A special relationship!

The owner of the Red Sox just bought the English Premire League football club Liverpool. I do believe that there is something going on. Some inner voice is telling me that these two storied and whiny fan bases coming together is a Very Bad Thing.

Flips World Cup Blog - Bugger.

Ok, so I may have been a bit melodramatic last night. Having had a semi-decent nights sleep and the majority of the day to dwell on the defeat of the German National Football team, I can now say this with now without having to fight the urge to gag: Spain played really, really well and deserved to win. Barcelona...I'm sorry, Spain, dominated the game with intense pressure and the most precise passing play I have ever seen in my football viewing life. It may not be the prettiest or most exciting football in the world, but to call it anything other than dominant would be painfully remiss. There I said. Now give me five minutes to bash my head against the wall.

Ahhh....much better.


So now the question is: where does Die Mannschaft go from here? Other than the match for third place. Well, it's best to start with the man who made it all happen: Jogi Loew. OH GOD PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US!!! PLEASE PLEASE STAY! I PROMISE I'LL MAKE ALL THE BAD MEN GO AWAY!
I kid, but in all seriousness, it is virtually impossible to overstate the importance of Loew's presence. The entire team, their style of play, the individual players all of it bears his mark. The  fashionable German coach recieved a lot of flak from both the press and the DFB (Deutscher Fussball Bund) in the run up to the World Cup. For, the teams middling performance during the winter, for his choice of players possible even his v-neck sweaters, nothing was out of bounds. Now those same doubters are singing his praises. The only question is: will Jogi Loew put the past behind him and focus on the Euro Cup in 2012? He has crafted something great. A team that is so young and capable of such dominance should not be left to the devices of a coach who doesn't have the same vision. Make no mistake, Loew has a vision, and this is just the beginning.

Next is the team. Lifted by dazzling performances that raised expectations to truly dizzying heights, the squad must now pull itself back from depression and realize that they too are only at the beginning. With an average age of 25, this team,with only a few exception, can still contend in 2-3 more World Cup tournaments. Contend and contend strongly. The loss is bitter, and being stopped so short of the final for the second time in a row doubly so. But they need to remind themselves that at the moment, there are only two teams in Europe and four teams worldwide that can contend with them. Their future is bright, and they are only starting.

FUCK!!!

Fuck Spain!
Fuck F.C. Barcelona!
Fuck losing 1-0!
Fuck Octopi!
Fuck losing in the semis for the second time in a row!
Fuck a ridiculously talented team, MY TEAM, being too scared, too respectful of a bunch of Iberian twats! Fuck my thwarted expectations and hopes!
Fuck Diego Maradona!
Fuck Sepp Blatter!
Fuck smug sportswriters who wanted Germany to lose!
Fuck ESPN!
Fuck Netzer and Delling!
Fuck Iker Casillas's reporter girlfriend!
Fuck the people who hounded Jogi Loew all year. Those fuckers who created a situation that might cause him to resign despite a ludicrously successful tournament!
Fuck Holland, though I am going to support them anyway!
Fuck Uruguay!
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck

Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza - Second day of football withdrawl...

Its been dismal. Just dismal. The second day of life without football has been a horrendous ordeal without end in sight until I saw an interesting article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) about how Bastian Schweinsteiger (or Schweini as he used to be called, which means "Piglet"), had made several combative statements regarding the Argentinians and the infamous brawl that broke loose after Germany had beaten Argentina on penalty kicks in the 2006 quarter-finals. So far it had only been the Argentines who had been making a lot of noise about how they were going to get revenge for last time. Maradonna had even crooned that he would post a team line up that was "guaranteed to beat the Germans".

Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza - Funniest video of the World Cup

This wins it hands down. The guys who put this together even came up with two versions. This is the more up to date version. You can find the originals here: http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_football/2367907.html

Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza - Germany vs. England

It is hard to put into words the significance of this match up to those who have never followed international football It is the classic rivalry of the football world. I will try my very best to explain why.

Imagine two nations that are utterly football crazy. The one nation invented the sport and is home to the best professional league on the planet. This nation is extremely proud of its footballing tradition and at having produced some of the best footballers in recent times. However, international greatness has proved frustratingly elusive, having won only one World Cup title so far.

The other nation took the sport invented by the first and married it with the works of Sun Tzu while parring away anything supercilious like flash and style (and fun some would say). While that country's home league may not be the be the best in Europe, internationally the county's team has been one of the most successful, garnering three World Cup titles and more final appearances than any other team save possibly Brazil.

Now imagine the most intense sports rivalry you know of. Think Yankees-Red Sox or Celtics-Lakers. Now multiply it by 40,000, feed it a heady mixture of tequila, schnapps, PCP and meth, dip it in gasoline, set it on fire and point it in the direction of Fallujah circa 2004 and you might approach the level of intensity that surrounds Germany vs England friendly matches.

As with all things, the reason for the intensity of this rivalry can be found in their shared history.

Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza - ...and now for something completly different...

For the first time on this blog, a genuine moment of Schadenfreude.
*ahem*
MUAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT YOU TOMATO SUCKING, HAIR GEL ABUSING, BITCHY PRIMADONNAS??
THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR KICKING US OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT 4 YEARS AGO IN OUR OWN COUNTRY!!!
THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!
NO MORE FLOPPING AROUND AND CLAIMING YOU HAVE BEEN MURDERED WHEN A DEFENDER LOOKED AT YOU SIDEWAYS!
GO ON GET OUT OR WE'LL BRING ZIDANE BACK FOR A FAREWELL HEADBUTT IN THE NADS!!
SUCK IT LONG AND SUCK IT HARD SPAGHETTI FRESSER!!
GO HOME TO YOUR MAMA! 
Thank You

Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza - I Love Football

I love football. I love it in a way that I cannot possible love other sports. Don't get me wrong, I love basketball and there is nothing more relaxing a game of baseball in the late summer. But football truly is the beautiful sport. No other sport can have me nervous before the game has even start. Screw biting my nails, I was way past the cuticles for this Germany vs Ghana match, I was chomping on my knuckles. And the match proved to be be worth the name "Preliminary knock out game".

Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza - Make up

In order to make up for my missing a week of posts I now present you a few pictures of the games:

Irish pub in Frankfurt called Waxy's where I watched the US vs. England match. I have no idea why it was called Waxy's.

The American Flag with which I proudly proclaimed my allegiance. There was an even mix of US and England supporters and the atmosphere was fun and collegial rather than barely contained rage. A nice change of pace from English fans.

Chicken wings! The most American of foods!!

Kilkenny!

Place was packed by the time the match started!

Flips less than glorious World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza - WTF^10??!!

WTF??!!! 9 yellow cards?? Sending off Miroslav Klose for a neglible foul?? Podolski misses a penalty?? No yellow card when a Serbian player basically hugs the German goalie??? The Lakers won the NBA Finals after being down 3-2?? If the US loses against Slovenia I will willing go into exile!

---Addendum----

So the wave of what-the-fuckery continued well into the US-Slovenia match. In a instance of egregiously bad refereeing, the arbitrator of the match ruled our a perfectly legitimate goal that would have assured victory for the Boys in Blue and made their ascension to the next round all but assured. No I am not kidding, look at the tape the only way anyone was offside in that scenario is if the four Slovenian defenders turned out to have been photo-shopped into the picture.

I am still too angry and disappointed to talk about the Germany-Serbia game. Schadenfruede, while thematically appropriate to my blog, will be met with harsh reprisals!

An to all you out there who are reveling in the Celtics loss in Game 7 of the NBA Finals rather than celebrating in a Lakers victory. I have plans for you. Oh yes you know who you are, and now you know I am coming for you. Be afraid!!!

---Additional Addendum----
England vs Algeria, 0-0...really, I am no longer sure what to think. Both England and America will be desperately needing a win in the next go around, and it would seem they both have their work cut out for them. Those games will be the ones to watch.

Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza!! - WTF???

Halftime in the Germany vs Serbia game and WTF is happening?? I have never seen a ref so prone to whipping out yellow cards!!
To come to think of it: what has been happening in general with this World Cup? Swiss wins against the contender Spain? Mexico sends France packing 2-0?? Did someone put something in the water??

Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza Part 3

Alrighty then! Now a proper post for yesterdays opener and the France vs. Uruguay game.
So to start out: preparation is everything and in order to commemorate the event we had to have the correct snacks as pictured left. Dried bananas coated with honey for Bafana Bafana and Jalapeno peppers for Mexico. Ok, not sure how close the thing with the dried banabas is, but it was the closest thing to South African snack food we could get a hold of in Germany. The jalapenos went into a guacamole later that evening, so that worked out fine.

Next came the issue of who to support. I have an inherent fondness for the African teams. Ever since 1994, the year where I first started to follow the World Cup seriously, I have always waited for the African teams to truly break out. Too long has the tournament been dominated by European and South American teams. Looking back at the first, second and third placing teams of the past tournaments, the amount of times Brazil and Germany have appeared in those lists, supported by another team from those two regions...well, it's depressing. And this is a Germany fan saying this! It's time for Asia, Africa and the Middle East to step up and make the tournament a true World Cup. No easy games! No continent that is considered to be footballs collection of shortbus occupants! I thought were had it in 2002, when South Korea and Turkey made it to the top four, but since then it has been same old-same old. I am hoping that this will be the year the others break through.

FLips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza! Part 2

Quick Half-time blog for the South Africa vs. Mexico opener: (I'll post more completely after the game)
The match so far has been less than impressive. Bafana Bafana, far from being lifted up by the sound of vuvzelas and 90,000 fans seemed more like they were a bunch of middle-schoolers terrified of asking the girls to dance, while Mexico acted like the high schooler that had to shave twice a day. The only one who really seemed to be awake at the wheel was Itumeleng Kuhne, who saved RSA's fat in two pants-wettingly tense moments. The only other people looking out for the hosts were the line coaches who called a bevy of offside offenses against dos Santos and the rest of the Mexican offense. Then at 42 minutes, it all changed with a corner kick from Tschabalala and it was RSA that suddenly seemed to be possessed of all the energy in possibility. So far though it hasn't been the most impressive display of football I have ever seen. Let's see how the next half is.

Not much better at this point...

Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza! Part 1

As promised I have here a special treat from my friend Ginger (whose excellent travel blog I have linked to) is currently in South Africa and was kind enough to send me this excellent account of Bafana Bafana parade which occured right outside of her window at work. So naturally she needed to take part. I would also like to point out that I am now linked to the blog Posts by Panos. Written by a man infinitely smarter that I and much more educated in the beautiful sport, he is the man to turn to to get excellent analyzes and predictions for this great event. Now please, enjoy.

United We Will Stand Parade for Bafana Bafana

South Africa's national football team has the nickname Bafana Bafana, which means "the boys" in Zulu. The nation has really come together to support their team, who kick off the World Cup this Friday in their opening game against Mexico. It is rumored that Nelson Mandela himself will show up in a yellow and green jersey to give the players an extra boost, and I hope he is able to. Nowhere was this support more obvious than at the "United We Will Stand" parade in honor of the team that was given today around lunchtime and conveniently outside my office. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Sandton, cheering, dancing, singing and tooting vigorously on their vuvuzelas. Even from 7am onward, the time I arrived at work, the odd blatt could be heard now and then. From about 11am the noise became constant, and it's 3:30pm as I write this and the crowd shows no sign of dissipating or stopping.

I headed outside at lunchtime in the hopes of taking lots of great photos and catching a glimpse of the team who would be driving by in an open top double-decker bus. The scene was an absolute madhouse in the best way. Almost everyone was wearing a yellow jersey and many corporations in Sandton gave their employees permission to have several hours off to view the parade (not mine, however). As I was walking out of the entrance to Mandela Square by the Michaelangelo Hotel, the crowd swarmed a fancy, black sedan that was trying to get in. I noticed an enormous security guard and police escorts so I immediately pushed my way in there. Who was in the car? R. Kelly! No teenage girls to be seen near him, although he did pop up through the sunroof and wave vigorously to everyone. The crowd was pushing and shoving to get close, but it was very good natured. Most of the people who bumped me or stepped on my foot apologized politely. There was a real mix of people, from office people in suit bottoms to construction workers from the Gautrain station just next door.

As R. Kelly finally passed by, I walked down to the requisite Red Bull truck that was pumping tunes and handing out free drinks to the crowd. People were dancing in the street, tooting their horns and having a great time. I got a lot of really excellent photos, including one of some Mexico fans in giant sombreros and luchador masks. I then climbed up on the truck to get a better view of the crowd. The staff tried to kick me off, but I told them I was press and just wanted to take some photos. They let me stay up there for quite a while, so I might be on Sportscenter as I was definitely filmed during that time!

It was hot and sweaty in the noonday sun, and there was still no sign of the team. West Ave, where I was, supposedly would be closed to traffic, but cars were still making their way through the crowd at a snail's pace. I wanted to be up high so I could get a good picture of the team, and I saw a crew of men in yellow tracksuits sitting on top of the wall outside Nelson Mandela Square. The wall was about 12 feet high. The only way to get up there was to either climb up on a shorter portion and then climb over the people already sitting on there, or get hoisted up by the gentlemen on the wall already. They were willing to try the hoist, so I got a tall stranger next to me to give me a leg up and then the guys on the wall pulled me up. I had to scramble a bit with my feet (really could have used climbing shoes!) but they got me up there eventually! I had a great view of the crowd and it was nice to sit for a while. I'm also glad I wore leggings under my dress or else everyone would have gotten quite a show!

By the time 1:45 rolled around, Bafana Bafana still hadn't showed up so I decided to go back inside as I was on my lunch break and couldn't just drop 3 hours in the middle of the day. I had a lot of photos and had definitely experienced the crowd. To the amazement of my neighbors on the wall, I turned around and dropped off the edge--there was a small ledge about 10 ft off the ground, so I just swung down while holding on to that and landed neatly on the sidewalk. I went back inside and have been able to accomplish little else today as the party is still raging on outside. I am supposed to leave work at 4 and I don't know if I'll be able to get out of the building, it is so crazy out there!

Countdown to the World Cup: T - 4 Days

There are only days left til the start of the greatest sporting event mankind has ever dreamed up and so now it is time to start preparing myself for this festive event. With any luck there will be a few treats to be had, I have a few friends who will be down in South Africa during the tournament and, with the proper amount of bribery, they might be willing to give us first person accounts of the matches that they attend. In addition to that, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I shall be writing about every match that I have the privilege of viewing. Some of them I may write as I watch. I expect these posts to be of lesser quality.
Anyway. Off to the first topic of Flips GLORIOUS World Cup Blog-o-rama Extravaganza!

Is the World Cup 2010 cursed??!!
The thought cracked open my skull and infested my brain yesterday. While I was driving off to do a couple of errands, a news blast came on the radio which announced that English football captain Rio Ferdinand would not playing due to an injured knee and Ivory Coast Football Jesus Drogba had broken his elbow during a test match. The latter news was particularly tragic as The Ivory Coast has been my favorite African football team since 2006 and there had been rumors of them riding the euphoria of the first African World Cup as far as the semi finals. With Drogba more or less out, that dream is shattered. I then cast my mind back to the fact that Germany, (Die Bundeself, Die Mannschaft!!!) had suffered a string of injuries, including Chelsea star and Matt Damon look alike Michael Ballack. A quick search in the internet revealed that several more big names, who for various reasons, would be watching the games on there four meter flat screen LED while their newest concubine services them rigirously.

What follows is a list of the fallen:
David Beckham (ok, not much of a surprise)
Luca Toni
Ronaldinho (fallen due to Coach displeasure)
Hans Sarpai
Fabio Grosso (once lauded hero of Italy, now booted for being crap)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (seriously?? this is starting to get silly)
Esteban Cambiasso (probably for not worshiping Maradonna, so credit to him)
Wayne Bridge (had to mention it because of the John Terry-and-Bridges ex story)
Salvador Cabanas (shot in the head!!!)

That is a fairly extensive list of big names and it goes on. Question is, does this mean anything or am I just seeing ghosts. In any case I will be snickering to myself at the fate of the England captain while on the inside praying that the three injuries sustained by the German team doesn't completely bone them for South Africa. Schadenfreude cuts both ways I guess.