Brighton and Hove Albion. That's what this first weekend of Premier League football has been for me so far. I came home to the second half of their match against Manchester City and it immediately felt special. Brighton in the Premier League. The crowd was loud and enjoying themselves in the sun. Brighton had a few chances early in the second half and the volume got louder. Even after City scored twice it was still possible for the dreamer to feel romantic about Brighton being in the Premier League. The last time Brighton were significant was when they took Man. United to an FA Cup replay in 1982 (83? 84?). It was the same season they were relegated into lower division obscurity. Now they're back, and you just have to feel happy for their fans. If Brighton can do it, any team can. Even Huddersfield, as Frank de Boer found out today.
So who's going to get fired first, De Boer or Antonio Conte? I think Conte will walk first, disappointed at the lack of transfer activity. His team was good enough to walk away with the league last year but the same players are now apparently not good enough. And he only got to spend about $200m on new players. "But Pep got to spend that much on a new defence."
Speaking of ridiculousness, has that fight happened yet between the street fighter and the other fighter, who we call a boxer? It's kind of gone off my radar.
Petrol and water. Fighters and Neymar. Everybody complains about the price of petrol which over here is now well over $1/litre. Yet nobody bats an eyelid at buying a half litre bottle of water for $2, or close to that, from the same petrol station where they just filled up their car with that incredibly priced petrol. (Not that I'm saying that it isn't ridiculously high, but we can turn on our taps and get water for free, kind of). And while we all scoff at the $300m paid for Neymar, have I read any criticism of the $100m-$200m each fighter will earn for their exhibition of dumb toughness. Football fans are lambasted for feeding the beast, the clubs and the TV companies that support the silly transfer fees. So what about the fans (fans of what exactly?) who are paying outrageously silly money to watch, live or on pay per view TV, two guys beat each other up?
It's not just football that's gone crazy. Mind you, the Neymar deal has little to do with TV and tickets. It's all because the Qatari government wants to put itself on the football map. And now because of them Philippe Coutinho is worth over $100m and some guy who just made a name for himself with Red Bull Leipzig is also going to be (supposedly) worth that much. And it will go on and on. Think about it: the Qatari government have created a very false economy.
But that shouldn't distract from the fact that I think that fight is a dumb sporting event.
However it may help me not think about Aston Villa's 3-0 loss today. Indeed.
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