it’s the eve of euro 2008, and oh boy am i excited. this afternoon i convinced myself that i have (1) the time and (2) the money to subscribe to all the canadian sports channels in order to get my fill for the next month. while i am sure i can afford an extra $2/week for the next month to satisfy point two, the issue of time is yet to be determined. perhaps i’ll have to be more productive and more efficient in the ways that I waste my time through june.
many people have asked me who it is i’ll be cheering for. i’m kinda proud to say that I haven’t really got a team for the national tournaments. in spite of mediterranean or anglo name (I’ll let you decide), i don’t feel any lingering cultural attachment to any one nation, and it’s perhaps better that way, since i can really go in and enjoy one great goal after another and cheer on the game as opposed to a side. as tournaments progress, though, i do end up taking on favourites - the last euro was Portugal, given the fact that it was handsome Luis Figo’s last tournament. Also, they’ve had Maniche playing on their side and Maniche is incredibly fun to listen to and pronounce. try it: “ma-neesh.” But i digress. Generally, if i must fly a flag at these things, it generally is the tricolour of the french republic. i fricking love the french. face it, the french are arrogant arses, and i love them all the more for it. it is my goal in life to always be arrogant, so i tend to look up to the french. and besides, there is perhaps no better flag to look at when flying in the wind that the tricolore. that thing rocks. I gotta admit that andrew lloyd webber might play a part in all of our fascinations with the french flag, but goddamn is it ever so petulent, pompous, arrogant, self-righteous, and downright sexy. It screams rebellion and revolution, but it also demands smokes and vin at the same time. where’s my beret? - i’ll stand with les bleues any day.
if that is too sarcastic for you, then perhaps i can suggest the work of michel platini in the 1980s as any reason to love the french. before zizou went bald, platini was kickin’ it with a crazy mop of hair that only a frenchman can pull off. and he did it with style. while i’m still ready to have zizou’s babies should ever the need arise, i hope (j’espere) that platini would make a good godfather.
(here’s a small clip of a great free kick by platini at a 1981 world cup qualifier. it’s worth viewing even if you don’t care for football, if only to listen to the french broadcasters yell “oui, michel! oui michel!”)
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8pe0GgDM0A&]
Related posts:
- 15. destruction it’s the 83rd minute in the game between the netherlands...
- Le Republique Sarkozy Thoughts on France. And so the French, in a spectucular...
- 10. oy! TFC and cunningham destroy Galaxy 2-0 10. oy! TFC and cunningham destroy Galaxy 2-0 so i...