Woodburn High School, located in Woodburn, Oregon just outside of Portland, consistently produces
hugely talented soccer players--most of them children of immigrants or immigrants themselves--who
have grown up playing the sport but lack the privileges of students at richer, whiter schools,
whose parents have the time and money to send them to private soccer clubs throughout the school
year.
My two longtime favorite players. Whether it's at Barca or for Spain... they are true heroes of the
pitch. After their performances in this World Cup, I don't think they'll have to pay for another
meal or drink for the rest of their lives.
These goofy photos are FC Barcelona postcards that I purchased in Barcelona in 2008.
I'll post my own idiosyncratic thoughts about the Spain v Germany match tomorrow... until then you
can read Jonathan Wilson's excellent and cohesive article about the match instead. He's spot on.
Also, German coach Joachim Low was a total gentleman after the match with his comments. Not always
the easiest thing to be.
Arjen Robben is one of those humans who make me hope there is indeed a Hell. If there is, he will
burn relentlessly and eternally in that deep and terrible circle reserved for diving crybabies. He
is the poster-child for those loathesome, cynical footballers (many of whom, not coincidentally,
have been too long associated with Jose Mourinho) who would rather win not through hard work,
CERTAINLY not through beautiful play (such a man scoffs at the idea), but through manipulative
power-plays and orchestrated hysterics aimed at convincing referees to do the bulk of his work for
him.
The US team lost to Ghana 2-1 in their knockout round World Cup match. It was fierce at times, but
fatigue and wear and tear were obviously taking a toll on the Yanks. It was only Wednesday when
Landon Donovan boldly won the match for the US in stoppage time against Algeria. The soccer gods
blessed the team that night.
Glenn Beck is a douchebag and a phony. I'm not stating anything new or shocking here. Many of you
probably think the same thing or worse. If you do actually like him, though, I'd seriously question
your judge of character, your morals, and your ethics. It's a safe guess that you're a douchbag
yourself with horrible tastes in music, humor, and movies.
How can you not love this? And they say football isn't popular in the States. It's a niche
market... and football is doing just fine. Just because you're not paying attention (no, not
you... I'm talking about that other one over there) doesn't mean that football
madness in this country isn't going on.
What an exhausting day yesterday was... wake up, warm up the ol' typing machine, get the Twitter
ready (that sounds dirty, I realize), and turn the TV on for the first World Cup match of the day.
And as the US v Algeria match stretched on, I suffered through heart attacks, vomiting, and
delirium. Around the 80th minute, I thought about abandoning the match and taking a long walk.
In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but
they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had
brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo
clock.-- Harry Lime (Orson Welles) justifying his murderous amorality in The Third Man
(1949).
Yep. We here at apm (well... me) is tweeting most all of the World Cup matches. Come on
over, say hello, and watch the matches with us me. Read our scintillating sarcasm, trivia, and
things you need to know.
http://twitter.com/aprettymove
What a day. From heartbreak for German supporters to frustration and outrage for us Americans to
depression and resignation for England's weary fans--it's been an exhausting and emotional day.
And we're only one week into this thing.
But if you're an Algerian supporter, you have a lot to feel good about.
Just some quick links before the Algeria v England match gets under way in a half-hour or so.
The first one is bit about how the Swiss beat Spain in that first round 0-1 match. Seems that Swiss
manager Ottmar Hitzfeld has Bob Bradley's tactics to thank. Strange but true!
Second.
"That thin, angular face with its burning eyes could never have belonged to the great race of
compromisers..." -- a historian describing Savonarola, but he might as well be describing Diego
Forlan(1)
My grey-haired mother, no football fan, has been converted to the Church of Forlan.
While I wait for the France v Mexico match to start, I thought I'd post a few cool links of things
that caught my attention today.
First... World Cup: Science Fiction. Stunning images from space of the countries participating in
the world's favorite sporting event.
42 photos of the action on the pitch and of supporters around the world.
