No, I'm not writing this because it's "Off Topic" week. That's what my 5,000 word essay about the advantages of dating chicks with no legs will be for later on. ( Spinfucking. Think about it.) No, I'm writing this because I am a legit soccer fan and the events of today have given you a fine opportunity to become one as well if you aren't already.
You see, Thierry Henry, a soon to be 30 year old French striker, has just been transferred to FC Barcelona from Arsenal. Henry is arguably the best pure striker in the world, and his addition to an already potent Barcelona attack featuring Samuel Eto'o, the great Ronaldinho and the soon to be great Lionel Messi (seriously, just watch this goal) will make for one hell of an exciting brand of soccer.
So why do you care, dear reader? Well, you care because you - and I'm really generalizing here - are an American sports fan, meaning you rank soccer just behind golf and just ahead of the NHL in terms of importance to you. And I can't say I blame you. The MLS is a joke, as was the performance of the men's national team in the 2006 World Cup. But fear not, for there IS incredibly entertaining soccer out there.
FC Barcelona was already one of the most exciting teams around. La Liga (the Spanish professional league) is, top to bottom, the best soccer league in the world. And Barcelona, along with arch rival Real Madrid of course, is the premier team in that league. They play exciting, fast paced soccer that any sports fan from any country would enjoy, and they just added one of the fastest, most dynamic scoring talents in the game. 0-0 finals scores are not something in which this club specializes.
The problem that remains, however, is not you and your interest in the game. Maybe you don't like soccer, not because you don't find it all entertaining, but because you don't have access to the best soccer being played. Maybe the problem has to do with ESPN choosing to televise women's golf (women's fucking golf!) instead of the very entertaining Gold Cup final yesterday between The U.S. and Mexico. Maybe the problem has to do with the fact that the current level of competition, as well as the average salaries, in the MLS will never attract top flight talent from overseas. (David Beckham, while talented, is the most overrated player in the game today.) And maybe we should do something about it.
But what? What can you, concerned sports fan that you are, possibly do? Well, if you choose to do nothing but sit in front of your TV and watch the same recycled material ESPN deems worth watching, so be it. But you could instead choose to go a little out of your way to go that bar that televises European games and serves all kinds of beer. And who knows, you just might really, really like it. Following Barcelona wouldn't be a bad place to start, although they are hardly the only great, entertaining team out there. It's kinda like being 14 and trying all those cool new drugs for the first time - you have to experiment and see which ones you like best.
And besides, who doesn't like a nice excuse to drink a few pints in the middle of the afternoon? Mmm, Boddingtons...
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4 comments:
Good stuff. My first thought was the Barca on Fifa 2008 will be unstoppable in a 4-3-3. I already hate Henry on the game.
But Shep Messing is going to have a seizure if he plays alongside Eto'o and Ronaldhino.
good points. ESPN shows womens softball and poker? and now they even show NAscar. who is in charge of programming?
I know bars like that exist, just not anywhere near where I live. We do, however, have Fox Soccer Channel which gives us plenty of English Premier League action. What better to do at 6:30 Saturday morning in the dead of winter than watch Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspur. What initially attracted me to FSC was Hailey McQueen, the Soccer Tart, who specialized in breathing deeply in her low cut blouse while reciting the scores. She was apparently Sky Sports' answer to Erin Andrews.
You at least have to give ESPN credit for brining us the UEFA Champions' League games, though I would have preferred a more generous helping of Celtic FC and a little less of the boring teutons (and I know that Celtic plays a boring positional game, but I'm an SPL guy.) And, even my wife who isn't really a sports fan except for hoops watched the Celtic-Benfica game on the TV in our hotel room in Dornoch and became a Celtic fan as they blasted in three goals in a driving rainstorm to win going away. Hell, even the Celtic-ManU game at Celtic Park was great theater, even though it was decided 1-0 on a great left footer by Nakamura(a fine Scottish lad) on a free kick from just outside the box.
Anyway, more real football and more of Belhaven's Best.
I can't wait to see what the might of Ronaldinho, Messi and Henry can do. I'm asking a lot and expect it too - the lineup is going to be radically different to what we're used to but barring any major injuries it's going to be a rock solid team.
Let's hope that FC Barcelona can do a little better in Champions League this year too.
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