2018 WORLD CUP FINAL
France vs Croatia
7/15/2018
Note to readers: you can find all previous Mikel Rouse Sports Blogs HERE
And as Josie is to her Pussycats, we are to this WORKD KUP entering, as we would, the final game of this 2018 FISA Marvel/Law&Order reach around and globe trotter dribble and these two teams have been through hell and high water (and with continued ocean and atmospheric warming, sea levels will likely rise for many centuries at rates higher than that of the current century and in the United States, almost 40 percent of the population lives in relatively high-population-density coastal areas, where sea level plays a role in flooding, shoreline erosion, and hazards from storms AND globally, eight of the world’s 10 largest cities are near a coast, according to the U.N. Atlas of the Oceans but for goodness sake don’t lose focus on what matters) it’s time to introduce the final challengers and in this corner we have France (French: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), which is a sovereign state whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe, as well as several overseas regions and territories and in that corner we have Croatia (/kroʊˈeɪʃə/, kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska), which is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, on the Adriatic Sea and the children, always the children, paraded out in the glory of god and youth and forgetting they’ll most likely grow to resemble the same values/lack of values as the folks parading them out and this anthem and that anthem and coin toss to see if they’ll arrest someone and lazy Susan and in and out of bounds and a slow start to this drip drip McDelivery Powerade and out again and Modric brings the ball in and Humpty Dumpty and still focusing on the babe faces which can change lives and Perisic almost in with his left foot and no foul and boom boom and a law originating from the 1789 revolution and reaffirmed in the 1958 French Constitution makes it illegal for the French state to collect data on ethnicity and ancestry which makes sense and owie and down and backwards header and foul and slip & fall and French field kick and OH OH Griezmann scores for France and this crowd is electric and Croatia is reassessing their thrust and Croatia is a republic governed under a parliamentary system and a developed country with a very high standard of living and it is a member of the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean and hopes of reasserting with a field kick but no go and OH OH Croatia scores as Perisic moves it in and this game of gladiators is tied 1-1 and Bob’s your uncle and as Croatia tied this game, it’s good to recall that France remains a major destination for immigrants, accepting about 200,000 legal immigrants annually and It is also Western Europe’s leading recipient of asylum seekers, with an estimated 50,000 applications in 2005 (a 15% decrease from 2004) and if these FISA games don’t make a pretty good argument for pro-immigration policies well I just don’t know and speaking of inappropriate WORKD KUP behavior, Burger King stumbled badly while trying to counter the censorious attitudes in Russia and it ended up being harshly criticized when it offered 3 million rubles ($48,000) and a lifetime of Whopper burgers to any Russian woman impregnated by a World Cup player and that’s Moscow for you coming on the heels of 12 additional indictments against Russian hackers from the Mueller team (USA USA!) and a VAR penalty and a free kick for France and it’s in for France as Griezmann scores and France once again leads this game and VISA VISA VISA and after Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina following the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, the Croatian Military Frontier was abolished and the territory returned to Croatia in 1881, pursuant to provisions of the Croatian-Hungarian settlement and renewed efforts to reform Austria-Hungary, entailing federalisation with Croatia as a federal unit, were stopped by the advent of World War I but nothing seems to stop this determined Croatian team as Mbappe is sent away down the right and completely bins about three players with his turn of pace and so close for Croatia and Flip Floaty (TM) and crash bodies and +3 on the clock and loose ball and chitty chitty bang bang and at the half it’s 2-1 France and France is a secular country, and freedom of religion is a constitutional right and French religious policy is based on the concept of laïcité, a strict separation of church and state under which public life is kept completely secular (take that USA USA) and we’re back at this Heady Topper (TM) bout and flounder and fan mail and France on the March (so to speak) and almost in on these Croatian legs (!) and twinky and tumble and some velvet morning when I’m straight and floss every day and close but not as Rakitic rides a tackle and slips the ball in behind the defence, Rebic comes onto it and hits at a narrow angle with power and Lloris tips the ball over and Modric takes the corner but Rebic puts it out for a goal kick while battling with Hernandez which brings to mind that the Ottoman wars instigated great demographic changes as Croats migrated towards Austria and the present-day Burgenland Croats are direct descendants of these settlers and to replace the fleeing population, the Habsburgs encouraged the Christian populations of Bosnia and Serbia to provide military service in the Croatian Military Frontier and Vrsaljko punting a volley miles wide of goal and something almost happened (imagine) and tippy toes and goodbye Columbus and frogs legs and conniptions Flaubert said a writers life is a dogs life but it’s the only life and Strinic wins a tackle superbly (!) on the left, and Croatia pour forward a FISA March and Pussy Riot for all the right reasons and OH OH France is back in with force as Pogba drives that sucker in which is a good time to remember that the French health care system is one of universal health care largely financed by government national health insurance and in its 2000 assessment of world health care systems, the World Health Organization found that France provided the “close to best overall health care” in the world (take that USA USA) and this game is 3-1 France and what a quick response by Croatia but no skewer and in April 1941, Yugoslavia was occupied by Germany and Italy and following the invasion the territory, parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the region of Syrmia were incorporated into the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a Nazi-backed puppet state and arts of Dalmatia were annexed by Italy, and the northern Croatian regions of Baranja and Međimurje were annexed by Hungary (you see where this is going) but even still, this Croatian team says never say never or maybe say maybe and sad Dalic coach and who can blame him and OH OH seriously France is in again with Mbappe scoring for god (less) and country and this game is now 4-1 France and Érik Satie was a key member of the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde, best known for his Gymnopédies (take that Daft Punk) and boy do I wish I was at the horseshoe bar in Paris tonight and goalie kinda forgot where he was and it seems daunting that this Croatian team could bounce back from this setback in 20 minutes and as of 2017, Croatia has 91 professional theatres, 29 professional children’s theatres and 56 amateur theatres visited by more than 1.69 million viewers per year and the professional theatres employ 1,195 artists and there are 47 professional orchestras, ensembles, and choirs in the country, attracting an annual attendance of 317 thousand and really, keep that in mind, you know, priorities, and Lion King (not really) and owie double header (TM) and sartorial splendor and never say die and always say die and back and forth and two and fro and swing and a miss by Croatia and sadly, since the 1995 Paris Métro and RER bombings, France has been sporadically targeted by Islamist organisations, notably the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015 which provoked the largest public rallies in French history, gathering 4.4 million people, the November 2015 Paris attacks which resulted in 130 deaths, the deadliest attack on French soil since World War II, and the deadliest in the European Union since the Madrid train bombings in 2004 and the 2016 Nice attack which caused 87 deaths during Bastille Day celebrations and this French team is on fire (hire) and somehow Croatia actually got that 2nd goal from that previous flunderbus so let’s be clear, the score is 4-2 France with just 6 minutes left in this VISA VISA torpedo and Croatia is categorised as having established a very high level of human development in the Human Development Index, with a high degree of equality in HDI achievements between women and men and it promotes disability rights and recognition of same-sex unions in Croatia has gradually improved over the past decade, culminating in registered civil unions in July 2014, granting same-sex couples equal inheritance rights so, again, pretty evenly matched in this regard but in terms of World Cup sport and laundry, this game would seem to be a less than winding road and shoot into the clouds as symbol of defeat and add 5 minutes to make sure paint is completely dry and little pop up (!) and bring the boys home not band of gold and this game is over with France the world champions and when I was young and first became aware that I wasn’t always here but still feared death and then got older and feared death less and then now as I can totally visualize/imagine not being here it returns the favor in reminding oneself that it’s not the living or the dying that counts, but the being…. within reason, of course.
France 4
Croatia 2
2018 WORLD CUP
Poland vs Columbia
6/24/2018
Note to readers: you can find all previous Mikel Rouse Sports Blogs HERE
Note to readers: While traveling to Moscow to cover these World Cup adventures this writer was waylaid in La La Land for my health (I came for the culture) only to be asked “The culture? What culture? You’re in LA.” (to which I replied “…I was misinformed.”) and lost all track of time at Dan Tana’s only to find that WORKD KUP 2018 was proceeding at break neck speed and I was in danger of missing a link, so to speak, and thus I managed to find a hotel and creamery that specialized in Brandy Alexanders (get one Beatle drunk and look what happens) and ensconce myself in front of the biggest flat screen I’ve ever seen and get back to work at least and until they realize at the front desk that my name isn’t Harry.
And broke back and mountain combine in this weekend catapult cup of 2018 FISA WORKD KUP as Poland (Polish: Polska [ˈpɔlska], officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska[a] [ʐɛt͡ʂpɔˈspɔlita ˈpɔlska], a country located in Central Europe and Colombia (/kəˈlʌmbiə, -ˈlɒm-/ kə-LUM-bee-ə, -LOM-; Spanish: [koˈlombja], officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia), a sovereign state largely situated in the northwest of South America, with territories in Central America come to match meet is murder as we endure (enter) the half way mark of the Workd Kup with 32 games (and many Brandy Alexanders) to go as we get a national anthem dose from both sides and NIKE and World Cup Trampoline (TM) and it looks like the winner in national anthem goes to Columbia and how can seeing yourself on camera still have meaning these days (third party validation?) and this will be an elimination round for both of these teams so nerves are on their way and early bump on the head and free kick for Poland and ball out and with a population of approximately 38.5 million people, Poland is the sixth most populous member state of the European Union and Poland’s capital and largest metropolis is Warsaw as nutcracker and double-header (seriously) and who wears short shorts Poland wears short shorts and Ospina is down with huge owie and indigenous people inhabited the territory that is now Colombia by 12,500 BCE as nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes at the El Abra, Tibitó and Tequendama sites near present-day Bogotá traded with one another and with other cultures from the Magdalena River Valley and Ospina back on his feet and header and now Mina is down with extreme owie with metal studs on hand and Zielinsky rising and Cuadrado up Bereszynski in on Falcao and slip and fall and won the header of Cuadrado and broken by Arias and pop fly and Pazdan brings it back in for Poland and more than a century after the Partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century, Poland regained its independence in 1918 with the Treaty of Versailles and in September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Germany, followed by the Soviet Union invading Poland in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (no relation to PBR) and more than six million Poles died in the war as both of these teams are playing for keeps and a little payback as Lewandowsky is rammed in the back and in and immediately out and dry off the ball and pushing and shoving and where is the love and Mojica wide attempt and again with the crosses in the box and men seldom make passes at (enter preferred gender here) who wear glasses and close but no Columbian as Poland blocks and the robotic crowd shots (also referred to as emotion) and so close for Columbia and tear the news machine down, circle ‘round the stereo sound, make a party for the locals, locals stand your ground and Colombia was the first constitutional government in South America and the Liberal and Conservative parties, founded in 1848 and 1849 respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas and on top of that USA USA, slavery was abolished in the country in 1851 and Sanchez sent off injury substitution with surf board stretcher air lift overhead hublot and Superstition Cross (TM) and header, footer, header, header VISA VISA VISA unleash speed in x18 and not to pick on Saudi (baby you can drive my car) Arabia, but feminism in Poland started in the 1800s in the age of the foreign Partitions and Poland’s precursor of feminism, Narcyza Żmichowska, founded a group of Suffragettes in 1842 and prior to the last Partition in 1795, tax-paying females were allowed to take part in political life and since 1918, following the return to independence, all women could vote AND Poland was the 15th (12th sovereign) country to introduce universal women’s suffrage (just sayin’ SA) and oh so close for Columbia and ima Lewandowsky you and OHHH OHHHH it’s in for Columbia and world peace is a reality in the crowd as Quintero in a reverse pass and Mina powers it home and these McDonald ads are on fire and Columbia feeling their oats right now but a drag flag (TM) and bounce roof of net offsides and Falcao is down but back up (like he never went down) and 2 minutes left in this first half and at the half it’s Columbia 1, Poland 0 as a knock on the door is followed by “Mr. Harry, the front desk would like to speak with you” and quiet time and pretend to be empty room as the second half of this game begins and Poland hopes to stay in this 2018 WK scene and James in the middle and Bereszynski heads it up and there’s no one there to receive (we’ve all been there) and Quintero shoots wide and why not and Permasol and Cuadrado on the run from Quintero and since the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict between government forces, leftist guerrilla groups and right wing paramilitaries and (no surprise here) the United States has been heavily involved in the conflict since its beginnings, when in the early 1960s the U.S. government encouraged the Colombian military to attack leftist militias in rural Colombia because, you guessed it, this was part of the U.S. fight against communism (which feels rather quant now) and McDelivery and Poland kick turn turn kick turn turn and Max he’s wearing a dress and no kidding and homosexuality in Poland was confirmed as legal in 1932 and Poland recognises gender change and trafficking women is ‘illegal and rare’ as Quintero takes the fifth corner of this game and here comes the change as man down for Poland and oh oh it’s almost there for Lewandowski and painful save right in the chest for Columbia’s goal keeper, his first save of the game, and a good reminder that during the boom in Latin American literature, successful writers emerged, led by Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez and his magnum opus, One Hundred Years of Solitude, which if you haven’t, you really should (maybe skip a few Yelp reviews) and we’ve got a yellow card on the field of dreams and shimmy and WANDA and what the body can do if given a chance and rolie polie owie (TM) and James met by Pazdan and later bounce off face as Poland desperately needs a goal here, or a lifeline, or whatever and Poland free kick and all the bodies crash in and hook it back in danger area and if you’re happy and you know it selfie and OHHH OHHHH at the age of 32 a lifetime dream (!) for Falcao as Quintero passes and Falcao drives it in and it’s Columbia 2, Poland 0 which might be a good moment to remember that the first documented phrase in the Polish language reads “Day ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai” (“Let me grind, and you take a rest”) which seems like a pretty good way to start dialog as this Poland team tries to keep the dream of WK alive with a flickering heart and OHHHHH Cuadrado drives it solo down the field and scores good grief and it’s now 3-0 Columbia and party time dance with Columbia legends in the stands and musicians, composers, music producers and singers from Colombia are recognized internationally such as Shakira, Juanes, Carlos Vives and others who might be singing in the streets today (with the help of auto-tune) and wholesome header (TM) and close for Poland but with just 10 minutes to go, seriously, and this near cinematic loss for Poland reminds one that in the 19th century, throughout partitioned Poland, numerous amateur inventors, such as Kazimierz Prószyński, were eager to construct a film projector (imagine, but again, Yelp wasn’t in the way) and in 1894, Prószyński was successful in creating a Pleograph, one of the first cameras in the world which took photographs and projected pictures AND was built before the Lumière brothers lodged their patent so there’s that if you’re going home sans trophy and so close for Columbia again but no and a yellow card and free kick for Columbia but no go and so many Columbia owie’s in this game which brings to mind that through health tourism, many people from all over the world travel from their places of residence to other countries in search of medical treatment and the attractions in the countries visited and Colombia is projected as one of Latin America’s main destinations in terms of health tourism due to the quality of its health care professionals, a good number of institutions devoted to health, and an immense inventory of natural and architectural sites so maybe they’ve got a little secret in terms of injury & owie (TM) and just 2 minutes left in this game and maybe there are no winners or losers in the game of football, life, but tell that to the lonely, the broken and the hopeless who form and shape the world and who’s disparity fuels the engine and primes the pump and folds over and over on itself and finally says, as in this match, game over.
Poland 0
Columbia 3
2018 WORLD CUP
Germany vs Mexico
6/17/2018
Note to readers: you can find all previous Mikel Rouse Sports Blogs HERE
And it’s over the river and through the woods to Grand Master’s Flash we go in this 2018 World War (TM) mixup between Mexico, known as the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos, colloquially: Mexico (Spanish: México [ˈmexiko] and Germany (officially: the Federal Republic of Germany; German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland), the largest country in Europe and not your fathers fatherland (?) and the children, the children parade out and these folks seem to actually know their respective National Anthems and final huddle and color field announcements and wipe the sleep from your eyes and off we go and header and footer and OH OH and NO NO but what a breathless start to this VISA VISA VISA and Mexico covers almost two million square kilometers (over 760,000 sq mi), and the nation is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent state in the world and Ochoa reached for it and no go and remember German McCartney at 50 coach from 2014 who is now McCartney at 60 and ball knocked out of play and Mexico brings the ball in and ball sails into the crowd which is louder than a steam whistle and Chicharito drives it forward and stopped and free kick and Layún overshoots and back to field play and a swing and a miss from Mexico and a foul and free kick for Mexico and so close but no Montecristo and German drive and miss and in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire and after World War I and the revolution of 1918–19, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic (who’s your daddy) and another quick shot by Germany and another short of the distance and header, header, bobble and Hernandez close and tight and tense McCartney at 60 my love does it good and POWERADE and Werner almost in the pocket and no panic from Germany with another shot and save by Mexico and with an estimated population of over 120 million, Mexico is the eleventh most populous and the most populous Spanish-speaking state in the world while being the second most populous nation in Latin America and slip and fall owie and free kick for Mexico and Mareno puts one up and out and chesty (TM) and Lazano in the box and set up and out and yank me crank me Chicharito barely keeps it alive at the half hour mark and Lazaro’s cross is denied (come again?) and blunder bust and foreplay under pressure and staying with it and cross to the side by Germany and the shared humanity and OHH OHHH it’s in for Mexico as Chicharito runs it and Lazano drives it in and its 1-0 Mexico and Germany is pissed, thus, the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to the establishment of a dictatorship, World War II and the Holocaust (facts are facts asshat) and after the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded: West Germany, formed from the American, British and French occupation zones, and East Germany, formed from the Soviet occupation zone and following the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe, the country was reunified on 3 October 1990 and Kim Kardashian wore a very decisive hair (again!) at the made for TV MTV Movie and Additional Awards show and a punch up and free kick for Germany and blocked by Mexico in Buster Bluth hand as Mexico tries to keep this 1 point advantage but still drives it down the field and a swing and miss and vari-speed and we are at the half as Mexico leads Germany 1-0 and many Mexican cultural features including tequila (me like), first distilled in the 16th century, charreria (17th), mariachi (18th) and Mexican cuisine, a fusion of American and European (particularly Spanish) cuisine, arose during the colonial era and as we come back from the half it’s all but certain that defending world champions Germany will come back with a vengeance resembling Gottfried Leibniz’s contributions to rationalism and Facebook’s commitment to excellence and the paint drying ball continues to take a lickin’ and common taters and they’re never as good from the front as from behind and Germany down by a goal and heil header and header again and Salcedo of Mexico closes down a German drive and Lazano not happy with a call and Chicharito almost brings it home and Germany takes a shot and is blocked by Mexico (Buster hand) and presidents Porfirio Díaz, (a republican general during the French intervention) and William Howard Taft planned a summit in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, for October 16, 1909, an historic first meeting between a Mexican and a U.S. president and also the first time an American president would cross the border into Mexico (but sadly for Mexico, not the last USA USA) and there’s that WANDA again and at the 60 minute mark this German team it trying to even this score and the spirit of this aggressive German team honors the establishment of classical German idealism by Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling but will that be enough in the 2018 World War (TM) games and he loves you yeah yeah yeah and Mexico pushes it (I don’t push, I’m no pusher) and crowd roars and ballsack dilemma and corner fly area and Germany drives in and blocked by BBH (see above) and we’re at the 66 minute mark and Lazano is off the field and may have scored the winner goal in this 2018 WW bid against Germany and Draxler shoots and it’s over and although wine is becoming more popular in many parts of Germany, especially close to German wine regions (see WORKD KUP logo) the national alcoholic drink is beer, beer, and more beer and German beer consumption per person stands at 110 litres (24 imp gal; 29 US gal) in 2013 and take that USA USA craft tears and Germany brings the ball in and Draxler drives and misses and Chicharito almost drives it home and he’s down and there’s gonna be a penalty here for real and 78k in this stadium making their voices heard for this clash of cultures and Crimea and horrible ball in face owie and Marquez is in and is 39 and makes history playing in his 5th World Cup and the presence of the human being in the Mexican territory has left important archaeological findings of great importance for the explanation of the habitat of primitive man and contemporary man but there is absolutely no accounting for what’s going on north of the border and drop kick me Jesus and German electronic music has gained global influence, with Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream pioneering in this genre and DJs and artists of the techno and house music scenes of Germany have become well known and Germany almost in at 75:30 of this match and Draxler takes a shot and it’s up and over and fuss budget and Mexico almost drives it in again but no no and Diego Rivera, the most well-known figure of Mexican muralism, painted the Man at the Crossroads at the Rockefeller Center in New York City, a huge mural that was destroyed the next year because of the inclusion of a portrait of Russian communist leader Lenin, which, when you think about the 2016 USA USA election, why go to all that trouble and at the 80th minute this German team is bound and determined with not a trace of Arthur Schopenhauer’s composition of metaphysical pessimism and it opens up again for Mexico and a swing and a miss and again (like it’s a theme or something) and we’ve got 10 minutes left in this game and as long as Mexico stands their ground (mixed metaphor) this could be a win for Mexico and a loss for Germany and during the 1970s and 1980s, New German Cinema directors such as Volker Schlöndorff, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder brought West German auteur cinema to critical acclaim as one ponders the game in the life of a player and, interestingly, it is commonly believed that football was introduced in Mexico by Cornish miners at the end of the 19th century and by 1902 a five-team league had emerged with a strong British influence and Mexico’s top clubs are América with 12 championships, Guadalajara with 11, and Toluca with 10 and Antonio Carbajal was the first player to appear in five World Cups, and Hugo Sánchez was named best CONCACAF player of the 20th century by IFFHS and those are also facts as we enter the last three minutes of this action and Mexican fans sensing a win as this crowd cheers as if this is a home game for Mexico and not unlike the enlightenment philosophy of Immanuel Kant, this German team has to wonder about place in time and side by side and Germany almost in twice and almost is as almost does as one for all sense rebate and at 90:00 we have an additional 3 minutes and Mexico blocks and breathe in the minimum and Salt-n-Pepa the header and Gomaz says he was held (and how, in these times, is that a penalty) and game over and Mexico defeats Germany and at the edge of our seats it’s hard not to feel a sense of wonder at the sight of the Mexican supporters in Russia and simple respect given to these teams in the true spirit of competition and it’s hard not to be moved but we will do our best and dare to dream and forget to dream and run it up the flagpole of our shared defeat.
Germany 0
Mexico 1
2018 WORLD CUP
Morocco vs Iran
6/15/2018
Note to readers: you can find all previous Mikel Rouse Sports Blogs HERE
And…. welcome to this third match and second installment of WhatsApp (this is not available for trademark) 2018 action where privacy is a forgotten word but selfie is smoke ‘em if you got ‘em and we’re seeing Morocco (/məˈrɒkoʊ/Arabic: المَغرِب, translit. al-maġrib, lit. ‘place the sun sets; the west’ whose capital is Rabat, and the largest city is Casablanca, up against Iran (Persian: ایران Irān [ʔiːˈɾɒːn] also known as Persia (/ˈpɜːrʒə/), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān) which is a sovereign state in Western Asia and with over 81 million inhabitants, Iran is the world’s 18th-most-populous country
and screaming bride launches this game of house board game of thrones and Belhanda misses a mark and Iran skips a beat and pushes the ball down the field in this middle match of WhatsApp 2018 as Amrabat tries to curl and the ball is out, a man is down and let’s go to the video tape and yes, all the players dove in deep and Amrabat brings the ball back and is blinded by VISA VISA VISA and Morocco is playing footsie with the ball and Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament and the King of Morocco holds vast executive and legislative powers, especially over the military, foreign policy and religious affairs as the ball is hit out and slip and fall and we’re 10 minutes into this and the ball sails across the entire field only to be head butted by Morocco and a stumble by Rezaeian and Morocco with Gene Kelly kick and it’s blocked by Iran and then a header by Rezaeian and stumble from El Kaabi and almost come to blows and Morocco tries to feel out Iran, who according to international reports, has an exceptionally poor human rights record as the regime in Iran is undemocratic, and has frequently persecuted and arrested critics of the government and its Supreme Leader (not exactly a love supreme) and women’s rights in Iran are described as seriously inadequate, and children’s rights have been severely violated, with more child offenders being executed in Iran than in any other country in the world which is probably why Morocco is so concerned and spaceship Belhanda is down with a grimace (you gotta keep an eye on Iran) and free kick and bounces frenetic but to no avail and life is out of bounds and from above this looks like a game of Angry Birds (…I’ve heard) and Iran is going the wrong way (in the game) and free kick for Iran and insufficient guile there as we’re midway through this match and ‘Iran’s back line’ sounds strangely wrong and header this and header that and Iran’s Amiri brings the ball back in and the anxious faces eager for the ball look like children at Christmas, which, well, never mind, and Amrabat fixes his thigh highs laced with menace (thinking about watching Natalie Portman just barely keep her cool while eating extremely spicy wings) and the ball is pretty much a lonely hunter and Morocco is not challenging the center which Iran likes to keep tight (I know, I know) and is it header or footer and El Ahmadi does a poor job clearing it and serious Skip to My Lou on one side of the field and Azmoun down twice in a row for El Ahmadi and free kick for Iran and a swing and a miss at 34:45 of this first half and who thought of these haircuts and Morocco stagnant up top and Azmoun up, down, all around and back on his feet and plenty of lung power in this crowd and Zeyach keeps his head up and by the intense looks on these players faces, it’s clear that whatever you choose, sports, business, murder, it’s commitment that counts and header, header, footer, header and chesty (TM) and another free kick for Iran and a swing and a miss and a dream lover (so I don’t have to dream alone) and Morocco, making an effort to stab before the half, was the first nation to recognise the fledgling United States as an independent nation in 1777 and in the beginning of the American Revolution, American merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean were subject to attack by the Barbary pirates and on 20 December 1777, Morocco’s Sultan Mohammed III declared that American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage and, thus, the Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship, signed in 1786, stands as the U.S.’s oldest non-broken friendship treaty (so it’s long overdue to be broken – DJT) and at the half it’s Morocco 0 Iran 0, a reminder that DNA detectives are searching for killers in your family tree and we’re back after the half and out of bounds and that was quick and Iran brings it in and a card handed out from referee from Turkey 6 Million Dollar Man slo-mo and a bit rough and tumble there and header and out and a reminder that at the 1943 Tehran Conference, the Allied “Big Three”-Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill-issued the Tehran Declaration to guarantee the post-war independence and boundaries of Iran; however, at the end of the war, Soviet troops remained in Iran and local pro-Soviet groups established two puppet states in north-western Iran, namely the People’s Government of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Mahabad and we get breaking news concerning WhatsApp (future) action from the USA USA president tweeting: “Thank you for all of the compliments on getting the World Cup to come to the U.S.A., Mexico and Canada. I worked hard on this, along with a Great Team of talented people. We never fail, and it will be a great World Cup!” which seems to sum up this WhatsApp 2018 action and Benatia swept away by Hakimi (I know, I know) and we’re at 51:00 of this challenge and spectacular mid-air crash and off sides exercise and Belhanda footsie and who doesn’t remember during the 2011–12 Moroccan protests, thousands of people rallied in Rabat and other cities calling for political reform and a new constitution curbing the powers of the king and in July 2011, the King won a landslide victory in a referendum on a reformed constitution he had blathered on about and a very tender header by Azmoun and one of these countries doesn’t allow women to watch men’s football and the unrepressed anger on these teams is palatable and on 4 November 1979, a group of Muslim students seized the United States Embassy and took the embassy with 52 personnel and citizens hostage, after the United States refused to return Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to Iran to face trial in the court of the new regime and all but certain execution and attempts by the Jimmy Carter administration to negotiate for the release of the hostages, and a failed rescue attempt, helped force Carter out of office and brought Ronald Reagan to power and we all know how well that went and getting Hakimi forward and at 60:00 this game is still 0-0 and swatted away by Amrabat as the Iran team suffers an owie and Morocco’s Shojaei’s number is up and Taremi’s coming on and a swing and a miss by Iran where Kaaba leaps and a view from on high and Iran misses again and it wasn’t a bad ball (!) and in Morocco women are at times sexually harassed when walking the streets, and a woman walking the streets of Casablanca while filmed by The Moroccan Times was harassed about 300 times so maybe missing football games isn’t the worst thing in the world and the screen goes blank in real time which is cause for imagination and making up something, so historically, Iranian literature has inspired writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson and one wonders if football inspires the same level of life and during the 1950s and 1960s, Morocco was a refuge and artistic centre and attracted writers such as Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and William S. Burroughs and what a cut up that is (think about it) and this game is still 0-0 and I know that because I have a mobile phone but the screen still leaves a wide open and blank flat plank that requires patience and, again, imagination but there’s this: Iran is the apparent birthplace of the earliest complex instruments, dating back to the third millennium BC and at 81:00 we are still at 0-0 and this crowd is both docile and content with the flat screen existence and who can blame them with the amount of saturation and reality and pixels that make the mind glitter and orb and contrive and at 85:00 it’s still 0-0 and in 1952, Orson Welles’ Othello won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival under the Moroccan flag but the Festival’s musicians did not play the Moroccan national anthem, as no one in attendance knew what it was and don’t you think there’s a metaphor here with god and country and football and the pageantry wrapped around sport and cars and the meaningless of it all and certainly a flat screen going blank gives one hope for a reset of sorts and at 90:00 it’s still 0-0 which begs the question: did anything actually happen during the lanky blank screen time as in a portal into another world and we are officially in overtime so there is a penalty kick competition which resembles watching paint dry and OHH OHH at 96:00 it’s Iran with a score making it 1-0 Iran and it looks like this game is complete and what better ending than Trump says he wants “my people” to sit at attention for him like people do for Kim Jong Un and imagine being part of the long con and imagine the grifter in/out of your imagination because your imagination is no match for the Grifter in Chief.
Morocco 0
Iran 1
2018 WORLD CUP
Russia vs Saudi Arabia
6/14/2018
Note to readers: you can find all previous Mikel Rouse Sports Blogs HERE
And it’s one, two, three what are we fighting for in this 2018 WORKD KUP (TM) opener with the likes of Russia begin and beguine again and Saudi (that’s what I like about you) Arabia and old enemies are now old friends and what goes up must come ‘round in this 2018 FISA action with VAR (more on that later) and unleashed speed as the ball turns over in the middle of the third and the back and forth and the field is striped as Golovin earns the corner and Genet takes one away and Al Sahlawi goes after the goal and oh oh oh it’s in play and oh oh oh then it’s not as Russia throws in (there’s been a lot of this of late) and KSA blocks and Golovin is on the side and lifted long, maybe too long and a matter of what kind of form you’re in and Zobdin says ‘it’s out’ but OHH it’s in and Gazinskiy scores, and Russia (Russian: Росси́я, tr. Rossiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə]), officially the Russian Federation, is the largest country in the world by area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth’s inhabited land area, and the ninth most populous, with over 144 million people as of December 2017, excluding Crimea (but obviously not for long, if you get my drift) and it’s 1-0 and this crowd is on its feet post 2016 USA USA election and a throw in for Russia and wait, wait, it could have been 2-0 but something happened towards respecting and keeping the flag down and pass by Smolov and moving the ball forward and the oldest Russian to play a World Cup and that ball is going, going… no it’s back on the field and Al Sahlawi argues and the statistics for brain injury in football are not the same as in football and man down and hope it’s not too bad but it’s not looking good but Kutepof still going and good recovery by Saudi Arabia (/ˌsɔːdi əˈreɪbiə/), officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which is a sovereign Arab state in Western Asia constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and with a land area of approximately 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), and Saudi Arabia is geographically the fifth-largest state in Asia and second-largest state in the Arab world after Algeria and Saudi kick it to the fans and now USA USA not in World Cup action (which would have been yuge) and Smolov making a run and a free kick for KSA and poor marking (!) by Russia and a goal kick for KSA and finally, a whistle for the foul but Smolov’s at the end of the line and Al Faraj holding there but Al Shehri is the guy you want on the ball (so to speak) and oh oh Cheryshev goes for the goal and GOAL as he scores and following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the world’s first constitutionally socialist state, and a lot of good that did and this game is now 2-0 for Russia as we near the half hearted and the goal founded busk duster of WORKD KUP (TM) action and Al Mayouf May be pushing it short and Kutepov denies and I think as the half nears, we give credit to Russia as they came out on this field with the ‘right attitude’ and at the half it’s 2-0 Russia and ready for the second half and already there’s a free kick and head bounce once or twice and twisty body angle and again, that’s the rhythm you get in and VISA VISA VISA and a little flick for the defender and differential and Smolov brings it down on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud, who united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, not to be confused with House of Cards now in its 6th and final season (USA USA) and Sahlawi at the half way line as the Russians are coming the Russians are coming want to preserve this 2-0 lead and the Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world’s first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space and by the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the world’s second largest economy, largest standing military in the world and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction (take that USA USA) and Smolov, not unlike Ivan the Terrible, who nearly doubled the already large Russian territory by annexing the three Tatar khanates (parts of the disintegrated Golden Horde): Kazan and Astrakhan along the Volga River, and the Siberian Khanate in southwestern Siberia, swings and sort of misses and a free kick for Saudi but to no avail and Al Faraj second on the green for the ball and Hawsawi across the field and those WANDA ads should be making everyone dizzy because the kingdom is categorized as a World Bank high-income economy with a high Human Development Index and is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies (not to be confused with the recent G-6 plus 1) and Russia has the ball and Cheryshev on the end of it and Saudi push it push it and over the Russia hosting of first World Cup becomes her in a foul against Russia and the belly boat of time and the arch of madness, of how we forget and ignore what’s right in front of us, the crisis, the love, the family of man and the ball is in Russia control and under Peter the Great, Russia was proclaimed an Empire in 1721 and became recognized as a world power and ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War, forcing it to cede West Karelia and Ingria (two regions lost by Russia in the Time of Nobody knows the Troubles that I’ve Seen) and Oh Oh Oh Golovin drives it in and its 3-0 Russia in this second half of FISA WORKD KUP (TM) action and Saudi has to be asking what was all that oil about and it is now believed that the first modern humans to spread east across Asia left Africa about 75,000 years ago across the Bab-el-Mandeb connecting Horn of Africa and Arabia but facts can be slippery things and when you add history, science, religion, you get at best, a mix but we’re gripped in victory and defeat as Bahebri has come in for a free kick and either Russia or Qatar Airlines is controlling the field with the bareback emotion of a ‘come from behind’ kind of feeling, which reminds this crowd of Catherine II (“the Great”)(“they love horses, don’t they?”), who ruled in 1762–96, presided over the Age of Russian Enlightenment as she extended Russian political control over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and incorporated most of its territories into Russia during the Partitions of Poland, pushing the Russian frontier westward into Central Europe much like this Russian team is pushing this Saudi team all over the field as everything is going in Russia’s favor in this first game of World Cup action and Al Faraj loads one up and the ball is once again back in Russia’s hands (feet, whatever) and just because the Saudi team is in green, does that mean the managers have to wear green ties and running backwards is definitely a skill to cultivate and boy, will there be a party in Red Square tonight, but it’s worth mentioning that the Islamic prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca in about 571 A.D. and in the early 7th century, Muhammad united the various tribes of the peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity and following his death in 632, his followers rapidly expanded the territory under Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering huge and unprecedented swathes of territory (from the Iberian Peninsula in west to modern day Pakistan in east) in a matter of decades because, as in all sports, that’s what one does, and the ball floats as if it’s a symbol of hope or distress and the crowd is painted, like really painted on their bodies and faces and who goes out in public like that and the Russians are slowing it down, which is what a 3-0 lead will do to you and it’s a subtle reminder that on December 31, 1999, President Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned, handing the Russian Presidency to the recently appointed Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, who then won the 2000 presidential election, who then in 2008 became Prime Minister who then in 2012 became President again who then in 2016 kinda became President of the USA USA (this can be hard to follow) but that’s not to take anything away from this Russian team and their control of this first game in the 2018 WORKD KUP (TM) as life is long and loud and longer still and one has to wonder how this Saudi team is feeling, having been trounced by the superior abilities of this Russian juggernaut, for Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries that have “religious police” (known as Haia or Mutaween), who patrol the streets “enjoining good and forbidding wrong” by enforcing dress codes, strict separation of men and women, attendance at prayer (salat) five times each day, the ban on alcohol, and other aspects of Sharia (Islamic law) but, and this is a big but, in the privacy of the home behavior can be far looser, and reports from the Daily Mail and WikiLeaks (making elections fairer and safer worldwide) indicate that the ruling Saudi Royal family applies a different moral code to itself, indulging in parties, drugs and sex, because, as in all sports, that’s what one does and this clock is ticking down on the sunset of the House of Saud but there’s still some chest bumping resistance and did that Russian take a knee and this is looking like a shutout and OHH where did that come from as Cheryshev scores again and it’s 4-0 and what a way for this game to end from the beginning to the end to the begin the beguine again and you may ask as this game comes to an end: why are they still playing and Russia gets a free kick (just to make things really painful) and good grief Golovin strikes for yet another goal and its now 5-0 Russia and it’s quite a day for Golovin and for the Russians and maybe it’s a good time to reflect on the absence of USA USA in this 2018 WORKD KUP (TM) but maybe more significant, to reflect on the change of life, the deranged churning of history, the remembrance of fallen hero’s never far from our thoughts and feelings and the unshakable sinkhole of an American Dream.
Russia 5
Saudi Arabia 0
__________________________
2014 WORLD CUP FINAL
Germany vs Argentina
7/11/2014
FISA World Cup and the Hedge Fund Helpers and Putin and politics and everything in its right place and all the stars converge in this final game of World Cop and ball-sack between Germany (George Patton – “I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me”) and Argentina (Jorge Luis Borges – “To fall in love is to create a religion that has a fallible god”) and I believe the children are the future as do these FISA games and anthems and Deutschland Deutschland was composed by Haydn in Hungary go figure and digital introduction for the last time I swear and maybe in four years they’ll have a better intro method and Costco the Redeemer and
Germany in white and Argentina in blue horns and Gorbachev coach vs Beatles haircut coach and Argentina chesty (TM) and fall and Argentina kick and miss and Germany recover and miss as Pope springs eternal and GOL.MCD.COM and ApexBrasil and still struggling to see more detail Sony and we are flying down to Rio and this Argentinian team is giving Germany a run, or as Siegfried Sassoon said: “Man, it seemed, had been created to jab the life out of Germans” and close twice but no Oktoberfest and painted faces help secure wins and VISA VISA VISA and feeling a little sad like it’s the end of a fun but bad affair and follow spot and near miss by Germany and foul and Argentina free kick and miss and eventual header and Germany guides the ball, lovingly, off the field and all my ‘Ohs’ are out of sync with the bar ‘Ohs’ but I’m used to that and Kramer is down and McCartney at 50 coach is concerned and to Germany and back to Argentina and Müller down and oh oh so close for Germany and the assassination of Austria’s crown prince on 28 June 1914 triggered World War I and Germany, as part of the Central Powers, suffered defeat against the Allies in one of the bloodiest conflicts of all time and Argentina has the ball and is probably ‘feeling’ the Evita Perón quote of “time is my greatest enemy” (and time hasn’t been too swell for Madonna either) and no, those German fans don’t look scary, haircuts notwithstanding and Argentina long and miss and again Oh Oh so close as flag is up for offsides and German free-did-kick and and OH OH OH it’s in for Germany but offsides so it doesn’t count and Kramer is led off the field dazed and confused and Germany reacquired control of the Saar in 1935 and in 1936 sent troops into the Rhineland, which had been forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles but what’s stopping them now is this dedicated Argentinian team and German #4 slip and fall and yellow against Germany and FISA Develops Football for All and Rojo brings ball in again and surprise ball show up and oh oh almost for Argentina and Johnson & Johnson this is life and this cuts it short and as Borges said, “the truth is that we live out our lives putting off all that can be put off; perhaps we all know deep down that we are immortal and that sooner or later all men will do and know all things” and headerwhocares and Powerade and Argentina almost again and cross your legs and look at me funny and this game is more evenly matched than your marriage in this FISA World Cop Final and 2 additional minutes added and header off the goal post and that’s the half and after the surrender of Germany, the remaining German territory and Berlin were partitioned by the Allies into four military occupation zones and together, these zones accepted more than 6.5 million of the ethnic Germans expelled from eastern areas and in Argentina the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the example of the first Atlantic Revolutions generated criticism to the absolutist monarchy that ruled the country and now we’re into the ads that advertisers hope pay off and you hope they stop or maybe you don’t, maybe you’ve stopped caring and wrestled any meaning to the ground as naive thoughts of a baby boomed from the start and Lucy the movie and is that really what 100% of using your brain looks like and again with Hercules and we’re back and this bar is on fire and running on the field crossing yourself has got to slow you down and Germany close again but offsides and Germany almost misses again and Gorbachev coach vs Beatles haircut coach both look concerned like I wanna hold your Rhineland and sunset Costco the Redeemer as drunk tourist takes a pic off the tv and Argentina is defending with the verve of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara (Argentinian famous ‘guerrillero’ and communist figure in the Cuban Revolution, 1928-1967-seriously, you must know that) who said “In fact, if Christ himself stood in my way, I, like Nietzsche, would not hesitate to squish him like a worm” and one feels that radical zeal from Brazil’s arch rival and twisty crash (TM) and Higuan is down and up, ups and downs and all arounds and the only thing that temporarily disables an obnoxious USA USA sports fan is food and only at times like this am I thankful for GMO and the Berlin Wall, built in 1961 to stop East Germans from escaping to West Germany, became a symbol of the Cold War and after its fall in 1989, following democratic reforms in Poland and Hungary, became a symbol of the Fall of Communism, German Reunification and Die Wende and even Messi can’t make the magic happen and yellow card and flamer yellow card again and Marit and Kroos and Gorbachev actually shows emotion in this Final FISA World Cop and Argentinian chesty (TM) and Buenos Aires repelled two ill-fated British invasions in 1806 and 1807 like this battle for World Cop and Messi miss again but quite a cute scramble and back and forth and back and forth and Hamilton Beach and Germany oh oh so close and man hands and at 80:00 it’s still 0-0 and again almost for Germany and while not dull as dirt as previous Argentina final, still pointless (get it?) and #5 Argentina checks his junk and with all the onstage crossing God must be busy today and In 1930 Yrigoyen was ousted from power by the military led by José Félix Uriburu and although Argentina remained among the fifteen richest countries until mid-century, this coup d’état marks the start of the steady economic and social decline that pushed the country back into underdevelopment and we’ve added 3 minutes extra time and what’s grandpa Gorbachev doing on the field and tip toe through the tulips and we’re on extra time and extra ads NPR and watch your kids on your iPhone and ariel coverage provided by Goodyear and dead religions and boy/girl toin coss and it’s Germany and drill past rape kit and very intense back and forth and two 15 minute periods and Messi close but no Perón with oven mitts and praying paint faced child as two teams cancel each other out and almost oh oh nuclear garage and what if everyone watching this had, instead, meditated for 97 minutes and since reunification, Germany has taken a more active role in the European Union and NATO and Germany sent a peacekeeping force to secure stability in the Balkans and sent a force of German troops to Afghanistan as part of a NATO effort to provide security in that country after the ousting of the Taliban and for what I hope will be the last time I’m Lovin’ It and almost a BJ I swear and wandering Beatle and header, header and ‘make him stop’ and Germany down with grass-fed player and Coke break and soccer selfie and swivel pan and back for those other 15 minutes and ghosts singing and bloody foul but not called and one good numb deserves another and OH OH OH Götze, all of 22, for Germany scores and it’s 1-0 Germany that stands on the threshold of history (seriously?) and please, no more crying kid child abuse shots and how do you handle a hungry ball and Germany almost in again and Beatle coach let it be Gorbachev missing watermark and Messi slip and fall and final drama of 2014 World Cop and miss and 2 minutes are added and at the FINAL Germany wins this 2014 World Cop and Brazil how do you feel and world how do you feel and USA USA how do you feel as you catch up to love of soccer and World Cop and what was the last thing that made your heart skip a beat, made you long to live and love just one more day and was it sport (so sorry) or was it music or madness or both or was it the passing of another common day that might promise love tomorrow?
Germany 1
Argentina 0
Netherlands vs Argentina
7/9/2014
Wolverine, HUGE Jackman, ‘the Musical is back!’ as are these semi-final semi games where the Netherlands face off against Brazil’s arch enemy Argentina and remember friends were once lovers and lovers were once babbling brooks and trickle down FIFA World Cup and see yourself on the screen and brotherly hugs team player and again with the children, always the children and anthems and faith healers and the Holland team (referring to the Netherlands as Holland is technically incorrect or informal, depending on the context, but is more acceptable when referring to the national football team, so there) is good enough for America’s Got Talent and Argentina is ready to tango (Tango, a Rioplatense musical genre with European and African influences, is one of Argentina’s international cultural symbols) and pull my finger and meet me in the circle and they’re off and slip and fall and these teams are together and apart and mostly mouth breathers and 4K Detail SONY and I’m worried about my heart, it may be broken and back and forth and Messi and something tells me we’re back to the watching paint dry kind of game and I’m Lovin’ It and Messi looking for a free kick that didn’t come and this is Argentina’s 5th semi-final in a quarter century and capers and wait, oh now baby how I wish you’d wait and press the ball knee position and oh so close Perez is down and Argentina kick and he who lives by The Lord dies by The Lord and Messi and the shoes should have microphones, just sayin’ and Messi misses and Argentina has the highest consumption of red meat in the world and that makes you think donut and Argentina rally and miss and again and Kia Motors and another Argentinian sail and OI OI (not to be confused with OH OH) and Netherlands head banger and leave the running to us and the Netherlands’ name literally means “Low Country”, inspired by its low and flat geography, with only about 50% of its land exceeding one metre above sea level and so close for Argentina and the coaches look like bad conductors and Messi, again, so close and then very long kick and Argentina 14 is down and out comes the sled (Rosebud) and carry us away and a flag is up and the Dutch (assuming that’s cool) chesty (TM) and swivel pan swivel and Messi taken down and Dutch politics and governance are characterised by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole (take that USA USA) and at 41:00 it’s still a back and forth and Argentina down and when you groan for the camera, you know I love you better and here comes yellow and another miss and add 2 minutes to the half and again with an Argentinian rush and miss and at the half we see the paint slowly slowly drying and Buenos Aires is one of the great theater capitals of the world, with a scene of international caliber centered around Corrientes Avenue, “the street that never sleeps”, sometimes referred to as an intellectual Broadway in Buenos Aires (imagine ‘intellectual Broadway’) and now the ads that NPR never sees (probably because they don’t hear all of their own ads) and Subway eat fresh look beyond the headlines and follow the story wherever it leads and YouTube thinks it’ll give Anderson Vanderbilt a run for his money and Brazilians are burning their flags so that’ll help and the Netherlands has a long history of social tolerance and is generally regarded as a liberal country, having legalized abortion, prostitution and euthanasia, while maintaining a progressive drugs policy which seems to be working for them and in 2010, The Economist ranked the Netherlands as the 10th most democratic country in the world and who remembers Eric Sevareid and how he explained what we’d just seen on the evening news and is that where these sports bozos get their recap strategy (doubt it) and we’re back and shoe sell and spit and glue and Messi and fancy pull the trigger and back and forth and Argentina is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies and Latin America’s third-largest and oh so close for Argentina and this game remains at 0-0 and every experience counts and slo-mo video game jumps and this Argentinian coach is a whale of emotion and let it rain (!) and in Holland both trade unions and employers organisations are consulted beforehand in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas (take that USA USA) and both teams ‘lounging’ on the field and Netherlands close but no doobie so it seems like a good time to sing as announcer announces this as a climatic semi-final and I’d like some of what he’s smoking and a Holland body block sends up a flag but nothing happens, like the flag on your lawn, and oh oh the Dutch come close to a rub and OH OH I coulda sworn someone scored and still smell the paint fumes and Argentina is classed by investors as a middle emerging economy with a “very high” rating on the Human Development Index and ESPN and stumble slow to dry and trained baby seal ball play and baby, make it rain and Netherlands tries again and Argentina again and cheer for the smallest thing and Netherlands kick it all away and the history of Dutch foreign policy has been characterised by its neutrality (take that…) and sometimes they look like galaxies colliding and breaking apart but most times they look like bubble heads in the back of your car and add 3 minutes to the clock and in Argentina, Argentine wine is the national liquor, and mate, the national infusion and lord will this paint never dry and we’re headed into extra time but not before all new Golf GTI and I’ve never had that much fun in a car and should I and better shave (how? the science?) and a magical perfect movie and endless recap as we await extra time and for what I ask you and dream date in knee pads and how about a Mcculloch chainsaw and big and tall and Messi and header and control capture and god help me at 102 minutes and the worst chest cold and 104 (hopefully not my temperature) and Messi, oh close and extra time over and now into more extra time (15 before, 15 again) and again, for why and change his shirt cause there’s blood on that and Netherlands tired kick but worth a try and header and chesty (TM) and see more detail, be moved Sony 4K (not to be confused with Sony 401k which I’m pretty sure doesn’t exist-ask Bruce) and Argentina so close and nice save by someone and again so close and nice save by someone and Argentina 16 with ‘I can’t think for myself tattoos’ is down and Netherlands almost in and no in this ‘almost sort of a night’ and that’s the whistle and for the first time since 1998 we’re going into penalties in a World Cup semi-final semi game and it’s Independence Day in Argentina and I know I’ve said this before but even to an untrained eye this was going to happen (no score) and Facebook attention spans being what they are (you’re probably not even reading this) couldn’t we just have done penalties at half time and Vlarr is first and blocked and Messi next and in and Robben and in and Argentina in again and Dutch miss and Argentina in and no margin left for Dutch error and Dutch in and Argentina in and that’s the game as Argentina wins 4-2 and Argentina disputes sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as Overseas Territories and in a hundred years no one will remember this but your children and your grand children will inherit the earth after you were too busy raising them to care.
Netherlands 0 (2)
Argentina 0 (4)
Brazil vs Germany
7/8/2014
And for people who need to be loud because they have nothing else, welcome to this semi-final round with Brazil vs Germany, Brazil defending the extravagant amounts spent to host these games and Germany, with 240 subsidised theatres, hundreds of symphonic orchestras, thousands of museums and over 25,000 libraries spread across the country wondering: where did we go wrong and the Guardians of the Galaxy and FIFA and follow and flow with the hammer and ceremony of this first semi semi-final with Germany Beatle Coach and the children’s walk of shame and national pancreas and no touching and now Brazilian anthem and Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity and giving it a national culture distinct from those of its Spanish-speaking neighbors and no kidding: listen to that crowd and Mexican referee and table dance and body shot(s) and much emotion surrounding this Brazilian team and who will foul first and they’re off and back and forth (see previous posts) and Brazil slip and fall (a Brazilian) and miss and a German chesty (TM, nytimes may NOT use) and Germany whistle while they work and out of bounds and crazy-red-hair guy gestures ‘WTF’ and Germany almost in but not and Continental and Listerine and Brazil slip and fall and I’ll show you I’ll tie my shoe and crazy-red-hair guy tumble again and oh oh oh Müellet for Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, über alles in der Welt scores and it’s 1-0 Germany as Brazil fears the stadiums crumble and Hyundai Hyundai and crazy-red-hair guy kicks long and hard and Brazil close but slip and fall and almost slow motion fight but the brotherhood of all mankind prevails once again and no flag and Brazil kicks a wandering ball away and Brazil again and chesty (TM) and Dante infernal and Klose OH OH and again Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, über alles in der Welt scores and it’s 2-1 Germany and oh oh again with Kroos and another goal and it’s 3-0 Germany and am I on crack and Kroos again and it’s 4-1 Germany and this bar is on fire and all that building in Brazil, all that building and German classical music masters include Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Franz Schubert, Georg Friedrich Händel, Carl Maria von Weber, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Carl Orff (you get the idea) and oh oh oh this is getting painful for Brazil as Germany’s Khedira scores and it’s 5-0 Germany and at least Brazil can boast that public health services are universal and available to all citizens of the country for free even though millions of affluent Brazilians have private health care coverage and such a one sided game and one wonders if the stadium stands will be filled tomorrow and Castrol Edge and Brazil better pump up on the fouling pretty soon and at 38:00 Germany tries again and it’s long and I don’t know what FIFA games NPR is watching but mine have ads everywhere and German chesty (TM) and skip to my Lou and Powerade Powerade and so much for a traditionally ‘low scoring game’ and foul w/slo-mo pain and Brazil miss and we’ve added 1 minute to the clock and it’s almost half time (or hell time if you’re this Brazilian team) and that’s the half, with Germany at 5-0 over Brazil, where TV began officially on 18 September 1950, with the founding of TV Tupi by Assis Chateaubriand and since then television has grown in the country, creating large public networks such as Globo, SBT, Record and Bandeirantes and today it is the most important factor in popular culture of Brazilian society, indicated by research showing that as much as 67% of the general population follow the same daily soap opera broadcast and if you’ve ever seen a Brazilian soap opera you know why that’s a high number indeed and this could be worse this could be tennis and announcer says he hasn’t seen this many happy Germans since the wall came down (seriously!) and during the Cold War, Germany’s partition by the Iron Curtain made it a symbol of East–West tensions and a political battleground in Europe and Hercules, coming to a theater near you soon and FIFA and is NPR even watching these games and Brazilian tears over cell phones and Degree freshness of fragrance and Stallone (you’ll remember him from Poe) and Expendables and freeze away your fat with Coolspa (NPR) and we’re back like Johnny Cakes and Ramirez looks and crazy-red-hair guy listens and Brazil has only 2 shots to Germany’s 10 in this semi semi-final match and no touching and Brazil driving, driving and no and again and no and Barney FIFA and In 2007, the National Indian Foundation reported the existence of 67 different uncontacted tribes in Brazil, up from 40 in 2005 and Brazil is believed to have the largest number of uncontacted peoples in the world and put that on my wish list and Brazil again almost in twice but this German team is on fire and Germany has established a high level of gender equality, promotes disability rights, and is legally and socially tolerant towards homosexuals and gays and lesbians can legally adopt their partner’s biological children, and civil unions have been permitted since 2001 and, again, they’re on fire and VISA VISA VISA Brazil just can’t get a break and apparently we are not calling fouls anymore and Klose has the highest scoring record in these FIFA games and Klose has done his job and is replaced and how do you say ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ in Portugese and doesn’t anyone work around here and play to win and World Cop and Brazil miss again and OH OH OH Schürrle does it again for Germany and it’s 6-0 Germany and Catholicism is the predominant faith in Brazil and Brazil has the world’s largest Catholic population and what happened here then and just goes to show I suppose and balls, those are balls and Reese’s pieces and on comes Draxler and crazy-red-hair guy starts a fight and this is Brazil’s worst defeat in 34 years, not counting, well, you know and oh oh oh seriously: Germany’s Schürrle scores again and it’s Germany 7, Brazil 0 and there are presently some 17,500 women on active duty and a number of female reservists in Germany and even this blogger knows this is a wipe out and at 82:00 Brazil only needs 8 goals to win this and be moved, see more detail, SONY and Brazil lonely ball tries again and misses and Germany almost again and misses and finally, finally Oscar scores for Brazil and these Germans at the bar are SOOOO pissed and only 2 minutes were added so at the FINAL it’s 7-1 Germany as it becomes clear that these 2014 FIFA games have saved more lives, fed more children and complicated more marriages than any other games combined (I mean, you know, symbolically, where it really counts).
Brazil 1
Germany 7
Argentina vs Belgium
7/5/2014
And the pause that refreshes in these quarter finals continues with the zigzag washer/dryer combo of Argentina (don’t cry for me) vs Belgium (who recently sent USA USA to the showers along with Howard (@*#”:>€¥!!) and the Boys and as the barbershop quartet costumed Argentina takes the ball down the field Gonzalo scores and it’s 1-0 Argentina, a megadiverse country hosting one of the greatest ecosystem varieties in the world: 15 continental zones, 3 oceanic zones, and the Antarctic region are all represented in its territory and this huge ecosystem variety has led to a biological diversity that is among the world’s largest as Belgium winces this early in the game and Messi misses for the Flemish speaking side and anger eyes and flick the ball and ESPN and the flag goes up and dance routine continues as pattern continues as late winner against Russia and Messi has transgressed for Argentina and Messi knew and tried to win a free kick and Argentina flat on his back and reaching for a bit of liquid refreshment and Argentina, close to home (relatively speaking), has 529 species of vertebrates and at least 240 plants that are threatened, mostly by conversion of natural land for agriculture and deforestation, but also by industrialization, urbanization and a growing number of alien invasive species as stretcher comes for Di Maria but none needed though this isn’t good for Argentina as Di Maria becomes spectator and Messi on his own, alone again, naturally and Perez is in and Belgium now has sports bars (sadly/gladly) and Di Maria with iced quad in these quarter final days fouroveranal and assimilator as Belgium, whose Armed Forces have about 47,000 active troops and in 2010, Belgium’s defence budget totaled €3.95 billion (representing 1.12% of its GDP) blocks the Messi drive with a thicket of Belgian legs and a joy to watch, the angles, the round of multiple players in tight corridors and Messi messy miss with a pop fly (wrong game) and picking Messi’s pocket and tantalizing wood and good cross Belgian-in-a-Box and both teams hoping to advance to the semi-finals on this sun kissed afternoon, still trying to recover from Coulter-collision and two minutes are added and early goal, patience, and more or less mid-fielders and that’s the half and the effects of World War II made collective security a priority for Belgian foreign policy, so much so that in March 1948 Belgium signed the Treaty of Brussels, and then joined NATO in 1948 and they’re certainly hoping for a comeback after the half Argentina, who’s population density is of 15 persons per square kilometer of land area, well below the world average of 50 persons, is raring to go even as Di Maria still remains in the sidelines and FIFA how does your garden grow and Coke says everybody is invited and the omens look good for Argentina and we’re all looking for a response from Belgium and though an estimated 99% of the adult population in Belgium is literate, concern is rising over functional illiteracy, not necessarily obvious in these quarter finals but you be the judge and Johnson & Johnson and Messi, beautifully done, misses and no Argentinian striker coming in on the end of it and Perez defending and just sees the yellow and Higuaín almost in (OH OH, as has been said before) and so close and BS Brussels and commendable and abdabado and pushing and pulling and make changes and a rubber no caeca tou and Belgium makes the two switches and and Origi is in and Mertens is out and off the ‘fro Belgian head but no and Argentina just misses and chants of love/war as coach hilariously almost does a Laurel & Hardy and that’s what makes this World Cup World Cuppable and so close to an own goal and look me in the eye and tell me I am satisfied and Messi miss and a card has come out and Messi addresses the ball (‘hello ball’) and Lavezzi presses the flesh and run down that clock and not allowing Belgium to use their space and creativity and almost all of the Belgian population is urban—97% in 2004 so home is where the heart is and Mertens and a yellow card’s about and penalty kick and miss by Belgium and the wanderer and kick turn turn kick turn turn and for Argentina every second must feel like a minute, every minute like an hour, every hour like a day… you get the idea and winning throw ins and frustrating Belgium every chance they get and Higuaín out and Gago in and Belgium lacking any real goal scoring chances and time now is one of the great Belgium enemies and not balls in the air and Argentina became, in 2010, the first country in Latin America and the second in the Americas to allow same-sex marriage nationwide (it was the tenth country to allow same-sex marriage) and Messi, twinkle toes himself and ball kicked in anger and not love and slithering away as far as the Red Devils are concerned and butterfly fan days as the monarchs are fading fast world wide and we’ve added 5 minutes to the total time as Belgium puts the big bodies up front and find a way past the Argentinian fierce hold on space, on time and create something, anything from the pressure, the mix of all hands on deck as we have 2 minutes to reflect and Argentina blocks and like when company comes over unexpected and you want to be alone but you’re grateful for friendship so you suffer, you suffer for the future need of company, this game is over and Argentina will go to the semi-finals.
Argentina 1
Belgium 0
Brazil vs Colombia
7/4/2014
And as USA USA herd mentality heads home in humble bumble and our history is rapidly forgetful in the missile, we enter the quarter finals of this, the greatest game since Rome was built in a day and collective combo of Brazil and Colombia and July 4 which doesn’t seem to matter there (imagine) and the maps are drawn differently all around the world and everyone is their own center of attention but today the center of attention is Colombia and Brazil, which held the first transgender beauty pageant, staged Oct. 30 in Rio de Janeiro and the event is particularly historic in the Latin American nation, where transgender citizens have been targets of violence in recent months and where they are the subject of more YouTube hits than World Cup action and we’re off as no one in their right mind drinks Budlight and see more detail, be moved: Sony, and Sanchez, shaking the tree (see previous post) and foul and Silva arm and arm as in promenade and he scores and it’s the knee and 1-0 Brazil and I’m capable of such greater love than revealed and the breeze and sliding in hard or fast and capable of both, depends on the moment, God clause and team effort is team girl-boy, boy-girl, girl-girl, boy-boy all access pass and Coca-Cola says illegal to collect rain water in third world (we own that) and dengue fever goes better with Coke as Rodriguez has his 23rd birthday on eve of this final and the time delay music of tv vs app and ABC and adds that aren’t the official sponsor in the back of their heads as Marcelo tries to conduct the orchestra (no small feat having never attended a concert) and at 22:00 we got nothing but Sony, no, Colombia has the ball and yellow/red and talk of Colombia and Tejo which is Colombia’s national sport and is a team sport that involves launching projectiles to hit a target (sound familiar?) but of all sports in Colombia, football is the most popular and apparently very small score display is ‘sponsored’ by Aveeno and God’s Love We Deliver (please consider supporting) and number 2 vs number 4 ‘growler face’ and history vs Coolio vs history vs Bieber (get it?) and Marcelo kiss the ball and make her cry and Brazilian foul and line up and Parkinsons and swing and a miss and.. let’s do it again, and no way in the world was that 10 yards away and kick the ball so far away, doesn’t anybody stay in one place and now very small scoreboard is ‘sponsored’ by Hyundai and you try to keep up and players getting nastier by the second, gambling all of the time, and Colombia with foul in hand and Brazil kicks over goals of the silent/not so silent moment and don’t shoot the piano player and what happens when the synchronized ads make no sense to America (missed opportunity) and Brazil and we’re at halftime and it’s 1-0 Brazil which is the world’s tenth largest energy consumer with much of its energy coming from renewable sources, particularly hydroelectricity and ethanol; the Itaipu Dam is the world’s largest hydroelectric plant by energy generation and we’re back and Ramos but not substitute but maybe (you try this) and the theatrical faces that can read from the last row and still Hyundai and Colombian shirt and health standards in Colombia have improved very much since the 1980s and healthcare reforms have led to massive improvements in the healthcare systems of the country and Brazil fouls and Colombia free kick and fail and Colombia foul and Brazil and head butt out of order and point like Jagger/Bowie/Mercury what are they pointing at (?) and kick and two Colombian’s are down like puppets reminding us of the Colombian Festival of Puppet The Fanfare (Medellín) and every culture has fucking puppets and Brazil fouls and Colombia and #10 is down and showing it and OH OH OH it looked like a goal but your guess is as good as yours and Silva is out of the next game and OH OH OH and Luiz scores (seriously, you should have seen his face) and it’s 2-0 Brazil and if that’s what we look like when we have sex than let’s all agree to never have sex again, remembering that the first car with an ethanol engine was produced by Brazil in 1978 and the first airplane engine running on ethanol in 2005 and as Colombia scrambles to turn this slow moving game around, one has to ask why Colombia is a mecca for roller skaters and collision on the field with a sex tape and Brazil is the only Latin American country to have a semiconductor company with its own fabrication plant, the CEITEC, and GOL.MCD.COM I’m loving it and at 78:00 it’s still Brazil’s game and foul and close and Colombia, the first team to win FIFA best mover in 1993 where the achievement was first introduced and the second team to win it twice with the second being in 2013, scores and it’s 2-1 Brazil and OH OH OH almost scores again for Colombia and Brazil bucket of blood and now small scoreboard ‘sponsored’ by Coca-Cola (see above) and Brazil support infrastructure and in 2002, Brazil accounted for 40% of malaria cases in the Americas and nearly 99% are concentrated in the Legal Amazon Region, which is home to not more than 12% of the population and either 10 or 11 is lifted off the field and back and forth and Colombian music blends European-influenced guitar and song structure with large gaita flutes and percussion instruments from the indigenous population, while its percussion structure and dance forms come from Africa and they are not going out of this World Cup without a fight, and neither are you and #saynotoracism and that’ll help in these 2014 World Cup games and at one minute left this game is clover and at 94 minutes the mystery becomes you, me; where do we come from and does it matter, or only to you and shirts off and symbolism and I bruise you, you bruise me: we both bruise so easily.
Brazil 2
Colombia 1
Belgium vs USA USA
7/1/201
Special note on Ann Coulter’s SSR (Silly Soccer Rant): Before we start coverage of todays game, I think it’s important to stress that this blogger, for one, does not believe the USA team should be penalized for representing a country that allows Ann Coulter to have a public forum to spew her ‘only for the sake of publicity’ diatribes. It’s a free country and that freedom extends to bat-shit crazy individuals as well as to you or me. Follow the money dear readers: that’s all Ms. Coulter will ever be about. Now on to the game!
Woody in the Ponys and the Landsdowne and gratitude of love, company and Mexico that went home but is not forgotten and welcome, welcome to World Cup action with Belgium (Dutch: België; French: Belgique; German: Belgien), officially the Kingdom of Belgium vs USA Against the World in this make or break game that takes us (and I mean all of us lover) to the quarter finals and USA USA against the world, sometimes it feels like… and he nervous and Landsdowne of a game that could go either way as Belgique is unwaffle flavored (favored) in this game and gamesbullation begostramont, they’re playing this game inside a giant donut of tension, life and life-as-sport confabulation and touch it, touch it as the 2014 FIFA games continue my love of the game, the players, the women of FIFA 2014 and protecting the children, always (G. Carlin) and give me some room, give me some room and National Anthems worse than you my friend, worse than you for the land of the feed bag and USA USA and this game is off, and poses (as covered before) to introduce these players of the 2014 World Couple of Strangers that hate each other, especially in traffic, but pretend to bond in this Cups so don’t look, don’t look both ways and Belgium almost scores but no s’mores and Belgium, a founding member of the European Union which hosts the EU’s headquarters as well as those of several other major international organisations such as NATO, has the ball and over to USA Against the World and, as stated so many times before, back and forth and back and forth in the soccerforeplay of USA USA vs the Red and Manneken Pis (look it up sports fans; why should I do all the work?) follow USA USA hobby lobby and wish ‘natural selection’ meant moving forward as opposed to moving in any and all direction as USA USA proves, ugh, and Belgium, dubbed the “Battlefield of Europe (a reputation strengthened by both World Wars) has the ball, again, because that’s the thing here, the ball, and the asshole who spills beer on you as a USA USA right of passage and kinda makes you ok with how they vote against themselves, but I digress, and at 14 minutes into the game, seems less rock and more easy listening (except for drunk America, our contribution) and OH almost a goal for Los Americanos (gringos) and Belgium, which hosts the biggest brewer in the world by volume (Anheuser-Busch InBev, based in Leuven) has the ball and USA Against the World happily blocks the potential score and VISA VISA VISA says: go with us and whistle while you work and hover over Christians and zombie-like devotion to the screen USA USA hold that calf and Beasley (don’t ask me why) and Johnson (don’t make a joke) and Yedlin (I got nothing) and I wish you could see these faces, faces of lost passion, never get laid faces, hate my job faces, leave me alone faces, and until now I’m not sure I ever got it like this but at 34:26 it’s 0-0 and zombie wave and as USA USA chants lost words one is reminded of the rising tensions between the Flemish and the Francophones fueled by differences in language and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia, but maybe not really, I mean, it’s USA Against the World so there you go and look to god, look to god, no one home: get it (?) and OH OH OH: what happened: nothing, and so it goes and a fantasy that John Cage got this much attention and why not, here we go, and OH OH OH USA Against the World almost but no (sound familiar?) and Belgium gets a yellow card as Dempsey gets knocked down and never hate young people unless it’s warranted (Reagan youth) and in this case it is so close to the half and it’s the thankgodhalf and a good time to reflect on USA assholes or René Magritte-not with his dog (look it up USA USA) or Adolphe Sax, who invented the saxophone in 1846 (not just Blues Bros USA USA) or jazz musician Toots Thielemans and singer Jacques Brel (again, so boring USA USA-you should get out more) and at the half: which new tablet and glory days that passed you by and WE ARE BACK in this game of get your finger out of there 8 Afro has the ball for a second oh oh missed again, always again as in all world sport, let’s be clear and USA USA, you’ll stand for this in a crowded bar but please don’t ask me to stand for this at the DMV or to give blood or, you get the idea: I’m/you’re busy and OH OH we miss again but still USA USA (are these people delusional?) and USA USA no equal pay for women and USA USA I’m sure we can all agree on Christian nation and back to Belgium (just for a sec USA USA) where the Big Bang theory (are you listening USA USA?) was proposed (we’re talking origin of the universe people) by Monsignor Georges Lemaître and sorry, USA USA just fell asleep (see previous blogs on USA Against the World’s education standing) and Howard saves and has the most saves in the tournament thus far and at 66:21 USA USA just missed it again and again and again (timely update and monkey dust) and drop to your knees and, I’m sorry, USA USA never gets to sleep with me again and YO YO another miss by USA USA and fuckpalmer you get it and all the same shirts and all the same girlfriends dressing them and why we fight and OH OH OH USA Against the World’s Howard blocks and saves USA USA again fuckswabble slot Belport and back to reality and reality always wins (see McDonalds/VISA/Sony) and Ohhhh missed and ‘Timmy Howard’ chant doesn’t block a goal but apparently Timmy did and love me, leave me, never forget the glossygame and monkey dust and Sherry beautiful-in-blog and I scream so loud so loud in fuckcloud and believe the never, the never is real and OH OH OH USA Against the World gets U2 Bono screams while not scoring (imagine, and while you’re at it, imagine Bono cum Johnny Cash and opulent slumming) and it’s overtime: get it (?) and loud-in-the-crowd overtime (oh god give me strength) and OH OH OH the Belgians, alone in their frites, SCORE, and it’s 1-0 Belgium and this crowd is violent, not about inequality or the loss of this American dream, but a game that carried no significance 10 years ago so imagine, with all your new kids and all your new coffee shops and wine bars and the completely inexhaustible resources this planet provides that you don’t have to think about that… ever… a new world of sport and delusion, what did you expect, the killers of culture, the missed opportunities, and while reliving yourself you hear the sound of the crowd, the ebb and flow as if something happened, and out of the bathroom it’s OH OH OH and a pretty goal as Belgium scores and it’s 2-0 Belgium and as the ass massage moves forward USA USA and Green SCORES and all capital and OH OH OH OH seriously nobody scored (seriously) and don’t dare question USA USA (at least not in this bar) and interviewing two patrons at the bar USA USA is more important than women’s right to choose (so 1970s) and USA USA scores and it’s 2-1 Belgium and OH OH OH unbelievably USA didn’t score (LOL) cause I’m no dope but the sound in the bar said: USA Against the World scored, which has to make you think: ‘they scored’ but they didn’t and again (LOUD) they didn’t and we’ve got, maybe 3 more minutes, who knows, and OMG it’s the final and USA USA is out and it’s 2-1 Belgium and USA goes home to Coulter and like (or maybe not like) the girl/boy, your first crush, you were gonna meet him/her at the designated spot, but you both had different ideas of where the spot was and you missed each other and so you thought she/he never showed up and even as you found out the truth of the mixup, only a month later, it was too late: the moment was gone, you were gone, you were alone.
Belgium 2
USA USA 1
France vs Nigeria
6/30/2014
And it’s love on the run and stolen kisses in this game of storming the Bastille and arise 1978 Nigerian National Anthem and attack and live as the République française vs Nigeria begins and begins again with the white/blue/green/yellow blend of cultures and colonialism and the ball is trading sides in a fit of foot and defense of runners, these teams both hoping for a chance at the quarter, finalize the strip and French television and freedom fried and close but no cigar for Nigeria who’s seeking first quarter finals for the first time and can the National Front keep more people out and cult fire; France, one of only three countries (with Morocco and Spain) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, is enjoying this less humid weather at FIFA 2014 World Cup and Mikel (?) takes the ball for Nigeria, loses it and Nigeria is down and being carried off the field for a free kick but it’s no no for Nigeria whose national lingua franca is Nigerian pidgin, an English-based creole language spoken by 75 million people as a second language and by 3-5 million people as a native language, mostly in the Niger Delta and another free kick due to trying American football tackle and kicks and misses high and see more detail, be moved: Sony, as Nigeria gets the ball into the goal but it’s not gonna catch and we’re still at 0-0 at 19:00 in this game where France, the largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, moves the ball downstream as the nation’s ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, one of the world’s earliest documents on human rights, which was formulated during the seminal French Revolution of the late 18th century, almost scores and the little bicycle brings the ball in as Nigeria steals and the back and forth back and forth and captain quiet leader as Nigeria, reminiscent of the Northern coup, which was mostly motivated by ethnic and religious reasons, and was a bloodbath of both military officers and civilians, takes the ball again and drops back, more like a breakfast beer as VISA VISA VISA and third man running, interrupted by grill break, and the moment of fasting during daylight that is Ramadan begins this week so sans confit de canard and during the 9th and 10th centuries, continually threatened by Viking invasions, France started cooking as an additional 2 minutes are added to the game and Moses looks over the field and reasonably pleased with the concentration moment before halftime a flag has gone off and it’s the half with a score of 0-0 and France had 6 shots, Nigeria 5 shots and much of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, with major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the discovery of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783) and USA USA is training and Mexico is heading home and we’re back after the half and hearty and risky ball and Benzema has taken a shot or two, the flip we were talking about and trying to settle the Nigerian defense and by May 1967, the Eastern Region of Nigeria had declared itself an independent state called the Republic of Biafra and the 30 month Nigerian Civil War began culminating in more than one million people died, many of them starving to death as 21 year old Musa takes the ball again and loses his flat on his back and concern here, a ball in the head of France and the ball, like a shooting star that never ends and a yellow card and Matuidi is down and the stretcher cradle is out as Nigeria: one 21 year old for another and again with the fasting of Ramadan and the super eagles and Gabriel is coming out as replacement and just as quick France gets a replacement and World Cup interruption and Direct TV and imagine if you actually cared, that would be like Nigerian’s Northern coup, which was mostly motivated by ethnic and religious reasons, was a bloodbath of both military officers and civilians, especially those of Igbo extraction, fielding the Lilly and switched gear has-mat, content with the corner, the Truffaut/Hitchcock of France and another scare for Nigeria who joined OPEC and gained billions of dollars generated by production in the oil-rich Niger Delta which then flowed into the coffers of the Nigerian state but increasing corruption and graft at all levels as government squandered most of these earnings and Nigeria denies France again but just as quick it’s OH OH OH France does a header and it’s in, making it 1-0 France, who was occupied following the German Blitzkrieg campaign in World War II, with metropolitan France divided into a German occupation zone in the north and Vichy France, a newly established authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, in the south but still, a goal is a goal and as of 2010, French authors had more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation and Nigeria is hoping against hope at this last gasp of a game that can send France to play with Germany (been there, done that) and OH OH OH merci beaucoup as France demonstrates the ball in again under Nigerian own goal and it’s 2-0 France and punished big time today and at the Final France has the quarter final place as the magic of light and sequential images plays in succession and one is reminded of the Lumière Brothers, who created cinema in 1895 and did they know what they created: the memory stamped onto a waiting worlds’ idea of itself, of its history, of its last dying gasp before the sixth extinction?
France 2
Nigeria 0
Netherlands vs Mexico
6/29/2014
Break out the cigars and salutations (but remember that a high lifestyle is considered wasteful and suspect with most Dutch folks) as we enter World Cupping clasps and national anthems in this elimination round between the Netherlands (or Nederland depending on your geographic location) and Mexico (who, according to Goldman Sachs, is expected to become the world’s fifth largest economy by 2050: watch out USA USA) as both teams huddle and contemplate the first 20 minutes which will key to this game and they’re off to what feels like a 97 degree game and Mexico has only advanced to the quarter finals two times and the Netherlands are in complex formation, making runs with both emotional coaches who are guaranteed to entertain as much as the teams they represent and Mexico tries to mount-and-ouch and no Mexican player trailing that ball and as Martins comes into the game we see a very hot and bothered Netherlands team and Sony and songs and covering the delivery man setups and Oh Oh almost in for Mexico and near miss-moist as Mexico controls the beginning of this game and a collide but no foul and only one substitution by the Netherlands at 9 minutes in and almost ouch and the head down and Mexico gets the ball and flag stays down and Marquez almost jumps the shark FIFA 2014 and bushpush forward and Mexico, with its rich culture exemplified by Diego Rivera, the most well-known figure of Mexican muralism, who painted the Man at the Crossroads at the Rockefeller Center in New York City, a huge mural that was destroyed the next year because of the inclusion of a portrait of Russian communist leader Lenin and Madonna likes Frida Kahlo (surprise), has the ball and it’s a cooling break cooling break and we’re back after cooling break careful with excuses for the weather stormy weather and Netherlands must be missing the weather in the capital of Amsterdam and the only one in the box for Mexico and an exercise of patience for both sides, managing the game, moving Mexico side to side and oh oh oh the Dutch who are proud of their cultural heritage, rich history in art and involvement in international affairs and whose manners are blunt with a no-nonsense attitude almost sink it and Marquez long ball as 4 minutes are added to the game and Hector Moreno is taken off the field in a painful display which takes us into the half with a 0-0 game and we are back and Mexico has Dos Santos and Oh Oh Oh he kicks and scores and its 1-0 Mexico and there’s a penalty kick as well well over the crossbar but nevertheless, the Netherlands is still the world’s second largest exporter of food and agriculture products, after the United States and a free kick for the Netherlands, where all of Descartes’ major work was done, is no stranger to coming from behind and In 2001 were the world’s first country to legalize same-sex marriage, introduces a substitution and in comes Depay and oh oh oh it’s almost in for the Netherlands quick response and it’s Mexico’s ball at 58 minutes into this bout and Mexico has one of the world’s largest economies, is the tenth largest oil producer in the world, the largest silver producer in the world and is considered both a regional power and middle power at 1-0 in this game and the Flying Dutchmen are on the march, rubbing shoulders with Mexico and fortune with a substitution for Mexico bringing in a new guy and maybe a little too early to pull out a second striker the Netherlands part in trilateral Benelux is determined as they take the kick reflecting the United Nations World Happiness Report which ranked the Netherlands as the fourth happiest country in the world, due to its high quality of life and oh oh oh you should really watch these matches with a local as would Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruysdael and many others and as would Luis Buñuel, who realized in Mexico, between 1947 to 1965 some of his master pieces like Los Olvidados (1949), Viridiana (1961) and El angel exterminador (1963) and Mexico holding on with 20 minutes to go where it feels like 100 degrees and the flag stays down and Sneijder drives and another near miss for the Netherlands which produced Vincent van Gogh (no biting) and Piet Mondriaan and M. C. Escher and another cooling break is in order and in pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before first contact with Europeans mirror in this match with European Netherlands and few other than me can see that Rauschenberg got (and milked) his transfer idea from Willem de Kooning who was born and trained in Rotterdam and we’ve only got five minutes left in this game and a Mexico test for the big boys and OH OH OH the Netherlands are back as Sneijder scores and it’s 1-1 and we’re almost at overtime here and another yellow card for Mexico no supersad superman and the kick for the Dutch is in and it’s 2-1 Netherlands, who had something in them and squeezed it out of the pie with 2 minutes left of the six that were added and it’s the Final with the Netherlands the winner and advancing to the quarter finals as if packing up the kids for summer camp with their dreams and unformed ideas of what’s to come, what’s to be in the world that didn’t prepare for their dreams.
Netherlands 2
Mexico 1
Brazil vs Chile
6/28/2014
In over our heads and elimination toward semifinal and group of 16 goes down to 8 and pool reflections alter the perception surrounding trees altering normal environment and crosses on lawns and drink responsibly and carry the team these two, with Brazil the favorite, the odds at 4 to 1 fine dining and get out there and let the men out with lots of verve and presented by Geico and at 18 minutes into the match and Oh Oh Oh Brazil scores with Luiz and it’s 1-0 Brazil and it’s one wanted Cavett at the half and O’Donnell is really cute and in terms of is-and-or playing Brazil and Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, are playing Maria has a drink FIFA has a think and Freddie’s dead that’s what I said Chile defending itself from the back of Brazil’s Gustov is giving a possession Chile playing it on the plate no the post Aaron it was very nearly common cause collective culture snuffed out of it defending Brazil and military junta that led the nation from 1964 until 1985 crazy crazy free at last, free at last and 32 minutes in, Sánchez scores for Chile as in the mid-16th century replacing Inca rule and it’s 1-1 and DP it yourselfers mean you get pro level results ‘that’s pro’ and the FIFA VISA COLA celebrates football and few seconds of the first half and last action and it’s 1-1 at the half and someone’s moving on and someone’s going home and dot com and the (previously) Empire of Brazil at half way and needing to produce goals out of tunnels and prepared to step on to a greater stage and the white socks and Chile development culminated with the 1973 Chilean coup d’état that overthrew Salvador Allende’s left-wing government and instituted a 16-year-long right-wing military dictatorship that left more than 3,000 people dead or missing as the dictatorship headed by Augusto Pinochet ended in 1990 with the blue socks and out chested on the swivelsdowner and daughters raised as son’s swimsuits officiating and right wing position, just one man at the wall and Marcello tried to pick out one of 5 red shirts, turns toward his own goal and send it up up up to the halfway line and Fernandinho shoots up to 25 yards and it can and Chile is today one of South America’s most stable and prosperous nations and leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom, and low perception of corruptionkill and take that USA USA and you in an instant and Brazil has done it again and under their current constitution, formulated in 1988, Brazil defines itself as a federal republic (but yea, tell that to the displaced for World Cup folks) but wait, it’s a handball (which is A-OK in handball and so no no no (as in Lee Meriwether) it won’t count in World Cup ball so on they go and at 61 minutes it’s still 1-1 the samba, the choro and the bosso nova and the bravo and this game could still take away the optimism that is felt by this Brazilian national football team, ranked among the best in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings, and has won the World Cup tournament a record five times and Chile continues to hold its own and is today one of South America’s most stable and prosperous nations and leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption and take that USA USA and Oh Oh Oh Chile almost makes it, misses by just five feet and deflected like a Brazilian feijoada, considered the country’s national dish and it’s still 1-1 and the question for Chile is can they keep up this pressure on the favored team and yellow bars and the national cocktail, Caipirinha, and Chile constructing a passbook savings and Brazil give up the ball and halfway close shaves for Chile now and defender right in and Bravo Bravo and all hands on the defensive deck and the specter of overtime and possible penalties and Marcello, shift still alive trying to volley it in and denting Brazilian brilliance afoot and a nervy atmosphere and a back heel, cut out and the final minute and fire a missile and Luiz fires it off and Chile not happy at all but would love to win it at the death and whistle at his mouth blows the overtime and rolls into a deliverance of 19 more minutes of this World Cup action on the worlds biggest stage and Jagger predictions and see Loews for details and Geico for more details and we’re back in overtime and good position and a mix up between goal keeper and defenders and let’s look at the replay dangerous play and studs of his boo and Bravo success and catches the ball, Joe gets a yellow card and break up that black line studs chest Oscar and Sanchez and foul by Ramirez and being marked fourplaysforeard and a third into this third period and Whistlers Mother and fingerwagging no way that’s a foul and fingerforcingfoul and dishing it out whether Brazil can keep it going, there was an opening at the 100th minute of this game and right flank but header is easily gathered pool gurgle and static of internet and ESPN app with MW3K near the end of the third quarter and wink to the referee and at the end of this third quarter it’s still 1-1 and we’re gonna try this again for another 15 minutes and near post by Joe sandwich and six short box and muscle strapping and marched off at the 109th minute, 120 total before we add/subtract penalties and fall all over ourselves with 10 minutes left, energy left on the turf as Silver-Joe foul winding down into the arms of the win the head on this one, one moment of magic dispossessed, a laser-bolt stabbed forward, a free kick for Brazil, 25 feet and missed and outside for a penalty shoot out and running short on imagination right on the edge of their jukebox and Oh oH OH Peña almost in and borrowed time as extra time and that’s it and, presented by Geico, I hope you’re ready, the penalty round and arms locked in a huge circle, both teams bonded in ritual as kicks are determined but just keep getting harder to find and 12 yards and Brazil’s first kick is a miss and now Peña and Brazil beats it away-advantage Brazil and potentially now miss by Peña might not matter and after Brazil it’s second kick for Chile and stops it big time save again and Marcelo in the shoot out and it’s in and now 2-1 Brazil and why couldn’t they just have done this two hours ago and my left foot left it’s legs behind and it’s good enough for Brazil and now Chile must score and Oh Oh Oh… don’t… and the memory of that one moment of magic dispossessed, a laser-bolt stabbed forward and mercy and meaning and all that matters is home.
Brazil 1 (3)
Chile 1 (2)
United States vs Germany
6/26/2014
The holy arena that is American Idol and World Sucker comes home to America’s secret and why bother you with all of what has or hasn’t happened when, trust me, nothing much has happened so that at the half it’s 0-0 USA USA and as we wait for more nothing to happen it seems a good time to explore the unique American-German (officially the Federal Republic of Germany-Bundesrepublik Deutschland) relationship exemplified by a muddy field made even muddier by the Snowden cum Merkel cum Obamasblasting the Curious George of politics and athletics and trainers, the USA Against the World vs Germany remembering the Cold War (who remembers that?), where Germany’s partition by the Iron Curtain made it a symbol of East–West tensions and a political battleground in Europe not unlike the messy battleground we see here now as we’re back with the second period and the header and USA Against the World blocks that kick blocks that kick and driven by the doctrine of manifest destiny, the USA Against the World embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century which continues to this day, believe you me and let’s give those Germans a haircut but wait OH OH OH Müller of Germany stuffs it in and it’s 1-0 Germany as the chancellor, currently Angela Merkel, the head of government and who exercises executive power, similar to the role of a Prime Minister in other parliamentary democracies, says good goal and keep your eyes on your own paper and long ago and far away as USA Against the World licks that particular wound and wonders what went wrong with democracy-turned-oligarchy and food tastes better when you don’t have food and Bradley of USA USA almost tops it off but misses the money shot of anxious times, pretty comfortable after the half and subtle little touches and how long can it be for Germany, determined to win this match and tellusgrowit and USA USA USA in loud and frightening tones brings to mind the establishment of the Third Reich or Nazi Regime in 1933 which eventually led to World War II and the Holocaust and after 1945, Germany was divided and occupied by the Allied nations into two states, East Germany and West Germany but in 1990, the country was reunified and yea, it’s just a game and yea, why do you think it’s just a game and yea, get used to it and the rain rain rain under the steam of the dream and nevermake me/you sit through it again and swag dance routine number #8 Dempsey is down while still nursing a broken nose (Latin: nasus) times 200% and the USA Against the World military budget of the United States in 2011, was more than $700 billion, 41% of global military spending and equal to the next 14 largest national military expenditures combined which possibly explains the sorry state of health care despite valiant efforts by the administration to compromise and this USA team to care and give away is too easy to catch the cocksoccer, versus hambone playing by this lovely but very wet, wetter than wet USA USA team and the frustration is palpable as Dempsey kicks the ball to who knows where-Dempsey what are you smoking and two natural centerbacks say hey hey bye bye Dempsey again, a wavelength missing as capital punishment is sanctioned in the United States for certain federal and military crimes, and used in 32 states while hoping for at least a draw in this World Cup action and losing the territory as of now to Germany and memories after the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, when the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic in 1918 and lost some of its territory in the Treaty of Versailles, yea, just like that and we’re at 87:35 in this game and Bradley the hub and Beasley says take me all the way, take me to this refuge idea that spins a thread and with Portugal at 2 over Ghana’s 1 the USA USA is feeling a fear and tweets from under the covers and it’s morning in America and OH OH so close by Bradley and OH OH again and it’s all about pride and USA USA still fighting but this game is over and for long periods of time there is calm and events conspire to shake up the world and cross collateral damage seems an acceptable price to pay.
United States 0
Germany 1
Nigeria vs Argentina vs Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Iran
June 25, 2014
And the blessing of Lord BowieonthePixies begins this game of two and two together and drifting as we approach these elimination rounds (porta-pottie not included) and early on Messi scores and it’s 1-0 ARG but oh oh oh slipping up the cavity Musa scores for NGA and it’s NGA 1 and ARG 1 as BH/IRN both remain at 0-0 as the green/white/white/blue fades on and into a break for BH and IRN and IRN, ɪˈrɑːn or aɪˈræn, also known as Persia is down as both clocks sync perfectly and count down the NGA
almost and IRN blocks the snaggletooth as BH serves as ARG, (ɑrdʒənˈtiːnə), and known to the natives officially as the Argentine Republic blocks a potential bid and it’s off the head of ARG and BH as the ball as IRN steals and Mikel (?) blocks a potential goal for NGA and if results TS holds Argentina wins the group as 5000 Nigerians attend World Cup action all over and OH OH Oh it’s in the net for BH and it’s 1-0 BH and so it goes as NGA, or as the kids like to say naɪˈdʒɪəriə, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, shakes the tree of god and goal-line technology confirms the BH goal and the hats the hats and #15 for BH is hit hard and is down as infidels of Argentina arouse suspicion along with ApexBrasil wiseup and NGA/ARG has better digital synchronization of ads than BH/IRN as NGA’s, the giant of Africa, goalie stops another rush from ARG, the eighth-largest country in the world and the second largest in Latin America, and it’s IRN, home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Proto-Elamite and Elamite kingdom in 3200–2800, BCE with an over the shoulder boulder holder and Musa of NGA is forthright in this game as is the straggler in Iran, waste my time, change of heart, change my mind and BH drop kick me Jesus serves the ball and IRN sails the ball and NGA, whose economy at 500 billion is the largest in Africa, is down as BH, perhaps channeling a war that was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 6 April 1992 and 14 December 1995 and involved several factions-who knows, and IRN collide and simuntaniously in both games a man is down but BS is stretcher laid off the field and NGA (and can we please think King Sunny Adé and not Boko Haram) and ARG line up for a missed opportunity and IRN returns and NGA over the shoulder as before and BH bless the beast and the children both monitors pan and swivel and could they all be in sync and is this where all of humanity puts its faith in technology and breast feeding over bottle (depends on what’s in the bottle) and with 2 monitors 4 teams it’s a little like tennis and NGA blocks it again but thousands of miles away Opie and Meathead still have a hold on Hollywood and IH IH OH Oh Oh ARG, despite remaining among the fifteen richest countries until mid-century, descended into political instability and suffered periodic economic crisis that sank it back into underdevelopment, plants one just in time and Messi is happy and at the half it’s BH 1, NGA 1, IRN 0 and ARG 2 and we are most defiantly back Oh Oh Oh in NGA goes and it’s NGA 2 ARG 2 which has to make a team player think ‘what’s the point?’ and a jump and near miss for Messi and Oh OH OH it’s ARG into the net and the racism is palpable in this bar at 3-2 Argentina as rolley polley and jeez almost Messi again with these chicken-wing fingers and cornhole quality and BH takes one off the head but the clocks are now out of sync and this writer for one is disappointed and teams twice their size and there’s nothing more beautiful than watching one game with the sound of another and how can one ever cover sports the same way again sans NYTimes and Oh oh OH BH scores and the hug and heel and it’s 2-0 BH and at nearly the same time ARG missed the ‘again moment’ and that’s what these are all about, the constant déjà hue of sport and the ability of just plain folks to remake themselves in each play and long spit and NGA down and the turbans look especially hot in Brazil makeover, or as the locals like to say: a Brazilian, and take-out tray used to carry off the fallen hero and run don’t walk and keep it going for Nigeria and world one world two and ARG bops, much like Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina’s most acclaimed writer and one of the leading figures in the history of literature who found new ways of looking at the modern world in metaphor as IRN blocks dissent against foreign influence and political repression culminating in the Iranian Revolution, which led to the establishment of an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979 and, again, Iran blocks and BH skids and NGA shoots the ball to the moon (no where near the goal) BH and IRN line up and for what and there’s a flag as #15 goes down and makes IRN his bitch as Argentinian footballbeggar circles the Iranian team and Bosnia-Herzegovina kisses the memory of Nigeria and OhOhOh BH must have heard me because they land it and it’s 3-1 BH and they dust the ball (?) and four teams suck out all the life breathing air and it only occurs to me now that it’s like a constant promise of fake orgasm and you’ve gotta wonder what these announcers do in their spare time and as the game continues a suicide bomber has done his thing again in Nigeria: this is breaking news! which flew over the heads of the patrons in the USA USA bar and the clock for BH/IRN is exactly 45 seconds ahead so does that mean they win and the announcer, addressing the bombing, says ‘this is only a game after all’ and if he meant it his life just crumbled… and he’s back! because you can’t keep a corporate announcer down as he also gives us a Spanish lesson (gauchos) and tension grips everybody and pine nuts and anthems rise and BH/IRN Final and now, wait for it, wait for it, at 94:91 NGA/ARG is over and crowds drift back to their lost love, the one that left and at least 21 people are killed in Nigeria and he/she is never coming back but neither are you: you’re free.
Nigeria 2
Bosnia-Herzegovina 3
Argentina 3
Iran 1
Japan vs Colombia
6/24/2014
Note to readers: I had originally intended to cover both the Costa Rica vs England game as well as the Japan vs Colombia game today but was waylaid by my first medical appointment under the new Obama Care USA USA plan and the question ‘have you registered yet’ was followed by same question six more times and as I waited for the doctor I noticed all staff and doctors were watching the Italy vs Uruguay game and without taking his eyes off the screen a doctor managed to check me in, massage my prostate, ask me a few questions and say: ‘you’ll need to come back, we’re short staffed today’ as his voice trailed off and he wandered, zombie like, back to the other doctors in their coats and scrubs (O-R they?) who were also short staffed and watching the game and I left with the sad conclusion that this is a place where people go to get sick, not well. USA USA Health Care Worst Apologies all around dear readers. And now, on to the coverage.
Boychunks of meat like a sugaring/waxing/trim combo surfaces as these two Group C teams meet on the face of it, in this corner: Japan, formally 日本国, as The Land of the Rising Sun contemplates it’s position from the shoguns to the Empire of Japan and the elected Diet and in that corner:
Colombia or as 68 ethnic languages and dialects like to call it, the República de Colombia, it’s namesake Christopher Columbus and all making New World bonsters and paddlefoots and parades of innocent children (and let’s be honest: there is simply no such thing) and the big red dot according to the Records of the Three Kingdoms and the yellow-blue-red when the Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of conquest and colonization ultimately creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada, with its capital at Bogotá and it’s glory and godly and introducing the teams as we’ve seen each and every time of media pose for group photo and Portugal as today’s referee and they’re off with the odds really against Japan, they need a win and hope and no, absolutely no unconditional surrender and the shadows on the field suggest a sentimental journey and puckermanable, one long vertical stripe of sun as Martinez is in the game and Honda moves forward, well played but couldn’t get on the end of it and one, two, three really good runs and in the other match it could be a rapidly changing picture and Pekerman succeeds in not changing his name and the squeeze on Japan is on at semifinal birth and Japan is not the only one looking for two balls and disastrous moment for 日本国 as a penalty is called and that puts Colombia up 1-0 and Japan has to ask what would you do for a Klondike and does this end Japan’s dreams and in Colombia the life expectancy increased to 79 years by 2012 unlike Japan who leads in taking the world to the brink of disaster but Portugal referee says that’s Monday morning quarterbacking as the confidence moves forward and Yoshida drives animecheaply and here comes Japan loitering and embargo and usually in your dreams you come from behind and sweeping ball fatherhood as the youthful players make strides in Europe and common language with coach in the dressing room and the Colombian jersey and that’s a clever ball, a change in scenario for Group C and it’s Martinez down oh oh oh Hope as Japan’s Uchida scores and it’s Japan 1 Colombia 1 at the half and since the 1960s, Colombia has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict where the conflict escalated in the 1990s, but since 2000 has decreased considerably and On Demand not unlike Time Warner Cable’s Triple Play as the second period gets under way as Rodriguez takes the ball and leads the most pressing matter in the 40,000 capacity arena and there’s Yoshida and falseforming robots as Rodriguez is gonna electrify us again and open up for it and Colombia is interested in fortification, ecologically speaking, and is one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries, and is considered the most megadiverse per square kilometer which could bring 日本国 and the Zen school of Buddhism (introduced from China) to its knees in this game of thrones and Oh Oh Oh Rodriguez shoots and scores and it’s 2-1 Colombia and that might spell the end for Japan like the March 11, 2011 suffering strongest earthquake in its recorded history and the hotly triggered Fukushima Daiichi anime as the sumo soccer wand bendsthebow and the knockout stages of Group C and wildlife fisheries as the Pacific continues to take on more and more radioactive creep (not the Radiohead kind) and Colombia/Japan assume a position not unlike the aforementioned prostate exam the Japanese still sing more karaoke every year than any other country and OH, Yoshida almost got one in and Japan needs to take this and Procida remembered and Honda’s corner not completely away and Yamaguchi makes that his and Colombia comes close and the sigh of ebb and flow and expecting to go nowhere, like the bar is one giant mood-ring (and again) and point at the tv screen like it’s a newborn: plop plop fizz fizz and come and knock on our door and Ramos almost and could have been fatal for Japan and the home edition and Rodriguez and Oh Oh Oh it’s in again and it’s 3-1 Colombia and promising moments for Japan but it’s all about sustained waves of pressure and OH OH Rodriguez does it again and it’s 4-1 Colombia and somebody get this guy a Klondike Bar as the Colombian tears of joy collect the field, avoid embarrassment and signal the end of the game, a game of 1000 cuts and for the third time this month, the team operating the Hubble Space Telescope is dropping jaws across the world, this time with a time-lapse video of an exploding star that spans four years and according to NASA and the European Space Agency, the time-lapse video was created using Hubble images captured between 2002 and 2006, and viewers can clearly see the patterns of the universe as the light from the star bathes the area around it.
Japan 1
Colombia 4
Croatia vs Mexico
6/23/2012
Note to readers of this blog: it has come to my attention that racist and nationalistic slurs have been used in these 2014 World Cups which seems hard to believe given the nature of competitive sport. What’s even harder for this blogger to understand is how certain slur words are being reported in the general news media but said general news media never says the words in question. After considerable research I was able to learn that the slur attributed to the Mexican team starts with a ‘p’. Dear reader, you might be just as shocked as me to learn that the word ‘profiteering’ is being censored by the general news media. It’s my hope that the general news media will stop this blatant self-censorship and let the games begin. And now, onto our story.
Estàdio ice chest and anthems all around, two teams united in a goal-to-goal inventory and let the children sing and once again the pan-sweep introduction of the players and the toin coss and more pan-sweep and Kovak surveys the scene and Sony says: they’re off with dizzying speed and a pause to reflect on sport because we don’t know the details of the ancient ball game played in ancient Mesoamerica with rings or hoops on either side, thought to be a late innovation and/or the ball’s material is known, but not its size although it probably weighed from between a half and 7 kg. as some depictions of it show it improbably large but let’s face it, it could be no bigger than the inside perimeter of the hoops and (lol) at least one ball contained a human skull and a ball game area like this would have been found in each of the cities of the Maya and there are markers on the field and it appears that balls were to be kept in motion and were hit using hips, for which reason they were protracted and how likely is it that this is happening today as Mexico faces Croatia and it’s also possible that women may have played the game and at 10:30 minutes, pretty much the same thing is happening as happened in previous games covered so thoughtfully in this blog as fresh cut and equestrian and ‘no touching!’, Croatia takes the ball across the border and heads back and forthabobbing and anger all around and los sombreros and just missed and heartbreaksashands and Croatia has the ball ‘I’m loving it’ and VISA VISA VISA VISA and bitchslap wifebeater goes Star Trek hand gesture and out goes the ball in goes the ball and, just an observation but if I was kicking the ball I’d try to kick it into the goal and these guys look stressed (just sayin’) and all over the world there’s stress like this but, again, hand gestures hand gestures FIFA and ISIS and Marfrig Croatia/Mexico tap that ass and who bought that coach that green tie: a pause that refreshes and Santos’ sweat is ‘real’ and SONY SONY SONY and yellow card (ask the nytimes) and again: if I was kicking the ball I’d try to kick it into the goal and Marquez shows his stripes and Budweiser, King of Beers mates with ‘I’m loving it’ and the rest is history and is that what heads are for?!! and that’s the half Mayan Yours and Mayan which seems like a good moment for shameless self promotion:
and we’re back from the half and the ball is in play and overhead the glee copters take in the scene: Croatia knocks down Mexico and Croatia drives the ball forward and timetesting and Mexican idol and Recife and Listerine and #13 kicks like the Micjagger and how many remember a campaign that effectively started on 20 September 1991, even though relatively minor offensive actions had already been undertaken but at the end of the month, it suffered from serious delays and manpower shortages caused by low call-up turnout in Serbia and in early October, the original campaign objectives were reduced as Serbian president Slobodan Milošević and his allies gained greater control of the JNA and Croatia takes the ball down down so far down across the border belowment and who remembers when the ads were for magnetic tape and the perfect computer accurate motion of the advertising machine and Hublot as Flava Flav and the thrill of victory the agony of the Vance plan—a ceasefire supervised by United Nations peacekeepers designed to create conditions for the political settlement of the conflict in Croatia but nonetheless, the JNA took several more months to withdraw from Croatia as it was replaced by the UN peacekeepers not unlike the kick the ball down the road mechanics of this Group A game, at 59:51 the memory of allthingsgame is spreadflowers and hip hop hippity hip hop don’t stop the balls, the ads, orchestrated in fine tuned timing and Croatia goes ballistic over a foul, potential foul of the internal displacement of 400,000–600,000 people but the game’s the thing and volleyfolly all over the world and improvised kicks like can cans and robots that can almost think but definitely drink and Croatia is tender with fallen Mexico and Rebic reveals the heart of Group A as the ball goes-a-wandering and OH OH OH Mexico putas the ball in for the goal and it’s 1-0 Mexico and the game goes on the game goes on and OH OH OH a second puta into the goal and it’s Mexico 2-0 and how can Croatia hope to come back to the glistledawn and cost refinement and sent home and lonely collars and missing head tacos and Hublot 1921 and missed pool parties and Tradicional and La Familia and sacred heart and OH OH OH and a putas off the head makes it Mexico 3 Croatia 0 and clippersalone as foulsaharbor crests hemisphere and love the never say die never say die even as you died and Kia Motors and Oh OH oh Croatia putas the ball in for a goal and it’s Croatia 1 Mexico 3 and ouch with Rebic and that’s the end and kiss yourself tonight, kiss you kids tonight and kiss your world tonight because you are so very lucky.
Croatia 1
Mexico 3
Portugal vs United States
6/22/2014
And just after a Kiefer narrates another episode of USA! USA! USA! it’s on and on and on and on in this match of willis and the breathtaking speed in which Jesus comes to America packing 6-shooter and 6-pack dressed in craft beer and Long John Silvers in USA Against the World and global market share in chili dogs with range-rovers and Portugal prepares a striking twister of flags parade and I got a memory of you as the teams take the field and the excitement is addictionary as anthems of forgotten dreams play louder than Foghats, accompanied by paint, crowns and one nation under gods agree: the games the thing and cross-pans as the players are introduced saying “take me seriously, please” but don’t take away the cameras and the handsome USA Against the World takes the balls and misses the chicken platter as Jones shows his back and tussled hair, picks up injuries as well and recovered in the lost world and every groan and every scream in the bar reminds us of birth (it’s that serious) and oh oh oh Portugal sticks it into USA Against the World and she/he will never forget 1-0; the sound, the hopeless shape of America’s future and the bars collective pain is cathartic and less startling than offsides and
The Treaty of Tordesillas, intended to resolve the dispute that had been created following the return of Christopher Columbus, think: stadium colony collapse pɔrtʃʉɡəl and the American bar exhibits a definitive example of Tourette’s in anticipation of each and every moment for USA Against the World and the shouts are heard from earth’s bars into outer space as intelligent life decides to bypass earth yet again (better luck next time) and how many tattoos make you a contender apropos two roads road jam with USA Against the World in possession of the balls and extreme disappointment doesn’t stop USA Against the World from shoveling the food into its face as fast as possible and imagine there’s no Walmart it’s easy if you try and cocksurecockasmuch as USA Against the World as cockasmammal historical linguistic pattern and misses the goal again but USA Against the World’s never say never attitude is apparent as USA Against the World shanks the ball (cheeky term) and Donald Duck has a thousand fans but Portugal is in a tight spot as they kiss the floor, kiss the palm, watch chaos turn to calm and Jones! yet again with Bradley and one down and the more you take shots from distance the more you upset the palimpsest and fireside chat of balls lonely balls oh oh oh… Portugal missed, which is a little like saying, at least for fans of USA Against the World: we’re happy to settle, and the halftime has begun with the Coca-Cola irrigation system monster of third world water treatment rain water rights and diabetes goes better with Coke, and ESPN rakes it in on the never ending love of country and adverts and porkypigsmanasmuch and a blaring offer of Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA Against the World’ with time to spare for more food, more drinks, more desperate wanderings in the mind, a long gone daddy in the USA Against the World and Planet of the Apes coming again and again and again forever to a theater near you as in: just a small town girl… we’re back: looking to play with ourselves back into contention and what Portugal can do, keep the balls from giving, a midfielder who’s a destroyer but in no particular area and there’s the rub, amorphous and floating on the volley and as clean as the USA Against the World was, they have NOT looked as clean as, say, a victory in Iraq which thankfully is not on Portugal’s mind nor USA Against the World’s mind in this test of willis and Renaldo explodes past a sloppy opposition reminiscent of November 1755, when Lisbon was struck and calloused by a violent earthquake with an estimated Richter scale magnitude of 9 asking/declaring: “What now? We bury the dead and take care of the living” but these are young men (not women) who take their jobs and pride of country (never country history) seriously as World Cup makes clear, the crossed selves and ambiguosmental collapse and oh oh oh not possible Johnson and USA Against the World misses again and is there “anything better than that” asks the policy wonk that’s channelingcheny to sit up and take notice as USA Against the World can’t get the goal they want and these grown ups are children, children with misplaced vigor and verve and easy to dismiss but not so easy to ignore (very loud) and this is where babies come from and screaming at a tv like this will make a difference, don’t speak too soon, americarubabelly and sense your twilight and OH OH OH: USA USA USA USA branded as USA Against the World scores and it’s 1-1 as if they love their wives that much and the sadness only sinks in 3 days from now when they realize it was only a game and not Jesus comes to America as the cumswallow falls all over the game stretch and USA USA USA false alarm and clap at everything and try to find that space between 55 goals and commerce and Flag! and Portugal on the ground and back up as gravity does its thing and USA Against the World is down but no flag big risk at 76 minutes and Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman support their country and high blood pressure and corporate farming and Monsanto and United Fruit Company and forget forget forget which we count on and OH OH OH we won the war! USA USA USA USA USA USA and it’s 2-1 USA USA USA and the replay is just as cleansing as the previous USA USA USA and the tear and shear glee is heard all the way into outer space as intelligent life decides to bypass earth yet again (better luck next time) and out come the phones to text everyone to let them know what they already know and Dempsey alms off, his life secured in Brazil and what a comeback (not Jordan) and finally men and their girlfriends (not women and their boyfriends) take the field and the bars and the waste and the extinction and proclaim USA USA and OH OH OH Portugal scores and it’s 2-2 and all the religions of the world preach love but we continue to hate so can we just accept that we hate and be honest about it and get on with life so much lost?
Portugal 2
United States 2
Argentina vs Iran
6/21/2014
Of all the case and blank nerve ending of a collision between those that do and don’t do and the memory of Victory (Hop Devil) on top of closet affection and force the feelings to forget the red, the white, the right to forget the game, the game face and forest as the testing place for Iran and for Iran and the last hold on Group F and the perfect kick turn turn kick turn and ballistic and head swap over the group wide and long and forgetting as negotiating the ball as new partner in crime and the region bed of shadows overhead and a pause and a gathering and no loose ended with checkered sneakers and borrowed foresight and Argentina holds the game and tests the crowd, the announcer, the rocket man who kissed the ground and tether ground and run in reverse before the kick and burn pyramid pony citra declaration burnside and scattered over the field like weeds of charm and neglect the ball goes where it will and will it out of bounds Zoe with camera crane and joker wit and farther than World Cup and hanger and McDonalds I’m loving it and offsides of tomorrow’s dream and missed again header wish and missed again down the field as Iran, new teams and new partners in two and Argentina without Madonna at 2014 World Cup and breathless and Laurel & Hardy precision and Argentina home and Argentina home and no foul no foul and Coke is it and that’s half time… Half time flavor with cars and America’s import and human zoo bistro and image of athlete with backstage pass and handmuscle beleaguered NFL and the lamb lies down on beer craft as Fly Emirates Fly Emirates Fly Emirates recedes to soft focus and close ups of team’s faces collapse and match and natural belowment over Sony over Visa over identity over theft my ball is faster than your ball and yellow flag football nuclear ambitions on the face it the world that brings us together, finally together, the thrill of victory the agony of deflowering and kick the ball down the road as the ads splash and sync with the camera location and the World Cup captures commerce all over the world all over the world’s face as the argument, always the argument with the ref who is judge and jury in a hurry along with such effort as to render both teams impotent in the face of world family concern and if USA Against the World only understood as players try out thinking new plan try out thinking and header in the stands and ads correspond and fuck it I’ll pick up the ball with my hands the ball is clean I swear spisderstely agronst formation of a line, a line in the sand of Brazil and people and who remembers people around the corner and bait and switch and bait and switch and Argentina has the ball but Iran wants the ball and you can’t blame them as the ball seems to change the ads and the ads seem to love the ball and Iran is down and in pain and lost in America as the gams on that guy are unreal but in the service of the almighty ball and switch the perspective and you’ve for a triple crown and glory hole meaning desperate, desperate to score, which seems to say at 65:11 WTF, gathering together, stroking the buppies and the grouts, leopards, cross and dressing and the lands on increasing politically incorrect she-male fan of the World Cup and lost afternoons of the World Cup and ball gone lonely again and crowd sweep our passions and desires and Best Western with miracle tap dance but still lose the ball and lacking a name for Iran and lacking a name for Argentina I’ve kissed the girl and who became mother and looks for clues and kissed clues and knows me as the ball is snapped and force fed the incredible running backwards as humans run backwards as professes runs backwards as with hands in the air and allagashlineup ballbrewery tour the proper channel of ESPN MINT and roll over and over and adult child and responsive colors and stroke him when he’s down and Big Big Clock read as #7 Masoud who leaves with trepidation for the red white white white red grief and dreaming of imagination and Gordon Parks and missing Horace Silver and grateful but the price of meaning is loneliness and not World Cup which is never lonely in the humidity and gracefog and foul and tripfall kiss the grief kiss the grief back into the stands before next serve and break the hearts that bomb the West and follow the money/ball money/ball as sailing header cries real tears and rolls over again as before chiseled good looks and cars remain the constant and 21 Ashkan dreams of New York City high rise and world peace with hot chick and weep on the ground that forgives our folly and our use of hands as Ehsan touches/connects and also asks forgiveness on holy ground as the chest deflects and the fansfacepaint becomes mirror of the goal, the dream, the peter-built conundrum, as if the ball volleys and goal to goal the man Oh Oh Oh and he scores in a moment of supreme leader cocklemyheart theater virus travel plus hearts and ariel view of the end of love and promise to never forget and run backwards and look for meaning one finger at a time and finally, for the last time, break the hearts that bomb the West.
Argentina 1
Iran 0
Costa Rica vs Italy
6/20/2014
And drinking and drinking the soccer and the mallfest, the torture, the relaxflame and fortunoff, for the customer for the drink for the think about it as in: can’t direct his header but not leadbetter Italy’s way of desire and rich upper floor desires only tempered by the wave of privilege and smonk and humidity as well as in hotter than Italy and the exciting experience of the devil and her clothing and non clothing and for bumples brings on believers of all groups who’s commonality is poverty all around, all around the fish bowl but that’s the rub: the fish bowl is it’s own equilibrium and sometimes, sometimes you can smell the clean up of favelas all over the world in service of the fish bowl, the overwhelming numbers of beautybombs that maniacal and forgot the team and the team’s men and all the team’s men as high as possible for an important release and Adidas made the ball change and will do so every few years for the sail and temper of the ball to change and release and roll roll over the bull boy (not girl) and the blue rides white and the release technique of sport for the World Cup but it doesn’t matter in this situation of so far so far away in-cindery pick him up off the earth and place his bets for him in the manner of Campbell and England as exposed and possession of the ball grants the blue white white blue over emerald green striped with lighter green following the ball in the impression of ants as seem from space and/or the fish bowl that promises but, in fact, displaces the bulldozed public from view but not from memory and plattersville for the tournaments and pretzel-body-twisting-the-night-away in the humidity, always the humidity that challenges Italy and along with Italy the corruption of cattle most calm and in no way Norway no way and bothersbuttfallow belongs to the dummy up and in the ground; catch and release and the perfect right to continue playing and name that tune as his own man, sustaining pressure in the Costa Rican half, the danger on the line and on occasion the ball goes where it is hoped the ball will go: not Balotelli’s proudest moment, meaning no fart jokes and the Costa Rican goal keeper keeps his job but not without help from the wayward ball, unleashing it’s fever on the wobbly sliders of fastfarmers framing heads ahead of the half, two guys looking for the ball, the thrill of victory, the agony of deforestation and bottled water sponsoring this match, that match, that roar of blindness that must consume all that consume, Cockstarica all over the morning dew controlling ball place and pressure place vibrant as surprise and deep lies which need to continue and Campbell! And Campbell! And more Balotelli and more deep sauce feel wronged and ohh ohh a header from Ruiz in the affection as Costa Rica is 1 and Italy is humid and harboring over the line, the halo of short troops of luck men around the ShitlyTemple effect, and now we’re at the half… And back, half and back from the first 45 as Campbell vs Journey and don’t stop believin’ just a knock out back and was and was with the grip conjejo vegarness matchless planks of sort of titanic elopement, a good strike, touch the fingers and the first half, always the memory of the first half and memory of USA and away from fragrance and materials standing over the ball of penalty and kick and miss like your last job, the one you thought you’d have until retirement offsides, but 24 years ago as Sweden sweat bubbles against Costa Rica and fathers and sons of fathers as view from video-against-brick bar tabs belong alone to conservative governments corrupt and Italy and the brain trust if this Lorenzo drawn into this difficult striker and false promises: the result of change and replacement of goals and goals and no cheerleaders unfair in the Dammer, the run for change in reading the game by the way and seems like ages like ages of never begin again since 2006 and New Zealand and the ghost voices so far away framed by painted faces, hats and glitter and grub to cover my ass and cover my ads and the shadows of players competing with the shadows of stadium and belief in stadium and once again, as we’ve seen so many times before, the crossing and crossed of god on the side of Italy/Costa Rica/ Italy/Costa Rica and so it goes again and again as marching in time to the fundamentalist streak around the world conditioned by history and massaged by misery to accept the final decree: reduce the amount of touches and sacred hearts and bombs for butter and flags is up flags is up in the hole, the hole of intuitional and substitute a player on both sides as Italians of a certain age go after the erotic and air crash and Campbell ‘gerbils up’ in the second half and exactly what Costa Rica likes relieving pressure and time in the hexagonal today and enough to tease the occasions of the first half and two Italians off sides and Campbell support following screaming Adidas tracking the one way shoot shoot keep the ball from volleyssmacks and grusopolitics intro to Canada 101 but not here at the World Cup and Vargas and bullets cucckespotasmuch a dream of displacement push hard push hard against the belief that nothing matters and you don’t matter and push push hard against the grain and in the second half superimposed Costa Rica over Italy and then Italy over Costa Rica and gently guide them to their goal, their delicate selves and Katie calls BS and dicks in the air and chuckles and crosses did I say crosses and…. nothing…. and gum under there and Costa Rica collapsing and you won’t be enjoying it and wanting someone to win, wanting this or that or them to win with evidence of goal and performance by the very sort of solidarity that created the heavens, the earth, the multiple gods, the bees and flowers and followers of World Cup as fingertips in the crossbar reduces the glam and master of blue white white white blue because the game is over but not before the memory of up above, the top floor looking out over the city and slipping off the panties and slowly slowly caressing memory, memory of love, of past loves, of the comfort of love, of the delusion of love, of safety for the first time in so very very long.
Costa Rica 1
Italy 0
Uruguay vs England
And there the ball goes and there the ball goes and the cock-swabbers in blue and white as the fans grasp their their determination a sea of shit in the barrel of and a wee of cat calls and balls to have wanted a danger, that’s the danger, sure as night follows day, the goal of the villain, cutting off the supply lines everywhere, attacking a piece of paper, the fabulous competition, faith in their belief at the end of the half and they’re right to believe, still time and now it’s half time staying on the pitch but a goal on the way home is an answer to this, an advertisement in the form of a question, another chance to sell an idea no matter how worthless on top of the fear, the worthy fear of ever having to have a conversation with the player or the fan of player or given the desire to escape the sixth extinction, the number of fans and the number of fans number fans supporting last remaining life on sports world and planet and talking heads who used the graphs of Anderson Vanderbilt to illustrate the mind boggling sophistication of a ball in the air, untouched by hands but not by head or feet and the books and music missed but music in the service of the brick-building rumble function and card carrying war-as-mobile-social-sports-Kanye-killer of children in jerseys proclaiming their connection to the team that carries their burden but not their debt over the line, through the goal, kissed by Ariel shot of white and blue back from a break and taking the run, back and forth, back and forth, taking their dreams and mothers of energy of the faintest scent scent smell the position and the trouble maker and this time Uruguay close very close and blocking the defending this time and been everywhere and England breathe again and England breath again and gets away with it from Uruguay and we are playing in South America and just ride the storm and no hear car and C Rodríguez and Ohhhhh and a massiveness of prosperity and given three chances, one, two, three and defense and tough looking, shutting the door and desperate as a cat claw or world tank and blue and white and clothe head and Henderson while driving the hack, the hack and almost, the kiss of goal and average and available and nighttime and whistles and rolling over and over and over in World Cup career and crying and grovel long on ground and this is it, a slide into deeper love, love, love of dating and death and never the twain shall mark their achievement and moment and Italy waiting and waiting and waiting for television and back to our sponsor and cover the green push forward as fuck sake proclaims: thee and a half by now, now I’m the afternoon and honk, the blessing of gods and others all over the wet, the fine words, the union and only once famously in 1966 against West Germany and kick it kick it kick it for England and… 2014, snuggle in the street smarts and no hands in the police state, please no hands in the police state and carrying the bloody garbage of babies still stirring in blue and white and cost cutting and he’s down down and down and hopefully ok but accidentally not a junior injury or commit a sin and USA game as debate and off the field and brick & mortar brick & mortar and long lost Johnson trip and cave and taking the piss of never never second half and stand and be firm, cross arms, stand and be firm, cross arms, pushing in a little and score to the keeper and just as lame and fuel is asking a lot as great balls and separate me from this, separate me from this, give my world back before it’s too late and Henderson, forgetting the problems, guide the ball down nice cross yourself and help of god comes natural and ouch ouch ouch stupid down twice or floppergasket serious pitcher magnet can’t be 100% I should know as 22 minutes remain in eternity of shift and slide and meaningless and real time exposure to graft goal and foul and smell of same but what he claps about, what he hopes is more mania for measured achievement and slight meaning in the closing days of circle & house and house & circle and touching touching the birth and dark and gloomy and England punch, sure to face the music again and takes the chances, the scapegoat, the storage to bit well, the defensive pause and drink up, drink the ball and wrestle that idea to the ground and never begin never begin and you Johnson nice and OH OH OH and there it is: England and Rooney first tri-co cup score of the Jimmy breeze and the start and the end of the start and the Rooney and clap your hands times a hundred Johnson’s and give your goat to Versace and his goal and his goal OH OH OH and false alarm and yelling over the goalpost and no bills never to be one to be too late, and almost see the wait and the times kept on going and kept on going and two sides alive, the final mathematics, of course, suddenly, feeling his oats (Rooney) on paper and any means is a captive, bottled water, bottled water and sucker punch with whistle, and England and Europe 1 each and considering the equalizer right across the face and game there, the Henderson, changed again isn’t it, the frown, the glower, the referee where both teams should have scored more and strong enough and exhausting and never dream never dream again this late in the game but the temperature is rising fantastic and love and always love and second half love with OH OH OH pile on and score and which one oh which on and Uruguay piles on and dangerous striker to take your breath away and just taken out of it is forgiving and blessing and never knowing what we did; what we do and hands on the ball hands on the ball as good as new labyrinth labyrinth rat of nothing new of nothing England of nothing Uruguay of over and under and imagination no longer holding court, back to their old salts again and eliminated eliminated to the heavens never to be allowed into the land of grace and time forgot that matrix, suspicious and paint faced, the end of the game and losses so profound as to remind you of you: your losses and promise, your hope and careering, that second epoch, and in and out of the World Cup and touch your dreams once more touch your dreams and Jack enters and almost certain elimination and for England for England the never never and of never never and no time to lose of never never deflected and of never never…
Uruguay 2
England 1