Thoughts of a Wise Man

• Barca vs Real is the zenith of modern football. Earlier this week, Barcelona and Real Madrid competed in the second leg of their Supercopa deEspana. Frankly, it was one of the best games I’ve seen in years, though I was still left with a distaste in my mouth, the same I’ve had for over a season. Now, I should warn you that I am a Real Madrid fan, so I do harbour some bias, but I would like to think that I am a fan of great football before any team, and that’s where my problem lies with the recent billings of “El Classico”. As stated before this leviathan of a matchup is without a doubt modern footballs hallmark derby, but what it boasts in skill it lacks in what us latino’s call “joga bonito”, or literally the essence of what makes the beautiful game.

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Over the past year, the “Classico’ has been marred with the likes of horrible displays of diving, instigating, infuriating foul play, and in some cases racism. To be honest there is nothing that angers me more, than when a player flings himself at the ground like he has just been shot, just to get another player sent off, apart from being dishonest to the game and the fans themselves, it kills the flow of the game and leaves fans with the aforementioned foul taste I spoke of before. Not to point fingers but I would list Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets, Javier Mascherano, Marcelo, and Mesut Ozil as the main culprits of “anti-football”crimes. 

            One player in particular, Dani Alves, brings me much sadness, as I used to be a huge fan of him when he was with Sevilla, but his (frankly) disgusting displays of diving and foul play, has made him a hated figure among Real Fans, specially after his disgusting dive in the second leg of the Champions League semi final which (unjustly) led to Pepe getting a straight red. It is these, heinous attempts at botching play, that ruins what would otherwise, be an amazing game. I realise there is immense pressure on the players shoulders to win, after all it is a multi million dollar industry, but can you really go home and look in the mirror and be proud of that win, or even be able to tell your children in the future? I would think not, and unfortunately theres nothing us the fans can do to change that. We cant keep Dani Alves from winning the gold medal for diving at the Olympics, we cant keep Marcelo from losing his cool and producing horrible tackles. We, the fans, can only pray… and hope that the players remember why they wear their jerseys, not for money, not for glory, but for the love of the game itself. Maybe when that happens, we the fans will be able to enjoy football in its purest form.. 

Its been a while since ive posted… ill get on that sooner or later

• Airports are hell incarnate. Though I don’t think anyone would step to argue with me, its a very understated fact. I don’t know what makes them worse: the lines and waits, the cramped,  the uncomfortable seating, or the overworked AC. Maybe its the unrelenting nervous feeling that comes with being in international transit, no one wants to be in an airport they just want to get from point “a” to point “b”. If there is an afterlife, I bet this is what purgatory is like; the wide all encompassing check in and waiting halls, the never ending hallways, the temper-prone staff… Dante didn’t know what he was talking about, scratch a mountain and beaches, given a overnight stop over at LHR he would have probably re-written Puragtorio, and modeled it after terminal 3.