2007-07-19, 10:12 PM — the rotten soccer egg came before the chicken
Bah. To add to my sports geekery, I just need to say something about the Argentina-Chile match in Toronto today. I went in feeling that I wanted Argentina to kick Chile's ass, given the kind of diving and rolling Chile did on the pitch when playing Canada earlier in the tournament. The Canadian players refused to dive, which lead to Chile getting the vast majority of fouls called in their favour. And I don't care what anyone says about who is the better team; you start calling stupid fouls against any team with any regularity, and they're going to lose their momentum.
Tonight was worse, far worse, and not only did I feel sorry for Chile, but I felt sorry for Argentina. I honestly can't see how they can feel that it's a victory for them in any true sense of the word. It was a dirty game, and what was dirty about it was the officiating.
It has suddenly become clear to me why soccer is so full of diving and rolling. It's because it's rewarded by the referees. The problem of soccer isn't the players being dramatic and false, it's the fact that they're rewarded for being dramatic and false. I can't blame the players because they're only doing what has been proven to work. Maybe that's already been obvious to everyone else. It occurred to me tonight that I haven't seen a FIFA U20 game yet that I thought was officiated with any attempt to make it honest.
Soccer officials are lazy. They don't bother to use their eyes, they just check to see who is lying flat. And most of the time it's bullshit. Don't get me wrong. I've tried refereeing pick-up games between kids. I've coached before. I know it isn't easy being a referee -- you can't possibly see everything. Some people are better at it than others, but you would hope that you wouldn't get the laziest bastards as referees at top levels.
And there you go, Canada -- that's why we won't love soccer universally, although it truly is, at its heart, a wonderful game. But you get to any important level and it all goes out the window. The playacting is bad enough, but the officiating is really damn lazy and it makes for a dishonest game, leaving a bad taste in the mouth and the feeling that no one comes out the winner. And what makes it worse for me, as a person who loves soccer and loves the game, is that I seriously doubt that many Canadians watching this World Cup feel all that much differently than I. The concepts of honesty and fair play are something we Canadians hold at the heart of our identity, and they are something that international soccer has shown us it lacks. If soccer is really going to become anything but a minor-league summer passtime in this country, the international soccer community has some cleaning up to do.
2007-07-07, 05:38 PM — gin, you are my friend
I need to point to dimfuture because it has been one of my favourite daily reads for a while. Dan, Reverend Matt and, more recently, Craig manage to keep me entertained and enlightened with alarming regularity. I really learn a lot from the three of them. This was one of those Nanowrimo things, where I read an excerpt and decided I needed to visit the associated website, and got hooked.
Otherwise, I can't say things have been quiet because daycamp has started for the summer. Holy hell, I cannot remember being so tired. I also worked today, which was probably ill-advised, but I managed to get out of working tomorrow. Today's program was one of those where I really felt like I could have done a much better job if I hadn't just wrangled 35 kids for four days previous. I was too tired to engage in confrontation with dog people who interrupted the program today by letting their dogs swim where we were netting. I freaking hate dog people. I like the dogs; it's not their fault. Makes me reconsider wanting a dog. Because then I might be one of Them.
Anyhow, I feel a lot more confident about the way things are going this year with camp, and a lot better about my ability to deal with unexpected situations and difficult discipline problems. One of my coworkers, who I respect incredibly and who I did not expect this from, praised my crowd-control technique to my boss, and that makes me feel really good. I just feel like I can handle this stuff now, and that's nice. I think there will always be things I wish I did differently. I had three different children cry on me this week, but I didn't make it happen. Hooray! I think that's an improvement.
Also, I managed to weather a wasp sting during a teaching moment, but two days later that toe is still swollen and red and really damn itchy. I've never had that kind of reaction to a sting before. I'd better not be allergic. That would suck.
Final thought: Gin and tonic is the delicious antidote to everything.
Thank you and good night.
2007-06-24, 07:59 AM — week at a glance
Possibly the best thing that has happened to me internet-wise lately is this. scott c is totally my hero.
In other news. I banged my thumb yesterday and it hurts. Also, I was bit by a snake last week, in a turn that I am bragging about (it's my first time). And I donated blood after years of wanting to do it. There were free cookies and juice for my blood-squeezing-out efforts, and a big comfy chair to sit in.
Also, picked strawberries, and harvested the first shallots from the garden. Tomatoes are starting to grow tiny tomatoes, and the peppers are starting to grow tiny peppers. Which reminds me, I should probably water them before heading off to work.