for the love of the game part 2: football is relatively more. in a couple more senses.

2. the second reason why i've come to love football was because of the endless possibility of anyone becoming the game's hero. you have your key players, alright and you always expect them to be the team's scoring machine. however, the beauty of the game is, you don't know who would score next. the unpredictability as to who would catch the ball creates for the player nearest to (or even far from) the net the chance to kick the ball in or do a header and then become the game's hero. ala-chamba is what some might call it. but whether it really is ala-chamba or not, it is the very reason why people love the game. score could come in at any unexpected, nerve wracking moment, from just about anyone. the previously unheard of player suddenly becomes the hero of the match for letting his team win, 1-0, over their opponent. a hero is made out of a single goal precisely because of the very nature of the game. the extremely difficult manner by which a person could score, whether due to the lack of an opening or the very good tackling skills of the opponent, always seems to be in search of some stroke of luck to hit one of the players. a goal could come in as fast as the blink of an eye. and the slowly dying crowd could easily come back to life as one partakes on the team's never-ending creation of football history, hopefully leading the team to advance.

3. there is real challenge; there is real requirement for skill. passing the ball in itself carries a challenge because the opponent can easily tackle the ball if the man handling it isn't skilled enough to keep the ball with him. again, the idea of using the feet to score already requires so much work. the structure of the feet per se makes it difficult for one to move them as freely as one does with the hands. any kid playing bball can easily dribble and pass. and whether they know how to play it tight or not, they can still pretty much create a good simulation of the game. however, any kid [attempting] to play football might not even get past someone who is blocking him. neither can he make a decent pass. this could be made worse by two kids who do not know how to play it. even a rough simulation could be impossible.

i am not ditching basketball as the easier sport, although it mightve been implied with some of my statements. i know that basketball, all in itself, requires a totally different set of skills. the only point im driving at is that, personally, football is better for me for reasons stated above. or even more. any fan is free to post teir own reasons for loving the game. i do believe, however, the bulk have already been tackled in this and previous entries. anyway, the way we answer to our own biases makes our own POVs problematic from the eyes of the other people. the very reason why basketball fans would disagree with my thoughts about football or even curse me for even attempting to compare the two and why football fans would be eclectic for my defense of [our] favorite game.

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and so my two bets for the world cup are already gone. england's case came more as expected, having seen how poorly they played in their first several matches. many people would say that their arses were only saved by continuous streak of luck to have reached that far. it feels very disappointing that they did not play to their potential until that one last game they had with portugal, to which they underservingly lost. critics, english or not, have been blaming sven for his unpopular decisions of bringing in the squad the more amateur, but nevertheless good though not contributory, player/s, and not the more deserving ones. to make things worse, the loss was followed by the resignation of both the coach and the team captain, becks. while this may seem the most logical step for england, we all wonder if it had to end this way- the team losing yet again on another shootout to yet again a former opponent, Portugal; criticisms raining down on the supposedly top 2 figures of the team, sven and becks; key players falling short of their display of potential; and the disgruntled feeling everyone is left with as to the blurry future of the team.

on the other hand, deutscheland's confident and powerful play came to an end last night as the azzuris saved themselves just minutes before the game wouldve been decided with a shootout. my self-created tag line, germany never disappoint, no longer applies. last night's result was not simply a disappointment. it was an upset. an unexpected exit from the strong contenders. despite this, i still have faith in the team. they are still my team. perhaps the better line for germany would be, the hope lives on with germany. their games have been the most interesting games in the world cup. i dont know if in euro2008 or the next world cup, klose-podolski tandem would still be reigning. they have been most instrumental to the success of the team although i am also giving credit for the excellent performance by the rest of klinsmann's squad- friedrich, frings, lahm (the wonder kid), neuville, schneider, schweinsteiger and of course, captain ballack.

it doesnt really matter anymore who else reaches the finals. portugal or france. my teams are out. actually it does matter. england's undeserved exit was caused my portugal; rooney's red by the dick ronaldo. so portugal don't deserve to be in the finals, underdog they may be. so yes, i am rooting for an italy-france finals. and then and italy win. i dont know why italy. i just like them better than les bleus.

and after july 9, my body clock shall be fixed once again. no more 3 am games. no more extra times at 5am. and no more shootouts at 530. my body can finally get rest as early as 1, 2 or 3am. but i will surely miss the cup once it's over.

---end of part2---