if this really is heaven, why doesn't it smell more like dreamland?
i think i've found my muse. it's not a she. it's not a he. it's a rib. i think if i looked back across my blogography, i would find that if i've been inspired or motivated to put fingers to buttons by a common denominator, more times than not (common denominator-wise), it was meat from dreamland. disenchantment with my church or church in general would follow closely behind, but by splitting the remainder of the votes between those two candidates i would wager that the rib would and will continue to carry the popular vote. that may be interesting to only me, but i thought it worth mentioning.
my family and i are about to embark on a first. we are about to purchase our first home. not to say that we have been homeless, but the homes that we've inhabited thus far have been a church parsonage that was too big (and filled with old people stuff) for us and a double-barreled apartment approach that came to end (finally) last month with the final owed rent payment (and one of the last nagging memories) paid in huntsville. since the third of april, we have crammed ourselves into our "intimate" two-bedroom apartment and been happily close to each other. but the time to (be able to) stretch our wings and find another nest has arrived, and we will be moving. the house we are purchasing is a perfect example of a starter home. one that we know will not be our "dream" home, but one that allows us the room to expand our family if that is in the cards and one that will allow us to remember what it feels like to have separate corners of the home to retire to. it is cute. two stories. in the need of some repairs and a serious paint job, but one that i can't wait to move into. because it will be ours. not yours. and yours and yours and yours. not one that allows the congregation of a church to lay claim to. not one that flushes our monthly rent payment into an account that we have no claim on. but ours.
it will be fun and a long time coming. but well worth the wait since it feels like a decision that sarah and i made and not one that was made for us due to school or my job or feeling obligated to something or someone. hannah will have a new house. and her (my) puppy back. hardwood and tile floors and a street to ride a tricycle on. stairs she gets to climb to go to bed and stairs that she gets to come down for breakfast. we will have a dining room table. a yard to (unfortunately) attend to or pay someone to attend to. did i mention that i loved the idea of watching hannah go up and down the stairs?
i will have to enlist kiker (and andy and others) and a truck again, but he seems cool with it. but we will have a dining room table, so we can have him and sarah over for dinner to say thanks, and then kiker and i will sneak into the living room to play ncaa 07. we'll sit on our new couch (hopefully). and then i'll help sarah clean up (don't laugh, sarah) from the dinner and then we'll see hannah to bed. and then we'll come downstairs for no other reason than to have to go back up the stairs to our new bedroom and new bed (hopefully).
it will be fun and a long time coming. it will give us (more) reasons to smile and look across the house and share a knowing grin that "this is nice." and it will make it easier, as we drive back to our first house, to swallow sundays when the worship service starts with the choir director telling the congregation that their singing over the last few weeks would score them a "C-" in his book, and "he may be scaling that grade." great.
ok, so maybe there were two common denominators this day. can that even work?
Monday, July 24, 2006
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
love is like infinity
(from the world according to mister rogers)
the page reads: love is like infinity. you can't have more or less infinity, and you can't compare two things to see if they're "equally infinite." infinity just is, and that's the way i think love is too. romantic, and appropriate for the valentine's day page of last year's calendar.
i don't know if i buy that. i get what the author is saying. if you are trying to articulate something as big as true love, why not choose a word that defines something that has no beginning and no end. something that, in fact, has no equal. the part i don't buy is this particular quote doesn't allow for the idea of the evolution of love. the idea that at some point in a relationship, the whole infinity feeling goes away and choice takes over. sure, love will always play some, if not a huge, role in the relationship, but choice and commitment to the party in question becomes bigger.
for example, the first time i had a milkshake from chick-fil-a, i "loved" it. i bought four that week. i thought i would buy four every week. but i didn't. i have had four since. now, sure, eight milkshakes in one month from chick-fil-a is a lot, but it's not four a week, and i definitely don't "love" them like i thought i did. i may now choose to have one every once in a while now, showing my commitment with a hope that they stay on the menu, but my love for the milkshake is different now. the infinity part is gone. if i never had a milkshake from chick-fil-a again, my life would still go on.
the same case could be constructed for everything in my life i have ever loved. original recipe from kentucky fried chicken. chocolate ice cream. my first dog. my present dog. atari. sega genesis. playstation. playstation 2. playstation 3 (i already love you, even though we have never met.). soccer. basketball. softball. my mom. my dad. my brother. my family. my step-family. my church. my church family. sarah. hannah. jesus. in every case, i was overwhelmed by the love i had for each and every one of the things/persons. in every case, the infinity part has fallen away and my love evolved. with the exception of the last three items of my list, my life would still be just fine without all of the things in my life that i have "so loved".
i bring this up because i have not been able to shake a phone conversation (i was eavesdropping on) that sarah was having with one of her friends about a friend of theirs from high school that had left his wife and child for someone else. someone newer. fresher. girlfriend version 3.1. of course, to any rational outside observer, such a move seems foolish and shortsighted and just plain stupid. i have had one of my oldest and closest friends make a similar move, though, and knowing the person didn't help the situation make any more sense.
love, as everyone says, is a powerful thing. it makes people write things like, "love is like infinity." it makes you buy too many milkshakes and play too many videogames. but love does have an end. many ends i would argue, and many new beginnings. and until you are faced with a choice and choose to move along the same path however different or less filling/fun it may be, then i would continue to argue that you have not loved at all.
if this all rings a bit accusatory, please don't read it that way. i, myself, am unsure that i loved, by my own definition, until recently. it's good to know what that feels like, though. i promise you that. and it's good to know that i am past the whole "love is like infinity" part of my life.
(from the world according to mister rogers)
the page reads: love is like infinity. you can't have more or less infinity, and you can't compare two things to see if they're "equally infinite." infinity just is, and that's the way i think love is too. romantic, and appropriate for the valentine's day page of last year's calendar.
i don't know if i buy that. i get what the author is saying. if you are trying to articulate something as big as true love, why not choose a word that defines something that has no beginning and no end. something that, in fact, has no equal. the part i don't buy is this particular quote doesn't allow for the idea of the evolution of love. the idea that at some point in a relationship, the whole infinity feeling goes away and choice takes over. sure, love will always play some, if not a huge, role in the relationship, but choice and commitment to the party in question becomes bigger.
for example, the first time i had a milkshake from chick-fil-a, i "loved" it. i bought four that week. i thought i would buy four every week. but i didn't. i have had four since. now, sure, eight milkshakes in one month from chick-fil-a is a lot, but it's not four a week, and i definitely don't "love" them like i thought i did. i may now choose to have one every once in a while now, showing my commitment with a hope that they stay on the menu, but my love for the milkshake is different now. the infinity part is gone. if i never had a milkshake from chick-fil-a again, my life would still go on.
the same case could be constructed for everything in my life i have ever loved. original recipe from kentucky fried chicken. chocolate ice cream. my first dog. my present dog. atari. sega genesis. playstation. playstation 2. playstation 3 (i already love you, even though we have never met.). soccer. basketball. softball. my mom. my dad. my brother. my family. my step-family. my church. my church family. sarah. hannah. jesus. in every case, i was overwhelmed by the love i had for each and every one of the things/persons. in every case, the infinity part has fallen away and my love evolved. with the exception of the last three items of my list, my life would still be just fine without all of the things in my life that i have "so loved".
i bring this up because i have not been able to shake a phone conversation (i was eavesdropping on) that sarah was having with one of her friends about a friend of theirs from high school that had left his wife and child for someone else. someone newer. fresher. girlfriend version 3.1. of course, to any rational outside observer, such a move seems foolish and shortsighted and just plain stupid. i have had one of my oldest and closest friends make a similar move, though, and knowing the person didn't help the situation make any more sense.
love, as everyone says, is a powerful thing. it makes people write things like, "love is like infinity." it makes you buy too many milkshakes and play too many videogames. but love does have an end. many ends i would argue, and many new beginnings. and until you are faced with a choice and choose to move along the same path however different or less filling/fun it may be, then i would continue to argue that you have not loved at all.
if this all rings a bit accusatory, please don't read it that way. i, myself, am unsure that i loved, by my own definition, until recently. it's good to know what that feels like, though. i promise you that. and it's good to know that i am past the whole "love is like infinity" part of my life.
Friday, July 14, 2006
mid-year in review
andy and i were duly inspired monday after, with the help of kiker, downing a healthy (in portion at least) plate of ribs, white bread in rib sauce and banana pudding with rib aftertaste. our thought? our thought...my thought was that i spent so much time and thought on my annual year-end music review that it might be fun to spend half the time and half the thought on the music that had been rocking my cd player in the first six months of 2006. in lieu of any other subject worth the time to blog on this week, we'll get to it.
as i combed through my not so healthy (in quantity at least) list of 12 cd's i had purchased thus far, my first reaction was, "gosh. this music year has sucked so far." and let me go ahead and throw this out. i don't have the exact number, but i seem to remember reading at the end of last year that there were over 13,000 cd's released in the year 2005. going with that number, we can probably assume that there have been around half that number hitting the shelves already in 2006. out of those 5000-plus, i have purchased twelve. so, my sample set being what it is, i am certainly not commenting on "the mid-year in review" with regards to the entire music universe, only my music universe.
getting to it, only three of my twelve purchases stick out to me as worth mentioning, and i have to believe, unless july-december proves as fruitless on my music tree as january-june, these three are the only ones out of the dirty dozen that have a chance of making the year-end top ten. in ascending order:
3. angels and airwaves - we don't have to whisper - if you spend only a little time on the internet, you have heard of this band. tom delonge, co-founder of one of my favorite bands of all time (blink-182), and his band made up of other guys from other bands released this album in may. tom went out of his way to make sure everyone knew that if jesus, himself, released an album in 2006, it would not match the awesomeness of WDHTW. i don't know if he succeeded in saving rock'n'roll. but after repeated listens, i have found an album that i can listen to from beginning to end and thoroughly enjoy every song. sure i like tom's voice. but the music is pretty good too. if there will be no more blink, this will do pretty fine.
2. saves the day - sound the alarm - the album contains two songs (one and four) that i already know will make my songs of the year list and it's a return to form from another one of my favorite bands. after making two almost pop albums, the pop is still there, but the speed is turned back up again. i like this album a lot and it is a lock for the year-end list.
1. pearl jam - self-titled - i could go on and on about how much i am into this band and eddie vedder, but the last two or three albums they've put out have been terribly inconsistent to me. you could see them stretching themselves, but at times they stretched to the point where they didn't sound like pearl jam anymore. it seems, on this album, they have fully realized that they could very well be my generation's go to "classic rock'n'roll" band. still "grungy", but incredibly technical and proficient due to the talent of each of the band members, not just eddie. something is going to have to come along and strike me as pretty damn good to knock pearl jam out of the top spot at the end of the year.
there you have it. we'll see how the dust settles again after all the christmas presents are opened and any last minute cd's get their fair spin.
looking forward to with high expectations:
park
blood brothers
brand new
many, many more
andy and i were duly inspired monday after, with the help of kiker, downing a healthy (in portion at least) plate of ribs, white bread in rib sauce and banana pudding with rib aftertaste. our thought? our thought...my thought was that i spent so much time and thought on my annual year-end music review that it might be fun to spend half the time and half the thought on the music that had been rocking my cd player in the first six months of 2006. in lieu of any other subject worth the time to blog on this week, we'll get to it.
as i combed through my not so healthy (in quantity at least) list of 12 cd's i had purchased thus far, my first reaction was, "gosh. this music year has sucked so far." and let me go ahead and throw this out. i don't have the exact number, but i seem to remember reading at the end of last year that there were over 13,000 cd's released in the year 2005. going with that number, we can probably assume that there have been around half that number hitting the shelves already in 2006. out of those 5000-plus, i have purchased twelve. so, my sample set being what it is, i am certainly not commenting on "the mid-year in review" with regards to the entire music universe, only my music universe.
getting to it, only three of my twelve purchases stick out to me as worth mentioning, and i have to believe, unless july-december proves as fruitless on my music tree as january-june, these three are the only ones out of the dirty dozen that have a chance of making the year-end top ten. in ascending order:
3. angels and airwaves - we don't have to whisper - if you spend only a little time on the internet, you have heard of this band. tom delonge, co-founder of one of my favorite bands of all time (blink-182), and his band made up of other guys from other bands released this album in may. tom went out of his way to make sure everyone knew that if jesus, himself, released an album in 2006, it would not match the awesomeness of WDHTW. i don't know if he succeeded in saving rock'n'roll. but after repeated listens, i have found an album that i can listen to from beginning to end and thoroughly enjoy every song. sure i like tom's voice. but the music is pretty good too. if there will be no more blink, this will do pretty fine.
2. saves the day - sound the alarm - the album contains two songs (one and four) that i already know will make my songs of the year list and it's a return to form from another one of my favorite bands. after making two almost pop albums, the pop is still there, but the speed is turned back up again. i like this album a lot and it is a lock for the year-end list.
1. pearl jam - self-titled - i could go on and on about how much i am into this band and eddie vedder, but the last two or three albums they've put out have been terribly inconsistent to me. you could see them stretching themselves, but at times they stretched to the point where they didn't sound like pearl jam anymore. it seems, on this album, they have fully realized that they could very well be my generation's go to "classic rock'n'roll" band. still "grungy", but incredibly technical and proficient due to the talent of each of the band members, not just eddie. something is going to have to come along and strike me as pretty damn good to knock pearl jam out of the top spot at the end of the year.
there you have it. we'll see how the dust settles again after all the christmas presents are opened and any last minute cd's get their fair spin.
looking forward to with high expectations:
park
blood brothers
brand new
many, many more
Sunday, July 09, 2006
and the world cup ends with penalty kicks
(what now?)
blah.
i think that kind of sums up my immediate reaction to the championship match of world cup 2006. i was rooting for france, so, in short and of course, they lost. any committed viewer had been subject to ad naseum reminders that "this could be/would be the final game for zinedine zidane." the best player of the last 20 years? a generation? i don't know. i think that's up for debate, but he is certainly in the discussion. and the last three matches for france, he has been a joy to watch. but what happens as time is winding down and the game is headed towards the anti-climactic but ultra-dramatic penalty kick finale? he freakin' head-butts a guy in the chest and gets tossed!!! why? who knows, but unless the cameras didn't catch the italian defender groping his man region, there was no excuse. he hurt his team and left everyone (all billion of us) watching the match scratching our heads as to what the hell just happened.
and so the game goes to pk's. so many people hate penalty kicks ending a soccer match, and i certainly don't love it. "would you end a football game with a field goal kicking contest?" "would you end a world series game with a home run derby?" "would you end a basketball game with a free-throw shooting contest?" these rhetorical questions are idiotic to begin with, but you know what i hate more? watching world class soccer players walk around the field two hours into a game because they are too exausted to play soccer anymore. the match must end sometime. a winner must be determined. it's imperfect, but i do like the drama of penalty kicks. and as evidenced throughout the entire knockout round of this tournament, a tension filled penalty kick is no given, even for international class players. so the game goes to pk's and one guy misses. one guy from france. and italy wins. they didn't deserve to win. france played the more attractive game. the more aggressive game. more scoring chances. but sometimes, a lot of times, that doesn't matter. italy survived, and then they won. so congratulations, italy.
on a scale of 1-10, i would rate this world cup an 8. very enjoyable for the most part. tainted to some degree by overzealous officiating. but fun and interesting and full of good memories. even for a us soccer fan.
my player of the tournament? i'll give it to zidane. outside of the incredibly stupid headbutt, he was the most dangerous and influential player on the field the entire knockout round. and that's when the games really count. so long, and thanks for the memories.
most exciting team? tie: argentina & spain
most exciting players? fernando torres - spain, lionel messi - argentina, cristiano ronaldo - portugal, zinedine zidane - france, michael ballack - germany
best hair? fernando torres - spain
early favorite for 2010? spain...and the united states of course.
what now?
(what now?)
blah.
i think that kind of sums up my immediate reaction to the championship match of world cup 2006. i was rooting for france, so, in short and of course, they lost. any committed viewer had been subject to ad naseum reminders that "this could be/would be the final game for zinedine zidane." the best player of the last 20 years? a generation? i don't know. i think that's up for debate, but he is certainly in the discussion. and the last three matches for france, he has been a joy to watch. but what happens as time is winding down and the game is headed towards the anti-climactic but ultra-dramatic penalty kick finale? he freakin' head-butts a guy in the chest and gets tossed!!! why? who knows, but unless the cameras didn't catch the italian defender groping his man region, there was no excuse. he hurt his team and left everyone (all billion of us) watching the match scratching our heads as to what the hell just happened.
and so the game goes to pk's. so many people hate penalty kicks ending a soccer match, and i certainly don't love it. "would you end a football game with a field goal kicking contest?" "would you end a world series game with a home run derby?" "would you end a basketball game with a free-throw shooting contest?" these rhetorical questions are idiotic to begin with, but you know what i hate more? watching world class soccer players walk around the field two hours into a game because they are too exausted to play soccer anymore. the match must end sometime. a winner must be determined. it's imperfect, but i do like the drama of penalty kicks. and as evidenced throughout the entire knockout round of this tournament, a tension filled penalty kick is no given, even for international class players. so the game goes to pk's and one guy misses. one guy from france. and italy wins. they didn't deserve to win. france played the more attractive game. the more aggressive game. more scoring chances. but sometimes, a lot of times, that doesn't matter. italy survived, and then they won. so congratulations, italy.
on a scale of 1-10, i would rate this world cup an 8. very enjoyable for the most part. tainted to some degree by overzealous officiating. but fun and interesting and full of good memories. even for a us soccer fan.
my player of the tournament? i'll give it to zidane. outside of the incredibly stupid headbutt, he was the most dangerous and influential player on the field the entire knockout round. and that's when the games really count. so long, and thanks for the memories.
most exciting team? tie: argentina & spain
most exciting players? fernando torres - spain, lionel messi - argentina, cristiano ronaldo - portugal, zinedine zidane - france, michael ballack - germany
best hair? fernando torres - spain
early favorite for 2010? spain...and the united states of course.
what now?
hannah and me (part twelve)
keeping up with the joneses
one thing that i have found annoying/tough/frustrating to deal with in the last few months of fatherhood is my inner competitor being annoyed or frustrated at the notion that some toddler that we are close to (and hannah is comparable in age to) through being friends with the toddler's parents is "doing something" or has reached some toddler milestone before hannah. in some cases, milestone is probably a stretch, but in every case it's hard for me not to want hannah to be the first or best at something.
"we took so and so to see cars today. he/she loved it."
"so and so pooped in the potty today."
"so and so already knows their days of the week."
"so and so is soooooo smart."
"etc., etc., so and so, etc."
i want to be happy for the parents and share in their excitement, but most of time, i feel myself biting my tongue because i feel put off that someone stole my idea or i just cleaned a crappy pull-up not an hour removed from hannah pooping in the potty leading me into a false sense of security that the potty-training phase of hannah's life is now over.
my insecurity over these types of things among other things will be neverending and ever evolving in hannah's life and my life as a father. i know this. the last thing i want to be is jealous. but i am always jealous. i know is hannah is brilliant and beautiful. why isn't that enough? why do i care that any of our friend's babies could be just as beautiful or brilliant. who knows. well, i kind of know...
admittedly, my life at times, in my eyes anyway, could be seen as a life that never lived up to it's potential. but now that i've reached this utopia, where i finally feel like i am in control of my life, the potential of being the the best dad ever is something that i think i can actually make happen. that doesn't mean i have to go all earl woods on her. i guess i'll just have to keep reminding myself that being the best dad doesn't have anything to do with what the "joneses" are doing with their kid. it has everything to do with, when the baby girl is 29 years old and reaching her own utopia, hannah being able to look back and know that i loved her unconditionally every step of the way.
especially when she exclaims, "shit!!!", in the proper context when she drops a toy or stubs her toe.
that's my girl.
keeping up with the joneses
one thing that i have found annoying/tough/frustrating to deal with in the last few months of fatherhood is my inner competitor being annoyed or frustrated at the notion that some toddler that we are close to (and hannah is comparable in age to) through being friends with the toddler's parents is "doing something" or has reached some toddler milestone before hannah. in some cases, milestone is probably a stretch, but in every case it's hard for me not to want hannah to be the first or best at something.
"we took so and so to see cars today. he/she loved it."
"so and so pooped in the potty today."
"so and so already knows their days of the week."
"so and so is soooooo smart."
"etc., etc., so and so, etc."
i want to be happy for the parents and share in their excitement, but most of time, i feel myself biting my tongue because i feel put off that someone stole my idea or i just cleaned a crappy pull-up not an hour removed from hannah pooping in the potty leading me into a false sense of security that the potty-training phase of hannah's life is now over.
my insecurity over these types of things among other things will be neverending and ever evolving in hannah's life and my life as a father. i know this. the last thing i want to be is jealous. but i am always jealous. i know is hannah is brilliant and beautiful. why isn't that enough? why do i care that any of our friend's babies could be just as beautiful or brilliant. who knows. well, i kind of know...
admittedly, my life at times, in my eyes anyway, could be seen as a life that never lived up to it's potential. but now that i've reached this utopia, where i finally feel like i am in control of my life, the potential of being the the best dad ever is something that i think i can actually make happen. that doesn't mean i have to go all earl woods on her. i guess i'll just have to keep reminding myself that being the best dad doesn't have anything to do with what the "joneses" are doing with their kid. it has everything to do with, when the baby girl is 29 years old and reaching her own utopia, hannah being able to look back and know that i loved her unconditionally every step of the way.
especially when she exclaims, "shit!!!", in the proper context when she drops a toy or stubs her toe.
that's my girl.
Monday, July 03, 2006
how do you spell underachiever?
B-R-A-Z-I-L
pardon me for continuing my world cup themed posts. after the final this coming sunday, maybe i can bitch about something else. i always have a hard time hearing "experts" calling one team or another a stone cold lock favorite before a season or a tournament begins. exibit a: usc football 2005-06. exibit b: connecticut basketball 2005-06. exibit c: brazil futbol 2006. how much more, i wonder, do these "experts" really pay attention to their sport of choice than i do? i mean, how many folks knew what to expect from brazil? i knew the names and most of the club teams of all their starters, but not before world cup did i see them play together. the fact of the matter is most world cup squads are just like the us and convene a month or two before the biggest tournament on earth and the teams either gel or they don't. there were/are teams in the tournament that have just as much talent as brazil. see france or england or portugal or argentina or spain. why weren't they the overwhelming favorites? this world cup is just another example of the "nobody knows anything" hypothesis i threw out around ncaa tourney time.
"i can't spell brilliant, but i can see it, and that kid is gonna be a god." words spoken by my flawed fucker of a stepfather that i'll never forget because, one, it is silly, and two, it was about his son that was a star in pee-wee football but didn't get off the bench for his high school. i do appreciate the sentiment, though, as it relates to listening to "experts", reading espn.com, and listening to friends talk about what they "know" vs. seeing something with my own eyes. what did i see in the overwhelming favorites to win the world cup? roberto carlos with his rocket of a left foot and penchant for disappearting on defense. a problem, this is, considering he is a defensive back. a past his prime ronaldo who never fucking runs unless the ball is within five yards of him. a too old cafu. a drama queen of a central defender in lucio. a clumsy striker named adriano who is, like roberto carlos, way too left-footed. i will give props to kaka. one of the only guys from the incredible "impossible is nothing" adidas commercials that showed up during world cup. and that brings us to ronaldinho. the two time reigning world soccer player of the year. outside of some fancy dribbling, what did he bring to the table and team? zero. sqadush. nada. shit. fun to watch? sure, if fun to watch means brazil is no more likely to score because of him than me. a team of stars. all proven on their club teams. also proved at this world cup as a team never a real threat to win it all.
i knew this after i saw their first match. i also knew that argentina was going to win it all. so, what do i know?
i know i'll root for germany tomorrow and more brilliance from zidane and cristiano ronaldo and figo and thierry henry wednesday and enjoy the heck out of the championship game sunday.
you can believe what you hear. what you read. what your friends say. but until i see the odds on favorite with my own eyes, you'll have to pardon me if you catch me rolling my eyes.
B-R-A-Z-I-L
pardon me for continuing my world cup themed posts. after the final this coming sunday, maybe i can bitch about something else. i always have a hard time hearing "experts" calling one team or another a stone cold lock favorite before a season or a tournament begins. exibit a: usc football 2005-06. exibit b: connecticut basketball 2005-06. exibit c: brazil futbol 2006. how much more, i wonder, do these "experts" really pay attention to their sport of choice than i do? i mean, how many folks knew what to expect from brazil? i knew the names and most of the club teams of all their starters, but not before world cup did i see them play together. the fact of the matter is most world cup squads are just like the us and convene a month or two before the biggest tournament on earth and the teams either gel or they don't. there were/are teams in the tournament that have just as much talent as brazil. see france or england or portugal or argentina or spain. why weren't they the overwhelming favorites? this world cup is just another example of the "nobody knows anything" hypothesis i threw out around ncaa tourney time.
"i can't spell brilliant, but i can see it, and that kid is gonna be a god." words spoken by my flawed fucker of a stepfather that i'll never forget because, one, it is silly, and two, it was about his son that was a star in pee-wee football but didn't get off the bench for his high school. i do appreciate the sentiment, though, as it relates to listening to "experts", reading espn.com, and listening to friends talk about what they "know" vs. seeing something with my own eyes. what did i see in the overwhelming favorites to win the world cup? roberto carlos with his rocket of a left foot and penchant for disappearting on defense. a problem, this is, considering he is a defensive back. a past his prime ronaldo who never fucking runs unless the ball is within five yards of him. a too old cafu. a drama queen of a central defender in lucio. a clumsy striker named adriano who is, like roberto carlos, way too left-footed. i will give props to kaka. one of the only guys from the incredible "impossible is nothing" adidas commercials that showed up during world cup. and that brings us to ronaldinho. the two time reigning world soccer player of the year. outside of some fancy dribbling, what did he bring to the table and team? zero. sqadush. nada. shit. fun to watch? sure, if fun to watch means brazil is no more likely to score because of him than me. a team of stars. all proven on their club teams. also proved at this world cup as a team never a real threat to win it all.
i knew this after i saw their first match. i also knew that argentina was going to win it all. so, what do i know?
i know i'll root for germany tomorrow and more brilliance from zidane and cristiano ronaldo and figo and thierry henry wednesday and enjoy the heck out of the championship game sunday.
you can believe what you hear. what you read. what your friends say. but until i see the odds on favorite with my own eyes, you'll have to pardon me if you catch me rolling my eyes.
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