Day -221 WorldCup2018
TFC! TFC! TFC! Here we go. The road to redemption has begun. Round 1 of the playoffs is done and just about dusted. Next up is Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference final, which is the overall semifinal, the last round before TFC can play to erase the memory of last year's very painful defeat. That happens in a couple of weeks after the international break for the last round of World Cup qualifiers.
Today was not just about TFC but also about me being there, to witness, to enjoy, to be part of it. And, a first, my girls came with me. The education has begun. They loved it, they survived a half of standing in consistent rain and still want to go again. TV is good, but nothing beats, nothing is a better test of emotional attachment, than being at the stadium, getting soaked, and getting a feel for the crowd and what's going on on the pitch.
It was tense. It was feisty. The referee was repeatedly the target of the home fans' anger. And that was before New York scored a fluke of a goal to go 1-0 up and threatened to overturn TFC's first leg 2-1 win. TFC had the ball in the net twice but the referee didn't like any of them.
Warning: this is the part that I will get called a Euro snob for. But here I go anyway. I've seen a lot of this before but it still amuses me. Kick-off was of course not at the advertised 3pm. Because it was raining and our seats were wet we stood as did most people. However a few people behind us didn't seem to care that we were standing right in front of them, fully obstructing their view. But then I noticed, as people stood at the beer garden bar or walked around or stood nowhere near the stands, just how many people were there to be part of something but didn't really care to watch the football.
But the best of all today were the fans watching the match on the big screen. Our seats were behind and above the beer garden (yes, there's one thing a Euro snob admires) and right under the scoreboard/big screen. The fans in the beer garden stand right behind the pitch, but because they were standing 4 or 5 rows deep many of them couldn't see. So in effect they paid for a no-seat ticket to watch the match on TV.
Nick Hornby, in his fantastic book, Fever Pitch,wrote of the joy of watching a football match at night, in the rain and with a fight amongst the players thrown in. I remembered this today. The lights were on, it rained and there was good amount of argy bargy. Unbeknownst to me it continued down the tunnel at half time and both teams came out for the second half a man short.
The rain and everything made it a wonderful evening. The "win" was not as sweet as it should have been. As the girls said, "we lost but we won". But the best part of it was being there. Everybody has their happy place.....
Back to Nick Hornby, there's something else from Fever Pitch which I read and thought, "Oh yes. I get that." It's easy when somebody else puts into words what many of us crazy football fans are thinking.
"So please, be tolerant of those who describe a sporting moment as their best ever. We do not lack imagination, nor have we had sad and barren lives; it is just that real life is paler, duller, and contains less potential for unexpected delirium."
TFC! TFC! TFC! Here we go. The road to redemption has begun. Round 1 of the playoffs is done and just about dusted. Next up is Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference final, which is the overall semifinal, the last round before TFC can play to erase the memory of last year's very painful defeat. That happens in a couple of weeks after the international break for the last round of World Cup qualifiers.
Today was not just about TFC but also about me being there, to witness, to enjoy, to be part of it. And, a first, my girls came with me. The education has begun. They loved it, they survived a half of standing in consistent rain and still want to go again. TV is good, but nothing beats, nothing is a better test of emotional attachment, than being at the stadium, getting soaked, and getting a feel for the crowd and what's going on on the pitch.
It was tense. It was feisty. The referee was repeatedly the target of the home fans' anger. And that was before New York scored a fluke of a goal to go 1-0 up and threatened to overturn TFC's first leg 2-1 win. TFC had the ball in the net twice but the referee didn't like any of them.
Warning: this is the part that I will get called a Euro snob for. But here I go anyway. I've seen a lot of this before but it still amuses me. Kick-off was of course not at the advertised 3pm. Because it was raining and our seats were wet we stood as did most people. However a few people behind us didn't seem to care that we were standing right in front of them, fully obstructing their view. But then I noticed, as people stood at the beer garden bar or walked around or stood nowhere near the stands, just how many people were there to be part of something but didn't really care to watch the football.
But the best of all today were the fans watching the match on the big screen. Our seats were behind and above the beer garden (yes, there's one thing a Euro snob admires) and right under the scoreboard/big screen. The fans in the beer garden stand right behind the pitch, but because they were standing 4 or 5 rows deep many of them couldn't see. So in effect they paid for a no-seat ticket to watch the match on TV.
Nick Hornby, in his fantastic book, Fever Pitch,wrote of the joy of watching a football match at night, in the rain and with a fight amongst the players thrown in. I remembered this today. The lights were on, it rained and there was good amount of argy bargy. Unbeknownst to me it continued down the tunnel at half time and both teams came out for the second half a man short.
The rain and everything made it a wonderful evening. The "win" was not as sweet as it should have been. As the girls said, "we lost but we won". But the best part of it was being there. Everybody has their happy place.....
Back to Nick Hornby, there's something else from Fever Pitch which I read and thought, "Oh yes. I get that." It's easy when somebody else puts into words what many of us crazy football fans are thinking.
"So please, be tolerant of those who describe a sporting moment as their best ever. We do not lack imagination, nor have we had sad and barren lives; it is just that real life is paler, duller, and contains less potential for unexpected delirium."
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