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The Philadelphia Eagles, an organization already known for classy behavior and fans who demonstrate the highest levels of respect, dignity, and hospitality, have taken another step forward in improving their public image by signing Michael Vick.
Please note this is not so much a post about what a bad guy Michael Vick is / was. For the record, he did plead guilty and serve his time. It doesn’t change what he did, but he has done all he can to accept responsibility and move forward.
That said, could you ask for a (potentially) better pairing?
As an update to the last post, tiny Dunmanway Town played a young Liverpool side today. It was a valiant effort (from the sounds of it anyway), and the result was a respectable 1-0 loss.
In other Liverpool news, Xabi Alonso is gone and – pending a favorable medical exam – Alberto Aquilani will be playing at Anfield this season.
Finally, Texas A&M football kicks off in 30 days.
Fall is awesome.
Thursday marks the biggest thing ever to come to Dunmanway Town, Co. Cork Ireland.
Not plumbing. Not electricity. Not even sliced bread.
No, the 2,500 people living there (and, I assume, loads of guests) will welcome Liverpool, last year’s English Premier League runners-up.
The team has borrowed a local school’s Gaelic Games pitch for the day and has drafted in just over 7,000 seats – from the same temporary stands used in Shamrock Rovers’ narrow 1-0 defeat by Real Madrid in July… The tie was briefly threatened by an invasion of local rabbits, who dug holes in the pitch but have since been scared away by the construction of the temporary stands.
For Liverpool, this represents a fantastic opportunity to strengthen an already strong fan base. For the Minnows, I assume this could only be described as the chance of a lifetime. These are amateur players who typically play their games on a farmer’s field. Now they have an opportunity to play with one of the top clubs in the world and, for 90 minutes, live out the dreams many have likely held since childhood.
For the record, I’m a Liverpool supporter and, coincidentally, have been since I spent a summer in Ireland. That summer – 2002 – was a World Cup year, one featuring the Republic of Ireland no less. The excitement of the World Cup was something akin to a college football game day in the states, only stretched over a summer. The entire country was decked out in all things Ireland – flags, scarves, shirts, hats, etc. Come game time, if you weren’t at the pub early, you weren’t getting in. Watching Robbie Keane score the tying goal in stoppage time against Germany sealed my fate as a fan of soccer. Surrounded in the pub by friends and fans alike, the celebration was something you pause and take notice of, knowing it will be with you forever.
With the World Cup serving as my “gateway drug,” some friends started talking Liverpool and it was downhill from there.
If you’re a fan of soccer, you certainly know what I’m talking about. If you say you’re not a fan, I’d encourage you to check it out again. Grab some friends, hit a bar, and enjoy the experience. After that, if you’re looking for a team to follow, check out Bill Simmon’s (slightly dated) ESPN Page 2 article on researching and selecting an EPL team to support. Or go here for a handy (albeit generalized) quiz to help you decide. Lastly, get excited – the season starts in less than two weeks.
And not in the religious sense, obviously, since it’s February 20. But the weather outside is wonderful, I’m off work early (noon today – yeah me), and Liverpool is first in the league table and just beat Man U 3-1 to extend the 1st-to-also-ran-gap by 20+ points.
Okay, so the last one happened in FIFA ‘09 on the Wii, but a win is a win is a win.
Hope your day is going well, too.
