Ian's Rural Ramblings
This month I have mostly been watching sports. I like football (soccer) I used to play it for decades, perhaps too long so my knees say. Anyway, now I watch and during the Euro 2016 tournament my long suffering wife knows that I watched nearly every match.
Some I admit I slept through and not through excessive beverage intake either. One match in particular, it was involving Portugal and Croatia I think, there was not a shot on target from Portugal until nearly two hours play had elapsed. Portugal did win the tournament with a pretty decent goal in extra time against France. But for me too many teams were playing not to lose rather than win. On the upside, teams like Iceland and Wales were pretty much a breath of fresh air.
Some of the players are multi millionaires and maybe more yet there were some, I won’t name names, that were outplayed and outfought by players that struggle to get a place in lower league sides, sometimes much lower league sides. I wonder why that is? Has the money become so great that pulling on their country’s shirt means less to them? Has football become so tactical that lesser ability sides with good coaches can nullify star players? Are star players playing as individuals allowing a true team to defeat them?
The object of the game is too get the ball over the line inside the big netty things at either end. How can professionals blaze the ball high and wide so often, even when taking a penalty? Answers on a post card please. Perhaps a game could be won on points instead of extra time in the event of a draw, the number of shots on target and corner kicks thus getting by the boredom of extra time and penalties. Just a thought.
I watched Wimbledon too. Not all of it. But I did watch the men’s semi finals and final. I thought and think that Canadian Milos Raonic did very well. Firstly, in defeating Roger Federer in a five set epic, even though Federer seemed to twist his knee in the final set, and by running Scot and favourite for the title Andy Murray very close indeed.
The straight set win by Murray would at first glance bely how close this contest was. But I recall Murray only breaking the massive Raonic serve once in a game and winning points on the Raonic serve to take both tie breaks. Murray really had to work hard to beat the Canadian. I enjoyed seeing the serve and volley tactics of Raonic in his first grand slam final and I think he will be back in other finals soon.
Now we move on to a sports event that hasn’t taken place yet, the Rio Olympics. Unhappy citizens, Zika virus and all. I’m not a fan of the Olympic bidding process and very sceptical of the benefits to a city afterwards. For my liking there is too much money at stake and for the life of me I can’t see how major food and beverage brands that are regarded as less than healthy in the extreme can be allowed to be sponsors. Then we have the doping taint. It has been with us for years and shows no sign of going away. Medals have been and no doubt will be won in the glory of the arena only to be stripped away later. Too much pressure, too much corruption. I don’t trust the whole thing anymore. It doesn’t seem to be much about the sport and taking part. More like win or die trying. I wonder if we should allow a drug only games? Sign the waivers, take anything and see what happens.