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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Who cares about soccer???

OK, so I have now alienated a huge percentage of the world’s population who are no doubt glued to their respective television screens, anticipating the next winner of the World Cup. To me soccer is a boring game. It’s a bit like watching a race to the bottom between two raindrops on a window. In the end it takes far too long and you wonder if it was worth it.


I know the World Cup is exciting to most people and I enjoyed the small bit of the opening ceremony I watched. The enthusiasm of the South African people is definitely contagious and it’s a joy to see them dancing on the streets. Although I would love to visit Africa, I’m kind of happy that I’m not there at the moment. The sound of those horns 24/7 would drive me nuts!

My boys like watching the World Cup. My youngest even got up at 4.30am to watch Australia get annihilated by Germany. But when I’m in control of the remote the television is turned to a different channel.

I am, however, a huge fan of Australian Rules Football. I watch it on TV, I listen to commentary on the radio, I watch my boys play it, I read about it in the newspapers and on the internet, I am an addict! Thank goodness there are only four months of the year without games being played. With each elite season ending in September, by the end of January I am suffering massive withdrawal symptoms.

I am just as addicted to the sport at a local level as I am to the AFL (Australian Football League) the elite level of the game. All three of my boys play in different leagues for different clubs and to try to cover all their games is mostly impossible, at best requiring advanced scheduling skills. My youngest son gets the majority of my attention, which is only natural as I have to drive him to his games. Once his game is finished I try to make a mad dash to my middle son’s game. If the youngest doesn’t play, for whatever reason, I make the trek out to the country to watch my eldest son.

I take my youngest son’s stats for him when he plays. I write down how many marks, kicks, handballs and tackles he gets each quarter. He then transcribes them to an excel spreadsheet where he can analyse them. I just bought a video camera and will start taping his games. After each of his games we discuss how he played or, at times, we don’t as silence is sometimes the better option.

If you have never seen a game of Australian Rules Football, please check out this site: http://www.afl.com.au/
Clicking on the link to “videos” will get you to replays of matches. Maybe you too will become an addict!

7 comments:

  1. I never experienced the world cup (or even heard of it) until I lived in Germany. Germans are BIG into soccoer.

    Is the AFL similiar to the NFL? I am clueless when it comes to sports. The hubby watched racing on television and the occasion golf game, but that is it.

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  2. It's so cool you are involved in watching your boys play! I get to see mine watch You Tube all day but it's not very exciting.

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  3. Martha - I think practically the whole world, except me, is big into soccer! No, AFL isn't like the NFL, there are gridiron teams in Australia too. AFL is a bit like Gaelic football in Ireland, but different ball.

    Betty - I love watching my boys play sport. Thank goodness they never chose boring sports like cricket!

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  4. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
    I don't care about soccer either. I've never really heard much about the world cup until this year. Crazy.

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  5. I didn't realize you were writing from Australia. Cool.

    I have had fun watching the World Cup, but I can't get all of the games in because the time commitment is more than I can give.

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  6. Thanks for stopping by my blog! As for soccer - I can get on a bandwagon like the rest of America so I'm liking it right now...but once we're out, I will lose steam...and you're right - it takes WAY too long!!

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  7. Secrets - it all is a bit crazy, I agree!

    Kazzy - yes I'm downunder! I do know people who are watching 24/7 - madness!

    Lo - and thank you for stopping by!

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