Fair Play: Watching the World Cup with Tigger
I WATCHED the opening of the World Cup at Sports Exchange Bar and the experience, like the game, was beautiful.
As expected, I saw a slew of familiar faces, some of whom I regularly saw at The Badgers during Germany 2006.
I was with former Cebu Football Association president Jonathan Maximo, who is now a runner, biker and photographer all rolled into one, NSV of Footnote, and Super B’s Junmigs. There were a lot of expats, too.
One advantage Sports Exchange had over the other sports bar I went to is that it has a designated smoking area—a big hit for smokers and non-smokers. They can avoid the second-hand junk, and we can puff to our heart’s misfortune.
The last time I had a few drinks with Maxi was back in 2008, when he picked my brain after he was named the tournament director for football in the Cesafi. Now that he’s into running and cycling, we rarely see each other.
Junmigs, ever the comedian, told the tale of one editor’s experience in the 2006 World Cup.
He went to the CR and upon returning, saw a goal. He yelled, “YEESS!!!” and clapped loudly, but nobody else did. He realized too late he was seeing a replay.
There was a lot of shouting at Sports Exchange, particularly from the African fans. There was even one guy who at times looked like he was arguing with the TV. When South Africa scored, there was a mad celebration.
Rooting for your country, in the biggest sports event in the world, must be a wonderful feeling.
Too bad we’ll never know how it feels.
What we can do, right now, is catch the games live, on cable. That is if you have Balls TV.
I used to hate Balls TV’s cheeky line “We got them,” but as of yesterday, I now worship them—balls and all.
I never believed, not even once, that Balls TV wouldn’t charge murderous PPV fees for the World Cup. In 2006, Solar Sports was harping about its coverage only for fans to be told that those who wanted it live, had to shell out extra.
That’s why in 2006, sports bars were packed.
This time, Balls TV showed—my apologies—they got balls and aren’t charging extra.
So for Argentina vs. Nigeria, I was at home, watching the game with Tigger and Monkey. They seem to talk a lot with my son Mico but they were strangely silent in that match.
The audio was out of synch, too, and it was funny—the commentator was screaming GOAL!!! 10 seconds after it happened.
Like normal guys, I can watch two shows at the same time but the remote control that time had a 90-minute rest. (Half-time doesn’t count)
There were more action on the field in the Argentina vs. Nigeria game than the previous match, but I was more subdued. It’s quite hard to be excited when you only have a couple of stuffed toys watching the game with you.
I guess I’ll have to return to the bar for the knockout stages.
ENGLAND’S MISFORTUNE. By now, English keeper Robert Green’s name will find a lot of unique adjectives, not one of them worth repeating.
The poor guy fumbled what should have been an easy catch against the US, allowing the Americans to pick up a point.
I remember reading an earlier story of how the new ball seems to behave strangely but that won’t be a consolation to Green or to any England fan.
NBA FINALS. I picked LA to win the finals in five games, just like last year. Obviously, that won’t happen now but I’m still rooting for Kobe and company to win it.
Wouldn’t it be beautiful—if not poetic—for Kobe to hit the winning jumper in Game 7? MJ himself wasn’t able to do that.
As expected, I saw a slew of familiar faces, some of whom I regularly saw at The Badgers during Germany 2006.
I was with former Cebu Football Association president Jonathan Maximo, who is now a runner, biker and photographer all rolled into one, NSV of Footnote, and Super B’s Junmigs. There were a lot of expats, too.
One advantage Sports Exchange had over the other sports bar I went to is that it has a designated smoking area—a big hit for smokers and non-smokers. They can avoid the second-hand junk, and we can puff to our heart’s misfortune.
The last time I had a few drinks with Maxi was back in 2008, when he picked my brain after he was named the tournament director for football in the Cesafi. Now that he’s into running and cycling, we rarely see each other.
Junmigs, ever the comedian, told the tale of one editor’s experience in the 2006 World Cup.
He went to the CR and upon returning, saw a goal. He yelled, “YEESS!!!” and clapped loudly, but nobody else did. He realized too late he was seeing a replay.
There was a lot of shouting at Sports Exchange, particularly from the African fans. There was even one guy who at times looked like he was arguing with the TV. When South Africa scored, there was a mad celebration.
Rooting for your country, in the biggest sports event in the world, must be a wonderful feeling.
Too bad we’ll never know how it feels.
What we can do, right now, is catch the games live, on cable. That is if you have Balls TV.
I used to hate Balls TV’s cheeky line “We got them,” but as of yesterday, I now worship them—balls and all.
I never believed, not even once, that Balls TV wouldn’t charge murderous PPV fees for the World Cup. In 2006, Solar Sports was harping about its coverage only for fans to be told that those who wanted it live, had to shell out extra.
That’s why in 2006, sports bars were packed.
This time, Balls TV showed—my apologies—they got balls and aren’t charging extra.
So for Argentina vs. Nigeria, I was at home, watching the game with Tigger and Monkey. They seem to talk a lot with my son Mico but they were strangely silent in that match.
The audio was out of synch, too, and it was funny—the commentator was screaming GOAL!!! 10 seconds after it happened.
Like normal guys, I can watch two shows at the same time but the remote control that time had a 90-minute rest. (Half-time doesn’t count)
There were more action on the field in the Argentina vs. Nigeria game than the previous match, but I was more subdued. It’s quite hard to be excited when you only have a couple of stuffed toys watching the game with you.
I guess I’ll have to return to the bar for the knockout stages.
ENGLAND’S MISFORTUNE. By now, English keeper Robert Green’s name will find a lot of unique adjectives, not one of them worth repeating.
The poor guy fumbled what should have been an easy catch against the US, allowing the Americans to pick up a point.
I remember reading an earlier story of how the new ball seems to behave strangely but that won’t be a consolation to Green or to any England fan.
NBA FINALS. I picked LA to win the finals in five games, just like last year. Obviously, that won’t happen now but I’m still rooting for Kobe and company to win it.
Wouldn’t it be beautiful—if not poetic—for Kobe to hit the winning jumper in Game 7? MJ himself wasn’t able to do that.
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