Some random thoughts from the past weekend’s football action (which I hope will become a regular feature around here):
- If you would have told me that Eli would be the Manning brother playing next weekend, I probably would have made some stupid bet with you that would have ended with me drinking another raw egg or something. I guess the NFL can still surprise you every once in a while.
- Remember when I asked people what American football might be like if the McGill University footballers had brought soccer to Harvard instead of rugby? Go read that, then try to imagine them playing soccer in Green Bay on Saturday. You can see soccer played in torrential rains in Europe, but you never see it in a snowstorm like that. I wonder why.
- Can someone in Australia explain what’s going on with Nathan Ablett? Does he just hate the spotlight or something?
- I made note on FanHouse of the race fourth place in the Premier League over the weekend — and by the way, you won’t see any more “Prem Wrap” posts over there, as not enough people are reading them — but really, there are three battles in the Premiership right now: the battle for first place, the battle for fourth place, and the relegation battle. The last one has gotten really close, too, as only six points separates 11th place from 18th. We’re going to see a lot of desperate football in the next few months.
- Speaking of desperate football, I’ve been trying to think of something interesting to say about Luton Town, and I can’t. You might as well just go here. After they sold off players and let their manager walk away last week, I started to wonder if they would even survive long enough to see that big-money FA Cup replay against Liverpool. I don’t think we’re going to witness another Exeter City miracle here. Then again, Liverpool suddenly has its own money problems, doesn’t it?
- And speaking of FanHouse, all the NFL teams I cover for them are out of the playoffs, and it’s got me wondering if I really want to cover that many NFL teams for them again. When I started with them in 2006, I took on the Panthers, but I didn’t think I would have time to write about the Steelers, too — not if I wanted to keep my own NFL blog going — so I pointed them to JJ Cooper. 2007 was a season in which I covered four teams and blogged about a lot of games that I really didn’t care to watch, and as good as the money was, it started to feel more like a job than I wanted it to be, rather than a fun thing to do. Maybe I’ll feel differently after taking a break, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to cover four teams again in 2008. I need to talk to some honchos over there about that.
- Six Nations and Super 14 are starting up soon. Part of me wishes I could give a damn about them.
13 responses so far ↓
1 Simon // Jan 14, 2008 at 11:55 am
I wonder if we could Lure Nathan to Dublin to play some Gaelic football. At 6’4 he could make a decent full forward .
2 Simon // Jan 14, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Also the Super 14′s will be using the ELV so ,might be worth a look , A lot less kicking to touch !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Super_14_season#Introduction_of_Stellenbosch_Laws
3 Dave // Jan 14, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Simon: You just got me a little more interested in Super 14. And Setanta Sports claims it will be showing 45 Super 14 matches live this year. Hrmmm…
4 mark // Jan 14, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Having played soccer in high school in a snow storm a couple of times in Ohio, I can answer your question of “why not”.
First, it’s cold. Wearing shorts with little or no pads in 30 degree (or less) weather is cold, and after a while, no amount of running around is going to change that. Or make it sting any less getting hit with a water-logged soccer ball on your bare thigh.
Which brings me to second, the ball gets wet and stays wet in the snow. It does this in the driving rain too, but a light rain doesn’t change the dynamics of the ball the way snow and ice do. It also has to do with some of the same reasons baseball can’t be played in the rain. In addition to the dynamics of the ball changing, the lack of visibility gets to be not just a detriment, but a potential hazzard. Running around in a snowstorm, slipping and sliding, with no pads, a ball heavier than usual because it is soaked, and limited visibility is a recipe for a concussion or two to happen. I’ve seen it more than one, and it’s not pretty.
5 a different dave // Jan 14, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Dave,
I don’t know where you get this idea that soccer isn’t played in the snow. Maybe you’ve only been watching EPL; they have pretty mild winters in Britain.
Still, there is a reason why sports equipment manufacturers developed the high visibility orange soccer balls, for use in snowy conditions.
Generally snow only causes a soccer match to get canceled if visibility conditions make it impossible to see what is going on; both sides will usually agree in that case to postpone the game. But there’s no rule saying that they have to cancel.
6 Dave // Jan 14, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Dave: I think it’s just because I haven’t actually seen it yet, and I have a hard time imagining it in conditions similar to that Packers-Seahawks game last Saturday.
BTW, the forecast in Green Bay calls for snow all week, with a high on Sunday of 12°F. Ice Bowl II is coming, folks. Getcha longjohns ready. =^)
7 a different dave // Jan 14, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Google image search sucks for this sort of thing, but here’s some samples:
http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200502/s1304699.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200502/r40865_103844.jpg
http://www.viewimages.com/Search.aspx?mid=2694660&epmid=2&partner=Google
http://www.viewimages.com/Search.aspx?mid=2694660&epmid=2&partner=Google
http://www.viewimages.com/Search.aspx?mid=2694660&epmid=2&partner=Google
http://images.usatoday.com/weather/_photos/2006/03/02/apaptopixsoccergermanyusapoland.jpg
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/world/2006-03-01-roundup_x.htm?loc=interstitialskip
” KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The U.S. team wasn’t counting on a blizzard in its World Cup tuneup game Wednesday night.
In a scene more befitting Lambeau Field than a soccer field, Clint Dempsey scored the only goal off a misplay by Poland’s goalie, and the Americans survived the elements in a 1-0 victory. The next time the United States plays at Fritz-Walter-Stadion, it will probably be 50 degrees warmer, with no sign of snow and a frosty wind.
By the midpoint of the second half, the swirling snow made heading the ball an adventure and trying to make cuts a dangerous proposition. In the final minutes, referee Thorsten Kinhofer even went to a yellow ball so it would contrast against the white blanket on the field. “
8 joe // Jan 15, 2008 at 8:39 am
As regards to soccer playing (or not playing) in the snow, that is why leagues in Russia and Scandinavia play in the summer.
Also, I am a lot more of a rugby league fan, but personally I get into rugby union internationals.
9 joejoejoe // Jan 15, 2008 at 10:29 am
I’m seen clips of snowy games in Northern Europe. Here’s a clip from a match (Porto v. Penarol, 1987) in Tokyo played in snow like they had in Green Bay the other day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtGRM-18ZG8
10 a different dave // Jan 15, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Scandinavia and Russia are the exception in Europe, though, in not playing in winter. Ice hockey is the big winter sport in those countries, and there are no summer sports like baseball or cricket to compete against.
In the 1920′s and 30′s the ASL promoted itself as “America’s winter sport”. They played in the American northeast right through the winter months.
11 Simon // Jan 16, 2008 at 10:23 am
The Irish league is played during the summer too
12 joe // Jan 16, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Wouldn’t it make more sense to play the Irish league in the winter where it wouldn’t face competition from the GAA?
13 a different dave // Jan 17, 2008 at 12:09 am
Not to mention, to avoid playing in the summer when all the international tourneys are held (ie, World Cup, Olympics, European Cup, various youth tournaments, etc). It’s not like the winters are all that harsh in Ireland!