While I personally can never fully fall in love with something that forbids me from using my hands, soccer/ football is obviously very popular all over the world. And there aren't many countries more football crazy than England. But when you leave your home country, you do the best with what you have. Mondale does an excellent job comparing his love of football with an outsider's view of American sport (particularly baseball). Read it here.
After Mondale sent this out to a number of people, it led to a very serious discussion between Mondale, Apes, and Weasel (there's a joke in there somewhere, I swear) about what football club Apes should pledge his allegiance to. Apparently even Mondale's dad "The Silver Fox" has been enlisted in this very important matter. Maybe as a result of this post, the Listmaker readership at large will finally become privy to these secret discussions. We have a right to know.
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15 comments:
Looking sharp there Mr. Bowles
I cannot believe I'm going to pass up the open goal masturbation joke you gave me in the first line, but as one of Ape's footie confessors I have to take umbrage at this venal attempt to pry open the confessional door while the penitent is still waiting for soccer absolution from the Silver Fox (Alex, you are the Catholic- did I get the mechanics of confession right? We Methodists don't confess, just ask George W.)
Suffice to say, while Bowles and I have supported the same team since infancy (and indeed even contribute to the same website: www.nycanaries.com) we do have our differences, hence our referal of Apes' case to the mighty Silver Fox. We can't ask my dad as he is a North Londoner and will just say "Arsenal".
If anyone else wants a team, Bowlesy and me can fix you right up. We are experts, we are.
I am an American and a baseball fan - but have always enjoyed watching soccer/football, especially during the World Cup and other tournaments. My fondest memory was on a ferry from Ireland to England in the middle of the night during the summer of 1994, watching the finals of the World Cup with dozens of drunks - I was hooked immediately.
So where is Apes coming out on this one? I assume the Canaries have informed him that Norwich are in the drop zone? To which MLB club would you guys compare them?
It takes real balls for an English soccer fan to criticize the food at American ballparks, by the way. Cold meat pie and a warm Pepsi, anyone?
Alex, I expect you to serenade us all with a rendition of "If I Had the Wings of a Sparrow" at Dan's next karaoke birthday party.
Leave the meat pie out of this: Norwich is the meat pie eating capital of England, you know (proof if proof is needed can be found here: Ny Canaries: Pies).
My biggest worries as we near the corner into the second half of the season is that Norwich has eight fewer games to make up lost ground than we were used to in the lower divisions, that we may have had our only win of the season, and that we will get relegated as Ipswich win promotion as champions.
As for which MLB team best corresponds to NCFC, I'd like to say the Mets but the Mets have actually tasted glory in the past (the Mets in fact are more like Everton). Instead I'm going to have to go for the White Sox.
Firstly, thanks for reading the article , it's nice to know that it's not just Weasel that reads this stuff.
Secondly, if either Weasel or Apes has the emails and is happy to pass them on to listmaker for publication that might be fun, I am suffering from my own 18 minute credibility gap in this respect.
Thirdly, as for which MLB team 'City' most resemble, this is an interesting one. I think it best just to put the facts out there and see what you all come up with.
Norwich City, founded 1902.
Honours 1933,1972,1986,2004 championship wins (the last three put us into the 'top flight').
1962, 1985 League cup wins (less prestigious than the FA Cup).
Carrow Road holds 25,000.
I think we probably get about 22,000 a game although in less successful seasons it normally dips to around 17-18,000.
We are very much a one team town, our hated rivals , Ipswich play 44 miles away.
We are also pretty rural, Norwich is a mediaeval city, full of history and culture but very much on it's own, surrounded by pleasant farmland and nice beaches (not so disimilar from somewhere like eastern Mass or Rhode Island).
We have never won the FA cup or the top flight (Premiership, whatever) league championship. We have come close though (1959-cup semis, 1989-4th in,league and cup semis, 1992-cup semis,1993-3rd in league).
Nickname is the canaries.
And still I love them so.
I hope this all helps.
European competition 1993 (beaten by Inter milan)
I prefer to dwell less on "lost to Inter" and more on "defeated Bayern Munich" in that storied 1993 European campaign.
Na na na, nananana naa, na na na nananana naa (NY chums, have Alex sing this for you as well as "Sparrow" next time he hits the sauce and grabs a mic).
i haven't decided on an EPL team to root for yet, but i was thinking about printing the total of the back and forth between Bowles, Weasel and me. i am looking forward to the Fox's comments as well. here's the first part that was sent to Bowles (the rest may be saved for my own publishing purposes):
one thing about only getting to watch the Premiership highlight shows most of the time is that it's hard for me to choose a team to call my own. i have some friends in DC that are Spurs [Tottenham Hotspur] fans, but i can't get into them as much. Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea are out for obvious reasons. i'd like to root for a team with an American or two, but don't want to pick a team in danger of relegation - sorry Blackburn.
teams i don't hate, but don't really care about are Man City, Birmingham, Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Charlton, Newcastle. the rest are sort of a jumble
but i've begun to focus in on:
Boro [Middlesbrough] - i like Hasselbaink and Viduka
Bolton - something about Sam Allardyce resonates with me
Fulham - they've got Brian McBride, but Chris Coleman scares me
Aston Villa - partly the uniforms, partly because they're not from London
any insight on this particluar dilemma?
Sounds like Norwich might be analagous to the Pirates, maybe?
Anyhow, Jaime, I'd be hesitant to get on that yellow-and-green bandwagon. As weasel notes, they're going to struggle to survive this season, and if you think it's tough following a Premier League club, try Division One. Unlikely to see that Tuesday night match at Gillingham on FSW, I suspect.
In related news, however, you can now listen to Premier League matches on satellite radio: http://blog.matchnight.com/blogindex.cfm?action=home&commentID=1009
Although you used to be able to listen for free on the internet, this ain't bad......
dn
Also.....
Allow me to recommend the very good documentary "The Game of Their Lives," about the 1966 North Korean World Cup side, which will air on the Sundance Channel next Monday (Dec. 6) at 9pm Eastern.
dn
I just want you all to know that I was removed from this site because I accidently posted the same thing about 7 times. Not as a result of anything ethnically or culturally sensitive(c'mon, read random doubts, i'm not a sensitive type of guy).
As for the silver fox getting involved, he's one of life's quiet counsellors, a bit like Obi Wan Kenobi. He'll speak when he's ready and when he's ready we will listen.
bowles, i was put to the task of rempoving your extraneous comments.
dan, please set the DVR for that documentary!
i'd be up for watching that documentary as well if you felt like turning it into a small group sort of thing.
From Jim:
That was me requesting the Bowles serenade, not "Anonymous." Man, this comments mechanism is all wack.
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