my life. In some ways, it’s been something of a superpower. But it means that concentrating on just one thing seems impossible. And when it comes to listening or watching football, I have GOT to be doing something with my hands.
I have just entered the sweater pictured at right into our county fair, which takes place every August. I am planning to line it with silk, which will hide a lot of the mess caused by stranded colorwork (and make it much more pleasant to wear). There are now long sections that don’t require much concentration, making it the perfect World Cup knitalong.
Lionel Messi, nearly 39, just scored a hat-trick for Argentina, a massive feat for any player. I am not qualified to judge who the Greatest Player of All Time might be, but a lot of people who are think he’s it. That we have been alive to witness him AND Cristiano Ronaldo playing, egging each other on, is a privilege. (The game has changed a lot since Maradona and beyond him Pelé were in their prime, and such comparisons are sort of fruitless if entertaining.)
Lots more to go on this sweater but there’s a lot more football to follow over the next few weeks.
14 June 26
Mundial
I know I said I was going to boycott the World Cup. I’m not, it turns out.
ETA That means many hours per day at the moment. It’s not sustainable. But Spain is playing this morning….
11 June 26
And Then There Were Forty-Eight
The World Cup is now underway with two matches played today. This is not a World Cup I have much enthusiasm for, owing to the United States having alienated the rest of the world over the past year-and-a-half, including the other two host countries. Nevertheless, interesting storylines will emerge over the upcoming five weeks, I am sure.
Five weeks, not four as in the past. In its infinite wisdom FIFA has expanded the number of participating nations from thirty-two to forty-eight. In all likelihood this will make the group stage of the tournament less exciting since on average there is more of a range in quality from the strongest team to the weakest team in each group. FIFA may even continue in this direction: there is discussion of expanding the field to sixty teams for the 2030 World Cup which will take place in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain.
The nearby bakery will be showing the matches on a big screen outside on its patio. Pica was thinking of watching the first match there, but it was already 96° F outside at noon when it started, so that idea got nixed.
11 July 25
Una España Sin Brillo
I’ve been watching the women’s Euros as much as possible, even though watching them live is now difficult because the final matches of the group stages are being played at the same time. I did see Spain play Italy today, and the weaknesses in this Spanish team were on full display particularly in the first 30 minutes, particularly along the right flank. Other teams, including Switzerland who as hosts enjoy a strong home field advantage and who Spain will play next Friday, will be looking to exploit these weaknesses and not be intimidated by Spain’s dangers in the box.
The score should probably have been higher than 3-1 — Spain certainly made a lot of chances and a foul in the box which looked like a certain penalty wasn’t given — but Italy are a defensive wall and may be giving other teams ideas about how to handle the favorites.
What’s clear, though, is that the depth of Spain’s bench is very much in their favor, since they are able to rest key players. There have been injuries and illnesses that seem to be resolving at the right time, too.
It’s hard work but luck also plays a part in these things. In Spain’s case, the attacking skill is formidable especially in the younger players. They all combine to make Spain a hard time to beat this year, but it wouldn’t be impossible.
17 June 12
Footie Overload
We just returned from The Graduate, the biggest sports bar in Davis, where we were watching the final matches in Group B of the Euro 2012 soccer tournament. The teams playing were Germany versus Denmark and Portugal versus the Netherlands, and the two matches were going on simultaneously. The two games in the final round of each of the groups takes place at the same time so as to avoid having the results from one match bias the play of the last match, and the concurrency makes for lots of drama. Going into play today any of the four teams could advance, though the scenarios for certain combinations were complicated.
All this makes for an interesting media experience, with half of the many screens in the Grad tuned to one match, half to the other match, and trying to pay attention to what is happening in both matches at once. I don’t think I have ever tried watch two sporting events like that before. I am pulling for Germany and Denmark to go through. But that means that who I root for at any given moment depends upon the scores in both matches. Let’s see — Netherlands are up 1-0….that means that if scores stay the same in the end Germany and Denmark go through, but we don’t want Netherlands to score 2 goals, because they would then go through, but now that Portugal has tied it up, we want Netherlands to score again…and wait, now that Portugal has taken the lead, if Denmark by some chance scores a goal, Germany would be going out…
In the end Portugal and Germany both finished strongly and won their respective matches 2-1 apiece. Portugal will play the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, and Germany will play Greece. It’s a good atmosphere at the Grad to watch these big footie matches, with quite an international crowd always showing up.
18 July 11
Enthralled
Not having a TV, we always roam the town looking for venues to watch major sporting events. This afternoon we ended up at International House Davis to watch the Women’s World Cup final; they had advertised in the newspaper a couple days ago that they would be hosting viewing the event. They clearly are not as practiced in showing sporting events as the sports bar down the road, and Comcast was flaking out on them today, so they resorted to showing the ESPN3 internet feed. This was hardly high-def, and had the annoying habit of several times freezing at critical junctures, including the winning penalty kick! But the video feed sufficed.
We went to see the match without a strong rooting interest, mostly hoping just to see a good game. It didn’t take me long to figure out I was pulling for Japan; after the barrage of shots they weathered during the first few minutes it was clear they would be playing the role of the underdog. The game turned out to be as exciting a soccer match as I’ve ever seen. For the underdogs to equalize once, then twice, and finally win on PKs is great drama. I left very happy for Japan. Both teams are good, good teams and played their hearts out. What more does one wish to see in sport?
15 April 11
A Tree Falls In Portland
The soccer team the Portland Timbers just won their very first game at home since the team started playing in the US top division Major League Soccer earlier this spring, beating the Chicago Fire this evening 4-2. Congratulations to the team and their fans.
Their fans. I learned about the home opener from this piece today on the soccer blog The Run of Play, the piece being about constructing a local urban identity through the global sport of soccer. From what I can tell the Timbers’ fans have already become one of the most animated of fanbases in all of MLS. It’s exciting to see this happening in US soccer.
28 August 10
Settling Into Fall Footie
The answer to what am I going to do after the World Cup has been taking shape. So far the only soccer I’ve been catching on TV has been when we go to our favorite taqueria for Saturday lunch when more often than not they are showing a random footie match on their bigscreen. But following the BBC live text reports does in a pinch (it’s how we follow the Tour de France), giving us a new Saturday morning activity where I read these out to Pica over breakfast. And there’s always watching the goal highlights on YouTube. I am following Tottenham Hotspur in earnest now, finding myself surprisingly thrilled by their victory at home on Wednesday to make it into this year’s Champions League competition. Following the Champions League should be fun — it’s anybody’s guess who will win it, unlike the various national leagues.
La Liga gets started tomorrow — expect even more entertainment.
15 July 10
Soccer Quandaries
I listened to my first baseball game following the World Cup, the Giants beating the New York Mets 2-0, Tim Lincecum throwing a complete game shutout. I’m not quite ready to give up soccer for another four years, and for now continue to pay attention to the sport. So far this means a) finishing Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett’s latest novel about the wizards at Unseen University being coerced into fielding a football team against the town folk of Ankh-Morpork, the ending of which bearing more than a slight resemblance to the Spain-Netherlands final b) reading Jonathan Wilson’s recent treatise Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics c) learning that Billy Beane, the much-heralded general manager for the baseball team the Oakland Athletics, has in recent years become a soccer fanatic; indeed some suspect he’s gotten bored with baseball and only cares about soccer these days d) wondering if Billy Beane’s favorite English Premier League team, Tottenham Hotspur, would be a good one for me to follow and maybe adopt (it would not do to become a fan of any of the EPL “Big Four” — that’s like defaulting to being a Yankees fan) But chances for me to watch soccer without broadband or any sort of cable TV are few and far between, so maybe I stick to baseball on the radio…
11 July 10
Gané,
Ganaste, ganó, ganamos, ganasteis, ganaron.
(I’m still in shock but we are back from Oregon where we saw Rana Rachel and Dan get married in the most gorgeous spot, had a lovely Thai lunch with Dale prior to a focused expedition to Powells, met the Knitting Rabbi as Numenius mentioned, and watched two football matches. One of which was very, very key. It involved my wearing a red shirt and I’m afraid I made a bit of a spectacle of myself in a bar at the Portland airport, but I may well get over it.)