As noted in the comments section of the previous post, I am unable to watch the game today. At 2 PM, I have doctor’s appointment at Cornell Medical Center to find out if I’m a healthy women or not. I won’t be out of there until after 3 and then I have to head back to work. So, the question is, who wants to give me a play-by-play update of the game?
Since the beginning of World Cup this year, I realized how much I missed playing soccer. About two weeks ago, I began emailing people and making phone calls to find out if a team – any team – wanted me as a player. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find an (open) adult soccer league in this city! Either all the slots are filled or they are way too advanced for me. I spoke with one woman who asked me what college I played for. (Uhhhhhh, none? College of none.) I spoke to another who said they would keep me in mind for next year. I wrote to one guy about playing indoor soccer. Below is his response:
“Michael,
all of our divisions are full/closed. i will hold your e mail should there be any movement and a team is looking for a player. with your lack of experiance, you may also wand to try www.nycoedsoccer.com.“
(Dude, for starters, my name ain’t Michael.)
I’m not having much luck. However, yesterday, I received an email from a woman from the New York Athletic Club who asked a few of us interested, orphaned soccer wannabes to attend a practice next week and get a feel for the team. I think they might still be too advanced for me but perhaps if I make an appearance someone there can point me in a direction that doesn’t meet a dead-end. I could use the exercise. (Because if this doesn’t work, I’m considering training for the marathon and my ankles are crossing their hairs I find an interested team.)
It’s raining here in the City. It’s muggy and people are landing grumpy after a four-day weekend. I am one of those people. There is a lot going on in my head as of late, which I am not ready to talk about because I, too, am unsure about how to begin.
Now, about that soccer game… anyone? Email me if you wanna text me the scores/plays. Or you feel free to fill the comments section up with any talk. I love the football talk and soon it’ll be all over. :[
Edited to Add: I received an email from a British friend today. (Won’t say his or her name) part of it read:
“Cheer for France. They play good football, Henry & Zidane are great to
watch. Plus we’re desperate for theh to humiliate the cheating bastards
Portugal for what they did on saturday. More to the point, Portugal aren’t
good enough + dont deserve it. A france-italy final would be great to
watch.”
Sounds good to me! GO FRANCE!
a) i hope the appointment goes well for you and you are healthy!
b) i’m sorry there’s so much going on in your head right now. hopefully it’s gonna come out soon because that usually makes one feel better.
c) unfortunately text-messaging from here to the US is kinda expensive and i’m not sure if i can watch the game myself today…
d) hugs
Wow. Imagine that. A text messaging conversation between Germany and the U.S. Now, that’s a devotion to football! :]
Thanks for the thought. That’s what counts. hehe
there’s a league in chelsea peirs…
http://www.chelseapiers.com/fhAdSocInfo.htm
i’ve been trying to get people to start a soccer game for 11:30pm @ mccarren park on a weeknight (tues or thurs).
the idea is playing soccer for an hour when you otherwise might be laying back and watching tv… then completely passing out from exhaustion when you get home for a perfect night of sleep.
interested? know anyone who might be?
I too am stuck at work and can’t watch the game. Perhaps someone could post the play-by-play to your comments so we can all enjoy?
Worst case, there is the “matchcast” option from the fifa site – it gives you the annoucers play-by-play. Slightly dry, but at least it’s current.
Good luck with finding a team! From experience….sometimes playing with a team you think might be too “advanced” is just the right thing. It forces you to work really hard at every game / practice to get up to the right level…as long as you’re having fun while you’re doing it!
Robyn, if they’ll take me and not laugh, I will do it! I’ll be that really lame player that people make fun of. The one they groan about if I’m debenched. ;]
Jonathan, tried them. They called me Michael and told me to try someplace else.
11:30? I’m in bed by then—I’m half an hour already in bed by then.
Oh, also, if ANYONE is out there and able to watch it, yes, please, please feel free to fill this up with a play-by-play. I would be MORE than happy to have that happen here. I can read it as it happens. It’s faster than the Web site. (Although, I’ll take that route if need be.)
you could go to sleep at 12:45 after an hour of soccer… so could the husband.
people stay out drinking ‘til 1:30, 2:30 on work nights. why not stay out playing soccer and getting healthy?
Sleep is healthy! :] If it were earlier, I’d totally do it. 9? 10? Totally.
Is there any sort of league where you work? When I lived in DC I played on a team sponsered by my company and we played against other companies kinda like the softball leagues and the now popular kickball leagues. Although the only reason I think they let play was because they had to have a certain number of women in order to play….It was fun but it made me realize how bad a player I really am.
Anyway, I hope you find a team. I would give you updates on the game but it isn’t on until 12 our time and I have to run out to pick up Isabel soon after the game starts anyway…
If it makes you feel any better though, the weather was down to 55 degrees last night when we were watching the fireworks. At least we didn’t have any fog though…. :o)
Moments after you wrote that, half the Portugese team took dives and complained to the ref.
France, however, did complain about the wetness of their field in the beginning. And who was it that complained about the loudness of the crickets? Oh my.
Mihow – form you own team! I tried to play on a co-ed team in Albuquerque and I sucked and ended up pooping out due to back problems. It was fun while it lasted. It is really hard to match skills – we had ex-college players and dorks like me on the team. It made for some uncomfortable moments especially with the ultra competetive players. I naively “just wanted to have fun.” That didn’t really mesh well with people who also wanted to win. Phhht!!!!
Nora – I think it was Ghana.
I agree with Robyn. You’ll quickly get sense of whether you will ever be good enough to run with a team when you start practicing. Of course they may be more “advanced,” but if they have good coaching and some patience, you might certainly be an asset.
When I started playing rugby at the age of 33, I never thought of myself as an starting player on our A-side. I just wanted to show up, practice, play some scrimmages, and help the team by simply participating because the game looked like fun. While I have never been a star, I am now a veteran A-side starter.
Ultimately, if you enjoy the game and the people you’re playing with, then you’ll get all the rewards that you hope for. Just remember, very few will judge you as harshly as you judge yourself.
definitely want france to win.
and to make portugal pay while doing it.
or it could end up the cheaters cup: italy v portugal.
my mom is from portugal. my dad is italian.
naturally, i’m rooting for france.
hahahaha
Yes, as we can see exhibited here, folks, ONLY BAD THINGS can come from a Portugal + Italy pairing!
oops. i knew as soon as i posted that, my good friend jon would have a problem….for the record, my mum is italian and my dad is english.
and look at what they(italy) did to us(england)in ‘94.
jon, you must be one handsome fella.
Thoroughly disappointed in yesterday’s Germany vs. Italy game. Germany was doing so well!!
I’m rooting for Portugal now… for no reason other than I’m not rooting for France.
Haven’t had any chance to watch the games (other than yesterday), so I really don’t have any backing for my decision. Don’t beat me for it, OK?
http://broadband.espn.go.com/ivp/splash
It’s streaming on my Dell laptop, but I have a meeting for the next hour!
UGH!!!!!!!!!!!
i don’t like the french national anthem, sorry…
they’re starting! go portugal!!! :)
OK. so far in the first 20 minutes both teams look strong and they have come out fighting. Portugal has made three attempts at a goal and France has attempted one.
I have to go pick up Isabel now so I won’t be able to update anymore! sorry! :o)
penalty shoot for france. OMG!
zidane is going to shoot
0:1
that penalty looked like a bad call to me, but i was watching on a 2” screen. oh well. go france!
I just got back from the doctor. I am healty and ready to go!
Well, at first glance I am.
So, I can’t wait to see this bad call! Although we didn’t tape it :[
What up. did it start up again? Are they playing really well? Is Portugal falling a lot?
hooray. now we can take your clean bill of health straight to great lakes and drink up instead of playing footie at night.
haha
Well, drinking might be out of the picture.
Man, I can’t get this stream to load. Our connection sucks. I guess I should be working anyway. Woe is me.
unfortunately the call seemed to be okay and fair. still don’t like the french. also, after that goal they totally seem to be resting their asses on that one. not a whole lot of efford for me to see anyway. did i mention that i don’t like the french?
Question: Why doesn’t anyone seem to like the French? Also, for the record, Kim is GERMAN NOT American. (Just to put to sleep that it’s only the Americans who hate the French.) What up?
So the call was legit? I heard not so much? DAMN! I’LL NEVER SEEN IT!
they just showed it again and the french probably flew a little more dramatic than he’d have had to but still he got a kick…
i only started really not liking (i wouldn’t say hating) the french after i had to take an air france flight with a connection in charles de gaulle to chicago. they are too important to translate their signs or make an efford in speaking english to you even if you obviously don’t speak french. even the flight-attendants. i’m sorry i don’t but i can’t know all the languages in the world, right? they just come across snobbish and like the whole world should be revolving around them…
but it looks like they made it. pffft. with a penalty shoot…
FRANCE!!!!!!
i’m only a tiny little happy for zidane because he’s gonna quit playing football after the WC and he smiled at the little boy he was running in the stadium with, so he seems to be nice :)
Figo is quitting, too. He had one strong shot, though.
after every single football-game i cannot get over the fact how they all trade jerseys and then actually put on the sweaty jersey of the other team’s guy… yuck. i guess that’s girly, isn’t it? oh well…
i’m going to bed now. at least i’m getting my germany-portugal game now…
oh is he really? see, i didn’t even know that. now i’m sad for figo…
I didn’t know that either. :/
i’m just watching the recap of the game and i totally missed in the beginning how france totally let portugal wait on the field for several minutes until they came out. see, snobs!
okay, NOW i’m going to bed. it’s after 11 pm here.
france vs portugal
snoobs vs slobs
snobs, not snoobs
I have news for you Michele. You’re beloved Hesslop will be playing for FC Dallas (an MLS team, btw). Now you can see him in the flesh when they play the Red Bulls.
And since the WC is basically over (if it weren’t for Zizzou and Henry, I’d so be rooting for a draw), shall we start club trash talking before the fever fades?
Go Arsenal! This year, we open the new stadium, and we’ll bring an FA Cup, League Title, and Euro Cup home! As long as Henry returns. Please return. Please??!
And if anyone follows mls – go Wiz!
Just watching the game now …. and let me thank the crowd for booing and whistling fake Ronaldo whenever he touched the ball.
Here’s to real men!
So, the question is: where might we sit on Sunday (figure out a French place in an Italian hood or a vice-versa) to watch shitola go down? We could hit Graham Avenue’s family Italian joint, but if they lose, I’d be worried for our well-being. We could hit Fada. I have no idea. Let’s do some research.
Also, awesome about Hesslop! I love that guy. Also, we need more players. Tobyjoe and I were thinking about starting a petition: “Buy Beckham Dot Com” Oh yes. You heard me. We’re the US of A. We can buy anyone.
Why would Beckham choose to play in what is essentially an amateur’s league? Does he need the money that bad? Has his wife’s breast implants and stupid, oversized, 70’s-style sunglasses broken the bank?
And hasn’t the MLS learned the lesson of the old NASL? Buying up European has-beens at exorbitant prices ain’t exactly fiscally responsible.
If you are going to watch American soccer, go support the A-League. Romario joined the Miami club in search of his career 1,000th goal. There are some northern teams (Rochester, NY, I think), so you have a chance to see a real superstar in action.
France didn’t look as good as they did against Brazil, but Zidane still looked magnificent. And Ribery is an absolute joy to watch – just a terrific bundle of energy and skill.
Italy v. France. Its going to be a great Final. I hope Italy wins, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the team that defeated Brazil in ‘98.
Forza Italia! Vive la France!
they did again just a few days ago. defeat brazil that is :) i’m still rooting for italy. they have better food, too.
Our amateurs’ league developed players that kicked your beloved Azzuri butt all over the field until the Mob-influenced referee took control.
For the record, Beckham has already stated he wants to play here… probably in a year or two. And why not? When you have piles of money, the US is the place to live in luxury. Plus the added benefit of no football media. Probably why even (real) Ronaldo considered it, too.
I bet Beckham’s plans to come to the US in a year or two coincides with the conclusion of his endorsement deal with adidas. He’s either saying this so that Nike will come after him, or to make Adidas sweeten his endorsement deal if he hops the pond.
As for living in luxury, I think Europe has plenty of places for the rich.
It certianly would help with football in America. That’s all I was saying. A gal can dream, right? Imagine if the local games were as exciting as the WC games. Wow. I would suddenly discover a new hobby. I’ve always wanted to feel excited about an upcoming televised sporting event. Sure, I have watched some College American Football, but it never feels quite as good as some of the latest WC games.
If we aren’t serious enough to breed our own world class football stars, let’s buy the bastards.
People in the US (to a greater degree than before, anyway) are interested in cycling because of Lance. While his story is great and all, I believe it’s the very FACT of a marketable athlete that has boosted awareness. Look what Tiger did for golf.
Having someone like Beckham in MLS would definitely bolster interest, though the degree and sincerity of the new interest would have to be evaluated after the fact.
As a reciprocal counter, if Italy wins, folks are going to see football as a sport as corrupt as MLB – even if they win fairly (yeah, right!)
fwiw… france beat brazil and portugal in sucession… thats beating their old rival’s colony and then the colonizers in a row.
i wonder how many other things like that happened in the world cup.
personally, starpower takes a distance second to decent competition. If beckham were here, I certainly wouldn’t complain. Its great to see a showman and I’m certain it would fill seats and probably garner a primetime 8pm slot on ESPN (not the deuce) as much as Roger Clemen’s A start in Lexington, KY did. However, what I really really really want to see is some great competition.
I think its the style of soccer/football that the US plays that I think is our biggest obstacle. Its much to reserved and centered around classic box passing, crosses, and set pieces. We lack the free spirits of Robben and Ribery, Ronaldinho and Zidane. When pure athletic ability is left to run amok, you get March Madness or the NHL playoffs. No tomorrow, leave it all on the court/ice/playing field. Its the reason why NCAA sports are almost always 10,000 times more fun to watch than pro sports. Its the reason why I can count on two hands the number of Division III field hockey games I would have PAID to see.
At the end of the day, I think we need more than Beckham.