North African View
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northAfrican
- Egg
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North African View
I am North African and a Nigeria fan. I firmly believe that Nigeria is the future of African soccer and my bet to be the first African nation to bring home the world cup. I also believe it will be a local coach. I don't post much but I have found that when my emotions are too great to contain, it helps to post. Today I need to post so here are my ramblings.
I missed the game despite all my plans and attempts and now I feel gutted and hollow on the inside. I was worried and I was waiting to see that the problems we suffered from against Sweden have been solved but I guess I have to wait to see if they have. I don't really know if Nigeria played poorly or if Morocco played well or if it was the twelfth man: the fan, the virtual home advantage. It is too early to judge and we can all remember ANC 1990 where the same thing happened and Nigeria did well.
What really angered me today was that the Empire restaurant did not open at 8:00 a.m. as they promised. In Toronto you have to have ART to see the games. I lied to my wife and had a story ready to cover me util 10:00. I was going to tell them that I had to take my son to day care since the car was stuck in a pile of snow. I rushed and rushed and made it at 8:00 only to find a place that was dark and locked up. I was furious. I looked through the glass window of the dark restaurant and looked around to see if there were others like me. There was no one. I felt foolish. There was a snow storm and all and I can understand that others may not care about this game as I do but it is not at all acceptable to shirk responsibility after promising to be open for business. It does not matter what mad passions drives me, I felt betrayed. And to make matters worse, I now had only one option: to follow it on the web. Get that BBC world view which always annoys me or that Euro childish commentary or on the cyber eagles forum where I have to put up with the usual live hit and miss bits that tell me what is going on.
I got on the subway train which was empty going east but I had to switch at Yong and Bloor. There I found the platform packed ten rows deep. There were delays and so on. I was feeling stranded and helpless and kept cursing myself for going overboard with my game viewing enthusiasm that was making me feel childish and irresponsible towards my family and work. I pushed my way through people and had to endure abuse from a woman who kept lecturing me about my manners and then she tired from me and started talking to others. I could never get more than a couple of rows closer to the platform. I did not get in until the third train and ran in to work at quarter to nine. It was zero zero.
I started with the cyber eagles thread which was thirteen pages long by then and read the suffering words of the forumites. The cries about the missing midfield in particular reminded me of the Sweden game in 2002. Now I know that the game was lost and I was not there. To make matters worse the cybereagles forum was not reachable because of the excess threading and then there was power outage.
Unlike many people I want to see my team Nigeria play. Win or lose I want to be there. I will never forget what JJ did to the Swedish defense during the game that Nigeria lost in 2002. He danced through them and even though the goal dis not come they were left dazed and frightened and there was hope and energy in the game all of a sudden. Now the power outage is over and we lost and my chest has the feeling that you get when you cry for so long and then stop. For hours after your chest is hollow and fatigued.
Now I am philosophical about it a bit. Like an old man told me once in response to my complaints about how Italian soccer is very defensive. He said that an attacking game cannot be reliable. Soccer favours the defense. If you put more strikers up at the expense of the midfield or defense you find that you cannot easily work you way up field and find that you have to send in long balls. That will definately favour the defense because the basic situation each time is a striker running fast forward with a ball coming from behind him and a defender waiting and knowing exactly where contact with the ball will happen. He does not have to be fast or strong, he just has to be there to get the ball, and if not then deny good space and move the striker to his waiting teamate who will do the same. Nigerian soccer needs wingers that will take the ball to the sides and send in square crosses where the defense is not favoured. The defender's advantage is erased. But that may be too much theory and I don't like to do that. I just want to end by saying that I hope that Morocco played well and that I have no doubt that Nigeria will go to the second round. May be African soccer is just getting more exciting and star power is not sufficient. Imagine an Africa that has six or seven title contenders each two years. Wouldn't that be better than this Cameroon and more Cameroon evey time African soccer is mentioned?
I missed the game despite all my plans and attempts and now I feel gutted and hollow on the inside. I was worried and I was waiting to see that the problems we suffered from against Sweden have been solved but I guess I have to wait to see if they have. I don't really know if Nigeria played poorly or if Morocco played well or if it was the twelfth man: the fan, the virtual home advantage. It is too early to judge and we can all remember ANC 1990 where the same thing happened and Nigeria did well.
What really angered me today was that the Empire restaurant did not open at 8:00 a.m. as they promised. In Toronto you have to have ART to see the games. I lied to my wife and had a story ready to cover me util 10:00. I was going to tell them that I had to take my son to day care since the car was stuck in a pile of snow. I rushed and rushed and made it at 8:00 only to find a place that was dark and locked up. I was furious. I looked through the glass window of the dark restaurant and looked around to see if there were others like me. There was no one. I felt foolish. There was a snow storm and all and I can understand that others may not care about this game as I do but it is not at all acceptable to shirk responsibility after promising to be open for business. It does not matter what mad passions drives me, I felt betrayed. And to make matters worse, I now had only one option: to follow it on the web. Get that BBC world view which always annoys me or that Euro childish commentary or on the cyber eagles forum where I have to put up with the usual live hit and miss bits that tell me what is going on.
I got on the subway train which was empty going east but I had to switch at Yong and Bloor. There I found the platform packed ten rows deep. There were delays and so on. I was feeling stranded and helpless and kept cursing myself for going overboard with my game viewing enthusiasm that was making me feel childish and irresponsible towards my family and work. I pushed my way through people and had to endure abuse from a woman who kept lecturing me about my manners and then she tired from me and started talking to others. I could never get more than a couple of rows closer to the platform. I did not get in until the third train and ran in to work at quarter to nine. It was zero zero.
I started with the cyber eagles thread which was thirteen pages long by then and read the suffering words of the forumites. The cries about the missing midfield in particular reminded me of the Sweden game in 2002. Now I know that the game was lost and I was not there. To make matters worse the cybereagles forum was not reachable because of the excess threading and then there was power outage.
Unlike many people I want to see my team Nigeria play. Win or lose I want to be there. I will never forget what JJ did to the Swedish defense during the game that Nigeria lost in 2002. He danced through them and even though the goal dis not come they were left dazed and frightened and there was hope and energy in the game all of a sudden. Now the power outage is over and we lost and my chest has the feeling that you get when you cry for so long and then stop. For hours after your chest is hollow and fatigued.
Now I am philosophical about it a bit. Like an old man told me once in response to my complaints about how Italian soccer is very defensive. He said that an attacking game cannot be reliable. Soccer favours the defense. If you put more strikers up at the expense of the midfield or defense you find that you cannot easily work you way up field and find that you have to send in long balls. That will definately favour the defense because the basic situation each time is a striker running fast forward with a ball coming from behind him and a defender waiting and knowing exactly where contact with the ball will happen. He does not have to be fast or strong, he just has to be there to get the ball, and if not then deny good space and move the striker to his waiting teamate who will do the same. Nigerian soccer needs wingers that will take the ball to the sides and send in square crosses where the defense is not favoured. The defender's advantage is erased. But that may be too much theory and I don't like to do that. I just want to end by saying that I hope that Morocco played well and that I have no doubt that Nigeria will go to the second round. May be African soccer is just getting more exciting and star power is not sufficient. Imagine an Africa that has six or seven title contenders each two years. Wouldn't that be better than this Cameroon and more Cameroon evey time African soccer is mentioned?
lol. N.African..........i feel your pain. But do not hope on the SE,they're likely to leave u in severe pain. Only thing is when they do show up,there is no feeling sweeter in soccer.(ok,maybe watching RealMadrid or Arsenal in full flow).
Evans Bipi, had declared to the press, “Why must [Governor Amaechi] be insulting my mother, my Jesus Christ on earth?”
northAfrican,
Interesting piece. Don't you have a digital box? Every true soccer fan should have one, if for nothing else, for FoxSportsworld. If you had a box, all you needed to do was rush back home, call Rogers or Shaw, and they would hook you up right away. You could then cancel after the game.
I have sympathy for your plight. Mine was the opposite: I do have ART (hooked up yesterday), but my wife would not let me be irresponsible even for one day. At 8.30, she put her foot down and forced my son and I, who were both watching the game, to leave the house. I will be able to watch it tonight when I get home though since I taped it.
I thank HAWKEYE once again for pointing out this digital cable possibility to Canadian cybers. I suspected that something would go wrong with the Scallywags and Empire options with the blizzard we have been having for over 24 hours now.
Interesting piece. Don't you have a digital box? Every true soccer fan should have one, if for nothing else, for FoxSportsworld. If you had a box, all you needed to do was rush back home, call Rogers or Shaw, and they would hook you up right away. You could then cancel after the game.
I have sympathy for your plight. Mine was the opposite: I do have ART (hooked up yesterday), but my wife would not let me be irresponsible even for one day. At 8.30, she put her foot down and forced my son and I, who were both watching the game, to leave the house. I will be able to watch it tonight when I get home though since I taped it.
I thank HAWKEYE once again for pointing out this digital cable possibility to Canadian cybers. I suspected that something would go wrong with the Scallywags and Empire options with the blizzard we have been having for over 24 hours now.
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northAfrican
- Egg
- Posts: 1695
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:57 pm
- Location: Canada
Sounds like you were going to kill someone.What really angered me today was that the Empire restaurant did not open at 8:00 a.m. as they promised. In Toronto you have to have ART to see the games. I lied to my wife and had a story ready to cover me util 10:00. I was going to tell them that I had to take my son to day care since the car was stuck in a pile of snow. I rushed and rushed and made it at 8:00 only to find a place that was dark and locked up. I was furious. I looked through the glass window of the dark restaurant and looked around to see if there were others like me. There was no one. I felt foolish. There was a snow storm and all and I can understand that others may not care about this game as I do but it is not at all acceptable to shirk responsibility after promising to be open for business. It does not matter what mad passions drives me, I felt betrayed. And to make matters worse, I now had only one option: to follow it on the web. Get that BBC world view which always annoys me or that Euro childish commentary or on the cyber eagles forum where I have to put up with the usual live hit and miss bits that tell me what is going on.
North African,
You were not the only one who had a Metro/Subway experience. My ordeal was not disimilar to yours. After spending TWO HOURS stranded on DC metro trying to get from Falls Church in VA to Landover in MA, I have learnt a valuable lesson about public transport in these parts:
Allow for a few Hours' delay during inclement weather. The match was on at DeRanch Restuarant but I got there 10mins to the end of the game and slushing through the parking lot in order to catch a taxi.
I was crestfallen when I got there to see that we were down by a goal but with ten minutes to go I was still optimistic until I settled down to see the long balls and ineffective attack we were mounting on the Morroccans. It pained me even more when the Atlas Lions made their solitary but well contructed attack only to be denied by Enyeama's fingertips and the upright. Meanwhile we launched one lousy long ball after the other which the Morrocan had little difficulty dealing with.
It was ugly to watch and it has left me quite depressed for the rest of the day.
You were not the only one who had a Metro/Subway experience. My ordeal was not disimilar to yours. After spending TWO HOURS stranded on DC metro trying to get from Falls Church in VA to Landover in MA, I have learnt a valuable lesson about public transport in these parts:
Allow for a few Hours' delay during inclement weather. The match was on at DeRanch Restuarant but I got there 10mins to the end of the game and slushing through the parking lot in order to catch a taxi.
I was crestfallen when I got there to see that we were down by a goal but with ten minutes to go I was still optimistic until I settled down to see the long balls and ineffective attack we were mounting on the Morroccans. It pained me even more when the Atlas Lions made their solitary but well contructed attack only to be denied by Enyeama's fingertips and the upright. Meanwhile we launched one lousy long ball after the other which the Morrocan had little difficulty dealing with.
It was ugly to watch and it has left me quite depressed for the rest of the day.
For many years upon this spot
You heard the sound of a merry bell
Those who were rash and those who were not
Lost and made a spot of cash
He who gave the game away
May he Brynn in hell and rue the day
Bryne V. Deane [1937]
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monkeypost
- Egg
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