Day -262 WorldCup2018
The Saudi Arabian football federation have the website with the coolest ring to it: thesaff.com.
It's even cooler when you think it's Saudi Arabia. What's not on is
that I can't go and read their latest news and how they are preparing
for Russia. Unlike Iran, and many other non-English speaking countries,
they don't have an English version website. But then again, they are
Saudi Arabia. If they don't want any non-Arabic speaker reading their
website, one cannot argue. And should I
have complemented Iran in the same paragraph in which I may have been
perceived to be criticizing Saudi Arabia? Ah, it's football. Simple.
So what's going on in Saudi Arabian football now that they have
qualified for Russia? I don't know. My Algerian ancestry didn't have any
effect on me. And they were French speaking anyway. Instant memories of
Saudi Arabia at the World Cup are the 8-0 hammering by Germany in 2002,
and the incredible (only) goal against Belgium in 1994. They were
either spectacular or abysmal.
For the record (my record of
looking back at what happened over the 1000 days) today it was 32
degrees in Toronto and felt like a lot more with the humidity. It was
middle-of-the-summer-in-Malta hot. It was a deserted city kind of day,
except for by the lake shore with crowds of people sitting under the
shade of trees, hoping for the nonexistent cool breeze to blow. And the
highways were clogged with car loads of hot beach seekers. Its the 24th
of September. It was the same yesterday and is going to last for
another four days. So well after next year's World Cup when the football
arguments stop and summer abruptly turns to winter in September and I
am listening to somebody go on about how it's normal, I can pull this up
and say, no, it was scorching last year.
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