Soccer: May 2004 Archives
Yesterday Arsenal Football Club of the English Premier League beat Leicester City 2-1 to finish out their season. What is most interesting about this victory is that it enabled the Gunners to end their campaign as not only winners of the leauge, but UNBEATEN winners of the league with a 26-12-0 record. Truly an outstanding event, something that hadn't been done in the top tier of English football in well over a hundred years.
It might be difficult to put this achievement in the proper perspective in regards to American pro sports, considering they only play 38 games. However, I think it's surprising to anyone who watches the highly competetive EPL, especially when you see how much money Manchester United and Chelsea give to their players. I have to admit I'm a fan of the Arse with all their talented Frenchmen, but it might be bad for the game if this type of dominance continues.
A couple weeks ago, while staying at my parent's house I succumbed to the pleasures of digital cable television. Television, you see, is something I don't really watch. The Hott Denn may indeed be receiving a basic cable signal as I type this, but there is no TV there to make that necessary connection. Since I figured I get enough "tube time" playing videogames or watching DVDs, I don't really miss out on the pleasures of the warm glow, and therefore I don't allow myself to succumb to the guilty pleasures of, say, Monster House on The Discovery Channel.
However, while in St. Paul I figured I better at least check out what I'd been missing, and spent endless hours especially mesmerized by the available footy coverage on Fox Sports World. Not only did I watch the EPL, but German Bundesliga, Spanish Primera Liga, Dutch Eredivisie, Italian Serie A, Brazilian League and so on. It got to the point where I realized that I was watching something I'd already seen and didn't really feel the urge to change the channel. I had to confess to myself that I did indeed miss the television programs that allowed me to keep up on the world of information out there.
All that tele-soccer made it clear that I had once again caught the "footballitis", and the only cure would be more matches. When I found some tapes containing Euro 96 and World Cup 98 action I just had to pop them in the VCR and relive the excitement. Watching taped sporting events is a real weird experience, but I made the most of it, forcing myself not to remember what the outcomes were so I could be frustrated all over again when my team lost. The agony.
Back in Portland, I was out running a few days ago and started to think about how awesome it was that I was able to watch almost every match of World Cup 2002. I even made sure that I stayed-up all night to watch live events taking place in Korea and Japan, and then slept during the bright summer sun and rising temperatures with blankets over my windows. Seeing the US defeat heavy favorites Portugal in their opening match gave me goosebumps, and even inspired me to get back in shape. I knew I had to watch that match again, and hurried it home.
After finding the tape and pressing play it was only a matter of 3 minutes before the US Mens National Team struck for the first goal, sending me into a great mixture of nostalgia, perpetual disbelief, and the slightest, strangest bit of national pride. The next 87 minutes were immensely thrilling--even knowing that the 'Nats would hold on for victory didn't prevent me from experiencing the delight of seeing goalkeeper Brad Friedel jump for joy, pumping his fist in probably the most unihibited display of jubiliation that a man of 31 can make.
Okay, what to do now? I could continue this path of reliving previously held competitions, or I could figure out how to see the next big event, the European 2004 Championships, to be held this June throughout Portugal. Well, as it turns out I would not only have to get that digital cable I have denied myself if I want to see this summer's Euros, I would have to put down a hefty $180 for all the matches! Ouch. Sure, it seems like a huge price to pay, but maybe I need to look at the bigger picture. What if I don't do it, and I suffer from some terrible regret and wonder what I'm missing as I read Web site updates and settle for mere still images? I think it could be a small price to pay to ensure I don't suffer from any negative effects of ignoring my previosly mentioned "Footballitis."