Friday, June 11, 2010

Football in focus


Southorn Playground football pitch in wet weather
(and viewed through a window at
the first office I worked in in Hong Kong)


As I write this blog entry, billions of people around the world, including Hong Kong, are tuning in to watch the first match of the 2010 World Cup Finals hosted by South Africa. But I'm not among them.

For although I am the biggest football fan that many of my friends know, the truth of the matter is that I'm more of an Arsenal than general football fan. Consequently, I tend to view this global sports event in terms of hoping that the ten Arsenal players involved in it will end the tournament physically fit and in good spirits -- and raring as well as able to play well for the Gunners in when the next English Premier League season kicks off in August.

Still, it's hard not to ignore the fact that the World Cup Finals will be taking place the next few weeks. So in honor of that, here's putting up my first football-themed blog entry since October 10th last year (though to see a completely football-themed entry, you'd actually have to go back to July 12th 2008)! ;O

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

a bubbling broth makes me happy too.

YTSL said...

Hi ewok1993 --

I think you meant to comment on the Bubbles thread but no matter as it's nice to see a comment on THIS entry after some hours of zero comments on it! ;b

ewaffle said...

You haven't missed much in the Copa Mundial 2010, YTSL, at least based on the first two games--Mexico tied South Africa and Uruguay tied France. The second was the dullest sporting event held anywhere at anytime--or at least since the end of last year's National Football League season.

The only free audio/video feed I have found is on Univision. My Spanish is rusty from many years of disuse but the announcers were having such an exciting time themselves during the Mexico-RSA match it was still a lot of fun.

Carlos Vela of Arsenal had a goal disallowed because he was called offside, which he was. I don't know if the South Africans caught him in an offside trap or if he just got in too deeply. His shot was from very close in.

England vs. USA (Inglaterra vs. Estados Unidos)later today. The England side should win by about 10 goals--they are superior to the Americans at every position, in some cases almost infinitely so.

Univsion has replays of all the games for a week on its site so I will be able to watch the Korea-Greece game sometime. From what I have read the Koreans look like they could do very well and didn't have much trouble with the Greek side.

YTSL said...

Hi ewaffle --

Thanks for your comments. Re England vs the USA: contrary to your pessimism, your national team managed to get a draw! :)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/12/england-usa-world-cup-group-c

Also, don't you have cable? Had read that ESPN was showing games in the US...

ewaffle said...

YTSL--We not only don't have cable we don't have a TV, or at least we don't have one that can do anything other than play back DVDs.

Since the US went to some kind of digital broadcast signal that required an adapter we don't get even the local channels. We haven't actually watched other than stuff on the web like John Stewart's "The Daily Show" when I think of it which isn't very often.

We haven't missed it all.

YTSL said...

Hi again ewaffle --

I have access to some channels (including a few free ones since my internet provider also is a TV channels provider). But I have to admit that I'm not much of a TV viewer -- something that I remember appalling one of my ex-bosses (since I was working in TV at the time)! ;S