GANEIDA'S KNOT.

Go mbeannai Dia duit.

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Quaker by conviction, mother by default, Celticst through love, Christ follower because I once was lost but now am found...

Saturday, June 5, 2010

The Brazilians in '82 were definitely the best team never to have won the World Cup. ~ Alan Hansen. Did you get yours? Yes, I'm still sick & miserable but as sitting at the computer is something I can do for short periods that is what I am doing & I want to know; Did you get yours?


The Sunday Mail is giving away Aussie scarves because, people, the World Cup is only days away now! Yes siree, a month of madness & sleepless nights & my Dearest declaring that it's no wonder there's so much soccer thuggery when it takes so much to score even one goal. Frustration levels obviously go through the roof.


Dearest is a League man & sad to say certain other members of this household create the great divide when the State of Thuggery [oops, State of Origin] happens each year, because Dearest is a N.S.W man & all his children are Queenslanders. It makes the Battle of the Roaches & the Cane Toads something I have absolutely no desire to participate in but soccer! Ah now, soccer is another matter entirely.


I must point out that my addiction to the Beautiful Game is an acquired taste. God, in His infinite wisdom, gave me sporty children. He also gave me unco~ordinated runts. No way could I let my small & beautiful children thrash it out in League, or Rugby or AFL ~ though I do believe Theo forged my signature so he could play Union in grade 10. They put him out on the wing where his speed & nippiness was of some use until the big boys just ran straight over the top of him.


That being so soccer was the game of choice ~ & three out of five of mine were very, very good at it. Two were regional reps & the one who wasn't wasn't from choice. Hours I spent watching the kids hone their skills & face off a variety of oppositions but we live on a very little island & back in the day girls didn't play soccer. I fought for Liddy to join the school team. I fought long & hard. Basically I refused to accept the word "No" & the whole QLD Ed., law got changed just for Liddy. The things I am likely to be remembered for!!!


Anyhoo...The kids & I cuddled up together to watch the World Cup teams go down to the wire through our long bleak winter nights armed with hot chocolate, chips & dark bitter chocolate. It has become a family tradition. Even die~hard Dearest takes an interest when Australia steps up to the mark. It happens every 4 years. A bit like the Olympics, only more exciting.


This is serious idolatry on some people's part but my children have educated me well & I can argue off~sides, penalties & questionable tackles with the best of them. Rubbishing the Ref is a legitimate pastime. We have the Refs we like too, the ones who are impartial & fair & play the ball so the game plays fast & zippy without all the stop, start some Refs cause. And we have the teams [besides Australia] we like to watch. Anyone who has watched France or Italy play football understands how it got nick~named the Beautiful Game. We don't like Germany who play stodgy & stolid football. There is no point at all in winning & playing such ugly football. These are arguments never to be heard of other codes.


Dearest finds this four yearly madness a little incomprehensible but he is prepared to join the rest of us & rehash the Italian dive that put us out of the Cup last time & weigh the odds of us defeating Germany in the first round [not good I fear] & whether or not Harry Kewell is worth all the angst & makes that much difference to the team. This is a serious & time consuming business. It is also great fun. After all, we all know the spectators can do it so much better!

9 comments:

Linda said...

I grew up playing soccer, I'm not sure how I would go playing it now, ever since I started wearing modern runners with orthotics I feel clumsy. When I started school it was a one room affair, then we got some Italian and Spanish new kids and became a two room school with lots of soccer on our lawn between the road and our fence. Mum kept the grass nice and short and it was a nice rectangle.

Ganeida said...

Linda: I still play: mixed island teams. No~one's very good but it is good exercise & a fun time.

Gerry Snape said...

Well Ganeida,I of course am from Ireland...say no more....not going to win ever, ever ,ever so I back Alan's team, with the very fit Wayne Rooney and the exceedingly tall Peter somebody [no really I do watch them ] and we are sometimes in spain for it and boy does that make it more interesting!! My claim to fame is that in the year 1966 [all english men stand and take a bow ] I was working in south Germany on a building site at the time of the BIG one [for england ] and we had to watch our backs, as everyone knows that famous saying "Well it's all over now!" and the germans on site were saying, "we was robbed!!"

Ganeida said...

Gerry: Ooh. I like Rooney ~ except for that foul temper of his & we actually root for England unless they come up against us but how can you desert Keane & His leprachauns? ☺ I confess, we often watch the Premier League too. *sigh* Libby backs Spain [the kids have some Spanish blood] & I like the way the French & Italians *play* football if they actually play instead of displaying their theatrical skills for all & sundry. You, at least, get to watch most of the games at a civilized hour while we must crawl out of our warm beds in a cold dark night if we want to watch anything live ~ & of course we do. ☺

Finding Joy said...

No - am not a sporty person and being married to a Welshman, soccer is not the sport of choice in our house (not that we watch it on TV).

Do enjoy watching the Soccer, I am bound to hear about it from my male colleagues at work - however I old them not to bore me to tears every morning tea!!!

Libby said...

I hope you got that scarf for me! I'll be very dissapointed if I don't get one to take away with me to the Alpaca farm next time around.

Ganeida said...

Jo: I'm not much for sport & soccer is certainly the only footy I can be wrangled into watching~ armed, as I have said, with some serious chocolate. ☺

Liddy: who else would I have got that scarf for? Can you seriously see me gadding round in that?!

Mom said...

That sounds like so much fun! I must say that I have not been bitten by the soccer bug yet, but I feel it fast approaching. Thinking of starting Cupcake in it in the Springs, when she turns 3. We are more of a Rugby family. We have tickets to my first real game-- July 10--All Blacks v. South Africa. I am so excited! I hope they have hot chocolate at the stadium.

Ganeida said...

Oooh Bonnie: Even I would turn out to watch the All Blacks take on South Africa. Should be a ganme to remember. Enjoy!