Posts
The Beautiful Games – all over – but not for long enough!
Federrer won Wimbledon. Again. His dominance is getting a wee bit boring. But there is no denying that at just 24yrs of age he has many more winning years ahead of him. Nadal gave him a good run for his money in the third set and turned the finals from pushover to a small struggle. I like the gracefulness of tennis and the etiquette that governs it - it's one of the few sports I'll watch without a struggle. Oh, and by the way, the Swiss Government has stopped giving Federrer a 'significant' gift each year after winning Wimbledon. I wonder if they ran out of cows?
Footie widows everywhere are rejoicing. 63 games later it’s all over. The Football World cup is over and done with for another 4 years. It seems like just yesterday that all the big Ingerland flags adorned house fronts and little flags blew in the car exhaust fumes. We’ve been talking about little else for a few months – under duress let me stress - footie has been the most sociable of topics. When I deigned to watch I rooted for the underdogs in most matches – Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia & Montengro, Angola, Ivory Coast and my favourites Ghana - willed them on to fight it out with the bigger, better, richer, more prepared teams. But in the end I wasn’t so bothered by who came to the final and who won. Of teh two finalists, if pushed to choose, I would have wanted France to win (only for Thiery Henry). As V was away I only flipped back and forth every 20 minutes or so, checking to see if anyone scored. I didn’t miss this though. And somewhat because of it, by the penalty shootout, I wanted Italy to win. It was the right outcome.
There are claims that extreme provocation caused the infamous headbutt that marked Zidane’s final exit from international football. I still think his actions were uncalled for and the red card much deserved. His punishment will be to be forever remembered for the headbutt rather than his exemplary years of football and his captaincy of France. All greatness washed away by one foolish final act.
Sports are a never ending event - all over the world and in my house. Get used to it. One finishes and the next starts – or like the last few months they conduct themselves simultaneously - India v WI cricket tests and one-days, FIFA WorldCup, F1 every 2 weeks, Wimbledon. Being married to a ‘Sports mein to meri jaan hai sir’** person means that it’s any one of the numerous sports all vying for his attention. Remote control and ten sports channels all get a good run for their money. I’ve learnt to be patient and even begun to enjoy some of the sports as a result. I can even explain the offside rule with a ketchup bottle and assorted cutlery. What is this world coming to?
**From some Hindi movie (Golmaal?) meaning (somewhat) “I live for sports, sir”/ “My heart is in sport, sir”.
Federrer won Wimbledon. Again. His dominance is getting a wee bit boring. But there is no denying that at just 24yrs of age he has many more winning years ahead of him. Nadal gave him a good run for his money in the third set and turned the finals from pushover to a small struggle. I like the gracefulness of tennis and the etiquette that governs it - it's one of the few sports I'll watch without a struggle. Oh, and by the way, the Swiss Government has stopped giving Federrer a 'significant' gift each year after winning Wimbledon. I wonder if they ran out of cows?
Footie widows everywhere are rejoicing. 63 games later it’s all over. The Football World cup is over and done with for another 4 years. It seems like just yesterday that all the big Ingerland flags adorned house fronts and little flags blew in the car exhaust fumes. We’ve been talking about little else for a few months – under duress let me stress - footie has been the most sociable of topics. When I deigned to watch I rooted for the underdogs in most matches – Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia & Montengro, Angola, Ivory Coast and my favourites Ghana - willed them on to fight it out with the bigger, better, richer, more prepared teams. But in the end I wasn’t so bothered by who came to the final and who won. Of teh two finalists, if pushed to choose, I would have wanted France to win (only for Thiery Henry). As V was away I only flipped back and forth every 20 minutes or so, checking to see if anyone scored. I didn’t miss this though. And somewhat because of it, by the penalty shootout, I wanted Italy to win. It was the right outcome.
There are claims that extreme provocation caused the infamous headbutt that marked Zidane’s final exit from international football. I still think his actions were uncalled for and the red card much deserved. His punishment will be to be forever remembered for the headbutt rather than his exemplary years of football and his captaincy of France. All greatness washed away by one foolish final act.
Sports are a never ending event - all over the world and in my house. Get used to it. One finishes and the next starts – or like the last few months they conduct themselves simultaneously - India v WI cricket tests and one-days, FIFA WorldCup, F1 every 2 weeks, Wimbledon. Being married to a ‘Sports mein to meri jaan hai sir’** person means that it’s any one of the numerous sports all vying for his attention. Remote control and ten sports channels all get a good run for their money. I’ve learnt to be patient and even begun to enjoy some of the sports as a result. I can even explain the offside rule with a ketchup bottle and assorted cutlery. What is this world coming to?
**From some Hindi movie (Golmaal?) meaning (somewhat) “I live for sports, sir”/ “My heart is in sport, sir”.
Federrer is 24 :O OMG....
ReplyDeleteAnd Zidane... Such a shame.
Ghana, was one team that really turned out to be different. Next World cup, I hope they will give some real competition.
Missed the wimbledon finals, the highlight of which would have been to see Sachin sitting in the Royal Box :-)
ReplyDeleteSports mein hi nahin, sportstars mein bhi hum dilchaspi rakhte hain!