Teardrops on My Qatar

For some reason, Qatar has always sounded like 'guitar' to me. I'm sure it's not just me. It's just no-one else is brave enough to admit to thinking such stupid thoughts.

So yeah. About that Qatar.

Ridiculous. I wouldn't have been that peeved if some other more worthy nation got it. USA or something. Even Japan or Korea.

Apart from revenue and more convenient broadcasting times, I fail to see how Qatar has any advantage over Australia whatsoever. This is assuming that they will actually be able to successfully host the World Cup at all.

Which brings me to my next point. All the other nations, or at least the ones that I'm aware of, have hosted major sporting events. They already have facilities. They also don't have scorching heat, or lack of people and space. For revenue and broadcasting times to have an iota of relevance, the World Cup actually needs to function as an event.

To be honest, this whole voting process stinks. Who are these people, and who are they to decide where it's going to go? The votes are made blatantly without the interests of football as a whole. Even Australia, a nation who commentators have said are unable to be as dirty as other nations, bought pearl necklaces and other such things for officials' partners.

You've got a guy like Beckenbauer who, while he is a great guy, I believe is not exactly qualified to vote on things like these. It's not just him, but he's the most prominent voting member, apart from Sepp "female football players should wear more revealing kits" Blatter.

The problem is the whole process is open to corruption. You've got essentially random voting delegates, who are clearly not voting for the best interests of football, and a nation with almost limitless amounts of money and no defining advantage over the other nations, winning the right to host a World Cup. A little bit suspect, if you ask me.

Also, in English, the word 'Qatar' actually shouldn't exist. Lack of a 'u' and all that. I think that's reason enough to give it to someone else. It's still not too late.

More footballing stuff, to cap off what has been an unbelievable few days. To recap, I passed all my exams, went to the U2/Jay-Z gig, and my grandfather brought me back a brand new Arsenal jersey from Hong Kong. Arsenal being top of the league just seals it. What an amazing turnaround. Who would've predicted it, when we were millions of points behind Chelsea at one stage? Marvelous stuff, football. And Nasri is truly amazing. He reminds me of a ballet dancer. Except more masculine. Watch him here:

I love how he's making a habit of scoring goals from ridiculous angles. Or trying to score from ridiculous angles. I think it was against Sp*rs, where he tried it, but it got cleared off the line. But yes. He's becoming great.

The only downer is a slightly scratched my car yesterday while parking to have lunch with Victor and Meng in Glen Waverley. I still have no idea how it happened. I thought there was acres of space between the pole and my car, but apparently there wasn't, and I heard a sickening 'scraaaaaaaape'. But otherwise, the past few days have been some of the happiest few days in a row I have ever had. Thank-you to all who have been there, not only during these past few days, but the days before that, and before them as well, when I was struggling big time. Cheers.

Word of the Day: Qatar

I'm so happy to see U2 man!

I wish I'd seen someone at the concert last night that I hadn't see for a long time just so I could say that to them. Actually, I could've even said it to Orrin. But it's a moot point. I don't think I'd thought of it at the time.

That major disappointment aside, it was a fantastic gig. Two world-class acts, for fifty bucks. Value for money right there.

What gig, you may be asking? The U2 gig of course. The one opened the gates at 5:30, but didn't start until 7:30.

Jay-Z was the opening act. Jay-Z as the opening act I think speaks volumes by itself. Here's a clip:

In case my appreciation for Jay-Z has not been sufficiently communicated, I'll say it now: I have great appreciation for Jay-Z. He is amazing as a live performer as well. I reckon some of his songs sound better live.

Thankfully, no-one called him Jay Zed.

He rapped for about an hour, and the U2 decide to appear at 9:00.

U2 songs definitely, definitely sound better live. Much, much better. A lot of their songs, I listened to before going to the gig, and they sounded quite ordinary. But when it's all amped up, and loud, they're amazing. Also, the mass singing thing made me miss mass singing in high school, funnily enough. They were also amazing. I have a newfound appreciation for musicians. Or at least, this type of musician. Not only do they

have amazing musical ability, and write awesome songs, but they are able to take it up to the next level when performing. And to keep that energy up for however many concerts they do...spectacular.

All in all, a great way to celebrate passing exams. Australia not getting the World Cup marred an otherwise near-flawless day. I mean, I even bought a new pair of shoes. Here's another clip, by the way:

And a photo:

A story about this photo. Yes, I take photography far too seriously. But still, it irked me.

Anyway, the story. This awesome photo was the only good photo I took with the reject camera. What I did was, I put it on flash, which automatically reduces the exposure, because it tricks the camera into thinking there's now enough light, as opposed to before, where it thinks there is not enough light. Anyway, on the camera, it didn't look like it made that much difference, so I stopped doing it. And on the computer, it turned out to be one of the best photos I've ever taken. I really hate regretting things.

More about the World Cup bid fail tomorrow.

Word of the Day: Flawless.

sdrawkcaB

It's been a while. A long, long while. Almost a month, I believe.

This shall be another long one. I'll try and keep it short, but I don't think I can. Too much material to cover. It will also be in reverse order. Just because it's easier to do.

So yeah, as anticipated, I just failed Financial Accounting. On the upside, I did surprisingly well in everything else. So really, I did better than expected. Still doesn't ease the hurt though. I think it'll truly hurt when I tell my parents and see their disappointment all over again.

Prior to that, I was exulted to watch Spain beat The Netherlands. My two favourite teams (Netherlands, ex-favourite) duking it out for the cup. And Fabregas with the assist for the winning goal as well. Fairly average final, for a fairly average World Cup. Good stuff though. Only comes once every four years, enjoy it. Just hope they don't bring vuvuzelas next time. Seriously the most annoying things ever.

Prior to that, I went on a roadtrip to Torquay with eight other buds. Apparently I'm not supposed to talk about drunken exploits, so I'll just stick with the clean stuff.

Getting there was most definitely not half the fun. It was a nightmare. Ray was swearing at everybody, I was trying to make sure the car in front didn't get too far ahead, and the car behind didn't get too far behind. The car in front loved speeding, the car behind refused to go faster than 60 km/h. Life is hard in the middle.

Yeah, anyway. Good times mostly. Unhappy about some things, but nothing too sinister. Thoroughly enjoyed watching football not by myself for once.

And I think that's about it. I'm now going to cry in a corner. Good night.

Word of the Day: Backwards

Only in football

Only in football can a win be a defeat.

As sort of predicted by me last night, Australia got the win, but it mattered little, because we didn't score enough, and Germany didn't score enough/Ghana didn't win. It was actually heart-wrenching stuff. Comparable to Italy stealing the win against Australia last time. Although I think I actually cried then.

An excellent performance by the Socceroos, I thought. It makes me all the more sadder that we did that badly against the Germans in the first game. Their team isn't even that great. It's just when you're Australia, and you're trying to play defensively, you're usually asking for trouble. Sometimes attack is the best defence. At least then you sort of get to keep the ball, thus keeping it from them i.e. Spain style.

Anyway, the way the Socceroos were playing this morning, they could've taken on almost anybody. The pressing and the passing was all reminiscent of the way they played under Hiddink, when they actually looked like a team.

It's a shame that the golden generation should disband like this. If we had gotten a better coach in/played better against Germany, things might have turned out differently. I mean, the second-placed team in this group, which would've been us, plays the USA. While that's no walk in the park, it's manageable, especially if they play like they played today.

Ifs and buts matter not now. What's done is done. I'm going to miss this generation of Socceroos, and all the great memories that they gave us.

In all seriousness, one of the biggest regrets in my life thus far is not watching the Japan vs Australia game in 2006. All my parents' fault. That game means so much, especially because I missed it. Sigh. I never understood why they used to let me wake up ridiculously early, but not sleep late.

On a side note, I don't know why TAB and all that keep underrating Australia. You'd think that with professionals and stuff, they'd get it right sometimes. Against Ghana, Australia winning was about three times the payout of a Ghana win. Today, similar odds for an Australia win. Australia's not that much worser than Serbia, in my opinion, even before the game. I actually tipped an Australia win. Yeah. Bizarre.

Anyway, I hope a new generation emerges sooner rather than later. Doesn't look promising right now. But then again, a good coach can make a mediocre team good. Take Switzerland for example. I watched them beat Spain. Unbeknown to me, their coach has won, like, everything there is to win. And they played great.

To summarise, good effort lads.

Word of the Day: Socceroos

Le World Cup

I was informed by Marie, the French exchange student that Sarah has staying over, that in France, they call the World Cup...

...wait for it...

...this is so momentous it deserves a proper set-up...

"Le World Cup!"

Said, of course, with the requisite French accent. World-changing, that bit of information. You know, I don't really want to be going "Le Coup de Monde" every time I speak to a French person about the World Cup.

Speaking of accents, how funny is that Ronaldo ad? I don't know why. His accent is just funny. The first thing that strikes me (har har) is his pronunciation of places. Or, as he says it, play-cez. Here it is here, in all its glory.



I also love how he says "so do I" and "liquid engineering". "So-doh-why." "Likwud engineerink." Gotta love the guy. An arrogant, self-important, antagonistic, ball-hogging guy, but a joy to watch. The Premier League is a lot less exciting without him.

And speaking of French, a real pity about how the French team went out. Such a talent-laden team, ruined by in-fighting and politics. The would've done really well if they'd actually functioned as a unit.

And here we sit, on the eve of Australia's do-or-die match. Yes, the Ghana one was do-or-die. But this one is really do-or-die. Personally, I think 'die' is a bit intense. Having said that, it does promise to be a great morning (early, early morning at that too) of football, as so much can happen, and so much is dependent on what happens simultaneously in the other game. I love how people are talking about it as though Serbia are just waiting to be beaten, and it just depends on how much we beat them by.

Serbia, just at first glance, have one of the best defences going around. Just Vidic and Ivanovic alone would constitute a top defence. And the other two apparently aren't shabby either. One's going to Real Madrid, the other is apparently wanted at several awesome clubs too. Oh, and they also beat Germany, something which we failed to do.

However, as I have seen far too many times over the years, football is a crazy game. I've just realised at this moment how many random completely unexpected moments I've actually witnessed, and I don't even watch it on TV all that often. Arsenal v Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals second leg a few years back. Arsenal taking a one-goal lead at the Nou Camp, and subsequently getting destroyed by Messi. Wigan beating Arsenal at the tail-end of last season. Australia managing a draw with Croatia last World Cup. Chelsea getting knocked out by Barca in virtually the last minute of their second leg Champions League semi-final game. Kevin Muscat, the guy who never, ever misses a penalty, missing a penalty in the A-League Grand Final. Cronaldo, the guy who almost never, ever misses penalties, missing the Champions Leageu final.

The point is, anything can happen, and I believe that something crazy may just happen tomorrow. Yes, the odds are in favour of Australia losing regardless of what happens in the other game, but this is football, and part of its beauty is that the unexpected happens all the time.

Let's go Socceroos!

Word of the Day: Unexpected

Le Coupe du Monde

So, like, I'm all done with exams. Man, it was exhausting. I'm 99% sure I failed Accounting, and I'm trying to work out how to work around it.

The hardest part was telling my parents. They reacted surprisingly well to it (well, I only told mother). Once that was over, it was alright. I wouldn't say their opinions are the only ones that matter, but they're definitely up there.

So I've been mentally beating myself up, and resolving to work a lot harder. I guess I'm just frustrated that I'll have to go through that living hell again. Ah well. What's done is done.

I've now moved on to vegging in front of the television.

"What? You don't watch TV!" I hear you exclaim.

Let me clarify that.

I watch Man vs Wild, Flight of the Conchords, and football.

The reason for my vegging is because of the latter.

Yes, after four years of waiting, the World Cup is back. Yes, I watched Australia lose this morning. It was embarrassing, to be honest. I don't know what happened to the Australia of four years ago. We had more fire back then. I'm afraid to say it, but I don't see us getting out of the group stages.

That red card against Cahill was very harsh. He was pulling out of the tackle, and hit the guy with his thigh. Surely a yellow would've been more than enough. Stupid card-happy ref.

Other matches...hmm. Let's do a list.

South Africa 1 : Mexico 1
Surprisingly impressive. Both were trying to go for each other's throats, and played some great attacking football. A very enjoyable opening game, marred slightly by the fact that South Africa almost won but didn't.

England 1 : USA 1
Another draw, this one much, much less entertaining, apart from England keeper Robert Green throwing the ball into his own net. Didn't help that I missed the Gerrard goal that happened in, like, the first five seconds of play.

Australia 0 : Germany 4
The less said about this game the better I think. Australia were lacking in attack, lacking in defense, were missing star players, getting sliced apart by the German machine, and generally doing a really good impression of fish milling around in a bowl of water. Fish that were completely out of their depth. I don't think anybody played well. Lucas Neill was calling non-existent offsides. The offside trap was clearly not working, because they were continually failing to pick up the man who was not offside making the run from deep. Fairly rudimentary schoolboy errors, like not playing the ref's whistle, like Neill and his shadow offside call. Yeah. That's about it really.

Netherlands 2 : 0 Denmark
Was really, really looking forward to this one because a) it's the Netherlands and b) it was an early game, and I really needed one just then, because I am slightly tired from having a total of eight hours sleep over two nights. Anyway, what a game. Certainly didn't disappoint. The movement, passing and vision of the Dutch team is just magnificent. What a joy to watch. Their ball control is also sublime. The way they play is a thing of beauty. They may just be my next favourite outside-of-Australia team, the top one being Spain. I'm still trying to decide whether to buy a Spain jersey or Australia. Perhaps both, perhaps neither. Perhaps I need more money. It's just that, if Spain win this cup, it will be the crowning moment for one of the greatest, if not the greatest, national football sides of all time. I mean, Fabregas and Torres are on the bench for them. That says enough.


And that's mostly it for now. Watched a bit of Greece vs South Korea, got bored so kept playing monopoly.

Just to finish, a comment about the match ball. The scientists and whatnot who designed/engineered/lovingly handcrafted these balls are coming out and defending it, saying things such as "it flies the straightest out of any ball" and "the players just aren't used to it yet." They use these as defences and justifications for why players are complaining about it.

I don't know about you, but I have never heard this many players complain about a World Cup match ball. At the end of the day, if the players, who have spent the better part of their lives playing this sport, say that it doesn't feel right, no matter how perfectly round the ball is, or how aerodynamically awesome it is, the fact remains that the players don't enjoy using it, and engineers and such cannot claim that technological perfection in a ball equates to something exactly the same as balls that these guys have been using since they've been kicking balls.

I also don't understand why they have to keep changing the ball. It's not exactly like loads of people were demanding a massive overhaul of the football. Clearly the ones they use every day are just fine. Maybe their imperfections are what makes them a true football. In a sense, they're used to their imperfections, and have already adjusted to them. What does the new ball add anyway, apart from an alarmingly high frequency of over-hit passes, and ridiculous keeper fumbles? What's it's purpose? Greater speed? Because that's the only thing I can see it maybe doing better in.

Anyway, sleep beckons. Got a big day of buying stuff tomorrow.

Word of the Day: World Cup

Blub

Blub. What an interesting sound to make.

I'll do it again.

Blub.

So, as you can probably tell, I'm fairly bored. I just wrote a letter to the Herald Sun, detailing why I think the AFL should just be a little bit flexible and give the biggest sporting event on Earth some space to weave it's magic.

I've also been making things for people, but people aren't co-operating with me, which makes it hard. It shall be done though.

I have also obtained a bag, so I don't need one for Christmas anymore. Now I'm really stuck. Maybe I'll just be a good chap and not ask for anything.

Oh, and I have jury duty tomorrow. I thought it'd be fun, but now it just seems like an inconvenience. Oh well. Hopefully it won't be as boring as sitting around at home, getting all arty and writing angry letters to dodgy newspapers.

Word of the Day: Jury

Of Stevie Wonder and Henry

This story, for want of a better word, began on Friday after lunch.

So like, me and Linda were in David Jones, having been ditched by some unscrupulous people. Stevie Wonder came on, and we were bopping. Lo and behold, it was my ringtone. As if not recognise your own ringtone, Andrew.

To be fair, I'd only set it to my ringtone the day before. It was originally on 'See you in my Nightmares' by Kanye, but I decided that was too quiet.

It's now back to my favourite ringtone, 'Don't Go Away' by Oasis. It's very loud and distinctive, and I love the shredding of the guitar at the start. The potential for embarrassing, albeit classic moments, is reduced now. Don't know if that's really a good thing. It's a trade-off really.

So when I got home from the chill session at DJs, I visited one of my top 5 favourite websites, ESPN Soccernet, to see that the Henry storm was still in full force.

Please, people. If you're going to make such a big fuss about this, asking for replays and such, millions of matches would be replayed every season. A few off the top of my head to follow. First up, the one that touches a sore point with most Aussies: Fabio Grosso and his ridiculous dive in THAT match against Australia. Liverpool vs Birmangham a couple of weeks back, David N'gog and his comical dive.

I'm not supporting this type of behaviour. But shouldn't the ref have some responsibility, if not most of it? I mean, he missed a double handball from a player in an offside position. Surely one of the three refs should have seen one of those infringements. I don't see why Henry should take all the blame.

Of course all the Irish players are saying that they wouldn't have done the same in the same situation. That's because they were never in that type of position to do so. It's easy to say in retrospect, but I'm sure it seemed far more appealing to Henry to seal the deal in open play than to face the lottery of spot kicks. We'd all like to think that we wouldn't have done that, but if you think about it, you take a gamble, one kick, and your team is through to the biggest tournament on Earth. It's a hard offer to turn down, especially given the pressure on the team and the money involved in football today.

By extension, Henry's even taking one for the team, copping all this flack but helping his team through.

Yes, I love Henry. He was the reason that I started following Arsenal all those years ago. My opinion remains objective. My objectivity is apparent if anyone would have cared to listen to my rants. They would've heard me tell them that, although I felt the height of anger immediately after the Grosso dive, a few days later I came to be disappointed in the Socceroos for two reasons. Reason number 1: Italy are a man down. We let a fullback, playing in a highly defensive formation, get up into our penalty area in virtually the last minute of the game. What's more, the Socceroos can't even score a goal against them. Reason number 2: Lucas Neill and his flying tackle. Sure, he got the ball. But was it really necessary to go sliding in like that?

Cheating happens in football. The only way to stomp it out is with video replays, but FIFA seems so intent on letting match fixers have an easier time that this does not look like eventuating any time soon. In the mean time, the ref must bear most, if not all of the responsibility for failing to call up such a blatant foul.

Word of the Day: Henry