Day 2 WorldCup2018
There was a Day 1 but it was gobbled up by the internet gremlins in my phone. I saw it as sign that I shouldn't carry on. But then I saw Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince conversing, sort of, and I remembered how much fun I had during Brazil '14. It was a long, eventful day yesterday and I couldn't write it again but know that the thoughts were there.
The only bit I'll repeat from yesterday is the comedy of the interaction between Putin and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with Gianni Infantino stuck in between the two of them. After Russia scored their third goal, we got a shot of the Crown Prince turning to Putin with a look of , "really? another goal? 2-0 wasn't enough for you ego?" And Putin shrugged back a response of, "I don't know. 3-0. Is that good? I know nothing about football." To which bin Salman shrugged back, "another one and I might have to do what the Kuwaiti guy did in 1982 and take my players off the pitch." To which Infantino shrugged, "you're joking, right? Not at my World Cup. Although I wouldn't mind you pissing Vladimir off a little bit." A few more shrugs of negotiation back and forth and Putin finished it with, "look Prince buddy, you don't try anything funny over here in my country." Back to watching the match. Not a word was spoken. Who needs a interpreter, anyway?
On to today. It's very hard being a World Cup reporter when you don't get to watch much because you have a real job. My day, if I may share, started with me getting to work an hour early to watch the first half of Egypt-Uruguay. However, I either had wrong information of can't read the difference between 7am and 8am and ended up watching Steven Caldwell doing his pre-match analysis for an hour. I did not see a ball kicked in anger, or joy, or any shots of Mo Salah cutting his birthday cake while be sat on the bench. Uruguay scored the only goal in the last minute. Must have been exciting.
I watched the first half of Morocco-Iran and could barely keep up with the speed of the Moroccans. "They'll probably mess this up," I thought as they pinned the Iranians in their half. Sure enough, an own goal in the 95th minute was the only goal and it went to Iran.
Another complete mess-up affected my viewing of Spain-Portugal. Where did I see 3pm? I had changed my appointment so I could at least watch the second half. But, no, it started at 2pm. So I saw the first 20 minutes and the last 15. 1-0 when I left it, 2-3 when I came back. And then Ronaldo, version CR7, laid down the gauntlet for Messi with a stunning equalizer: "see if you can rescue your team like I do all the time."
That was the football, or my story around the football. But there's other stuff.
Does anybody else think it sounds like the Russian FA and organizing committee have filled the stadiums with schoolchildren, the screaming ones?
They obviously didn't get enough children out of school in Ekaterinburg. The stadium with the most photographed temporary stands at either end had over 5,000 empty seats for the Uruguay-Egypt match. Fifa are confused because they say only 700 tickets were unsold. I am confused because there is a lot of chatter about how the tickets were too expensive and it's very far from Moscow. But the tickets were sold anyway. So did around 4,500 people buy tickets and then decide they shouldn't have spent that money or did they not look at a map when they bought the match tickets and a hotel room in Moscow. Or are there are a lot of second hand ticket sellers out there who were left with a lot of tickets on their hands?
The final thought for today is how wonderful the World Cup is for bringing people together. Two examples warmed my heart. Kristine Mifsud heard the Iranian electricians next door working on the storm damage celebrating wildly when Iran scored, which they heard on their radio. So she went out and invited them into watch the replay on out TV. They were so ecstatic, and probably so proud.
As I watched Spain-Portugal on my computer, I heard that one of the young landscapers working outside is of Portuguese descent. I told him to take a break when the boss wasn't watching and to come into my office and watch. After he did for a few minutes he came back a little later with his colleague and their boss. And we all watched for a few minutes, me and three guys I barely know, two of whom never watch football but are interested in knowing what's going on because it's the World Cup. The boss did suggest bringing in his cooler full of beers, closing the door and calling it a day. I never did see the beer. Must remind him that I will gladly take him up on the offer next time.
Tomorrow is the eagerly awaited Argentina-Iceland match. I've looked forward to it for how long? So what am I doing? Working. My conscience really is an annoying emotion.
There was a Day 1 but it was gobbled up by the internet gremlins in my phone. I saw it as sign that I shouldn't carry on. But then I saw Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince conversing, sort of, and I remembered how much fun I had during Brazil '14. It was a long, eventful day yesterday and I couldn't write it again but know that the thoughts were there.
The only bit I'll repeat from yesterday is the comedy of the interaction between Putin and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with Gianni Infantino stuck in between the two of them. After Russia scored their third goal, we got a shot of the Crown Prince turning to Putin with a look of , "really? another goal? 2-0 wasn't enough for you ego?" And Putin shrugged back a response of, "I don't know. 3-0. Is that good? I know nothing about football." To which bin Salman shrugged back, "another one and I might have to do what the Kuwaiti guy did in 1982 and take my players off the pitch." To which Infantino shrugged, "you're joking, right? Not at my World Cup. Although I wouldn't mind you pissing Vladimir off a little bit." A few more shrugs of negotiation back and forth and Putin finished it with, "look Prince buddy, you don't try anything funny over here in my country." Back to watching the match. Not a word was spoken. Who needs a interpreter, anyway?
On to today. It's very hard being a World Cup reporter when you don't get to watch much because you have a real job. My day, if I may share, started with me getting to work an hour early to watch the first half of Egypt-Uruguay. However, I either had wrong information of can't read the difference between 7am and 8am and ended up watching Steven Caldwell doing his pre-match analysis for an hour. I did not see a ball kicked in anger, or joy, or any shots of Mo Salah cutting his birthday cake while be sat on the bench. Uruguay scored the only goal in the last minute. Must have been exciting.
I watched the first half of Morocco-Iran and could barely keep up with the speed of the Moroccans. "They'll probably mess this up," I thought as they pinned the Iranians in their half. Sure enough, an own goal in the 95th minute was the only goal and it went to Iran.
Another complete mess-up affected my viewing of Spain-Portugal. Where did I see 3pm? I had changed my appointment so I could at least watch the second half. But, no, it started at 2pm. So I saw the first 20 minutes and the last 15. 1-0 when I left it, 2-3 when I came back. And then Ronaldo, version CR7, laid down the gauntlet for Messi with a stunning equalizer: "see if you can rescue your team like I do all the time."
That was the football, or my story around the football. But there's other stuff.
Does anybody else think it sounds like the Russian FA and organizing committee have filled the stadiums with schoolchildren, the screaming ones?
They obviously didn't get enough children out of school in Ekaterinburg. The stadium with the most photographed temporary stands at either end had over 5,000 empty seats for the Uruguay-Egypt match. Fifa are confused because they say only 700 tickets were unsold. I am confused because there is a lot of chatter about how the tickets were too expensive and it's very far from Moscow. But the tickets were sold anyway. So did around 4,500 people buy tickets and then decide they shouldn't have spent that money or did they not look at a map when they bought the match tickets and a hotel room in Moscow. Or are there are a lot of second hand ticket sellers out there who were left with a lot of tickets on their hands?
The final thought for today is how wonderful the World Cup is for bringing people together. Two examples warmed my heart. Kristine Mifsud heard the Iranian electricians next door working on the storm damage celebrating wildly when Iran scored, which they heard on their radio. So she went out and invited them into watch the replay on out TV. They were so ecstatic, and probably so proud.
As I watched Spain-Portugal on my computer, I heard that one of the young landscapers working outside is of Portuguese descent. I told him to take a break when the boss wasn't watching and to come into my office and watch. After he did for a few minutes he came back a little later with his colleague and their boss. And we all watched for a few minutes, me and three guys I barely know, two of whom never watch football but are interested in knowing what's going on because it's the World Cup. The boss did suggest bringing in his cooler full of beers, closing the door and calling it a day. I never did see the beer. Must remind him that I will gladly take him up on the offer next time.
Tomorrow is the eagerly awaited Argentina-Iceland match. I've looked forward to it for how long? So what am I doing? Working. My conscience really is an annoying emotion.
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