Let Battle Commence

It may not seem like it, but it was 6 months ago that I posted an entry on this blog looking forward to the sporting summer ahead. Well, now obviously that summer has been and gone and we have seen some tremendous performances over the months. It has been a very good year for the Spanish, with the football team finally realizing their potential and winning the World Cup after many years of thwarted dreams – and, of course, Rafa Nadal completing his collection of Grand Slam tennis titles at Flushing Meadows earlier this month.

There is, however, still one huge sporting event of the season still to take place, and that will be happening this coming weekend. I am referring, of course, to the Ryder Cup which will begin early on Friday morning and reach its climax on Sunday evening. This year the golfing battle is being hosted at Celtic Manor in South Wales. That is not too far distant from us and both Dori and I would have loved to attend the event and cheer on our respective teams. Sadly the cost of the tickets is exorbitant and we just could not justify the expense at this time. So, instead, I will be heading over to my Mum’s house to watch part of it there, as she has the sports package on her TV. Attending the Ryder Cup one year is, however, definitely on my bucket list! 

Ever since the Great Britain and Ireland team was expanded to include the rest of Europe in 1979, this contest has never failed to provide drama and exciting competition. Having won 5 out of the previous 6 matches the European team suffered a heavy defeat last time out, losing by 5 points at Valhalla in Kentucky two years ago. So, this year they will be out to avenge that defeat in what looks like being some fairly wet and windy weather.

As always on these occasions, Trevor’s loyalties will be divided and he will no doubt be cheering for the American team when Dori is in the room, and the Europeans when I am there – or, failing that, maybe he will just be rooting for whoever may be leading at the time. He is a bit of a glory hunter after all   :-) Whoever wins, expect a lot of ups and downs and some very heated competition. May the best team win!

The Greatest Show on Earth

So, the fun has now begun in South Africa. The 2010 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Friday with the hosts playing out a 1-1 draw with Mexico. 32 nations will be competing to be crowned World Champions on July 11th in Johannesburg.

The first round of the competition is played in 8 groups of 4 teams, with each team playing the others in their group once. The top two teams of each group will then progress to the knock-out stages of the tournament, which is when the excitement really kicks in!

England began their campaign on Saturday when they played against the USA. This could have meant for a very interesting evening in the Yellow House if Dori hadn’t been on the other side of the pond right now! :-) But, as she wasn’t here, I convinced Trevor to join me in cheering on the England team. After a very competitive match (and one goalkeeping howler) the match ended at 1-1, with honours even. Having subsequently seen the other two teams in the same group I would imagine that both England and the US team should have little trouble in qualifying for the 2nd round.

No team has shone out yet, though there are still 10 more teams yet to play as I write these notes. Tomorrow will see the first game for Brazil, who are the perennial favourites when the World Cup rolls around, and then Wednesday will mark the first game for Spain who are a lot of people’s tips to win it this time. Spain are currently the European Champions, and will certainly be a very big obstacle for the other teams to negotiate.

But, the beauty of sport is that nobody really knows what will happen. There will be favourites and underdogs, but there will also be upsets and surprises and a few broken hearts along the way. As an England fan I am well aware of how crushing an exit in the latter stages of the competition can be, and how hopes can turn into despair in a matter of seconds. But that, of course, is exactly why so many people love the game.

Now gotta go – I’ve got the Japan v Cameroon game to watch!

It's Been A While

You may have noticed that I haven’t been around for a while; in fact it is three weeks since my last post here. Firstly, of course, there was our trip over to the States for Thanksgiving, which was wonderful, and since our return back to these shores we have had to contend with jetlag, a broken washing machine, illness and an internet-phobic laptop! Life has been upside down for the last two weeks, and still isn’t yet fully righted.

Anyway, all of this means that there is some catching up to do. Dori is posting a full documentation of our Thanksgiving trip over at her blog, but here are my own brief thoughts. We were in Georgia for 9 days and that time simply flew by. We had a great time while we were there and we were able to catch-up with both friends and family. We did regular stuff like visiting the mall and going to the movies, and we also ate some extremely tasty meals – both restaurant produced and home-cooked. The weather was great, for the most part, and we enjoyed a couple of walks along the local nature trail. As Dori said a number of times, it was just like our own spa retreat! :-)

As I said earlier, the time flew by and we were barely able to believe it when the time rolled around for us to fly back to the UK. It was like we had only been there for a couple of days or something. Naturally, when we arrived back at Heathrow the weather was exactly how we had left it – cold and extremely wet. But we were happy in the knowledge that the trip “back home” had been so enjoyable. We had a fantastic time and really enjoyed kicking back for a short while.

My laptop died, or at least refused to do anything internet related, just before we flew out to the States. It is now three years old, which seems to be about the most you can hope for as the useful lifetime of a modern computer. So, we had to take the plunge and order a new laptop, which finally arrived three days ago. It is a shiny black Compaq complete with Windows 7 and all. Right now I am enjoying the novel feeling of things actually working in a timely manner and not freezing up every few minutes or so. Long may that continue!

So, what else has happened during my hiatus? Oh yes, the World Cup Draw. The general view is that the draw was very favourable to England, as far as their group is concerned, although I can see some tricky obstacles further along the path should they progress. But as Fabio Capello said himself, you have to beat the best teams if you are seriously considering yourself to be in with a shout of becoming World Champions. One interesting aspect of the draw is that England find themselves in the same group as the United States. That will make for a very fascinating match-day in the Yellow House come June!! :-) Trevor is already having panic attacks about which team he should support!

Well, I think I’ve covered more than enough ground for one post – and I haven’t even got around to talking about Christmas yet! That will have to wait for another day. Have a good weekend everybody.