The Impossible Dream

I have been a footballer (translated into 'Merican: soccer player) since I was 11. It's a wonderful sport to play and watch, and I love it so much I still play at least twice a week, sometimes more. I will play as long as my body can keep pace with my desire.

Moments ago, Leicester City Football Club became the champions of the Barclays Premier League, England's top professional league. They were 5001-to-1 odds to accomplish this feat at the beginning of the season. Last season, they had just been promoted into the Premier League, and spent most of the season at the bottom of the table (standings), and would have been relegated (demoted) if they had not gone on an improbable late season run that kept them out of the relegation zone and in the league.

Imagine if MLB demoted the 3 or 4 worst teams each season, and promoted an equal number of AAA teams to take their place. That's the best comparison I can make to paint a fairly accurate picture of the relegation/promotion system. So take my beloved and beleaguered Seattle Mariners for example. They've had some lean seasons before. Imagine them being demoted to AAA, playing well enough to claw back into MLB, play well enough to just barely stay in the big leagues, and then win the World Series the following year. Impossible, improbable, unlikely, take your pick. But it could happen!

Why do I support Leicester? Because of their goalkeeper. I am, of course, a loyal Seattle Sounders FC supporter, as they are the team I grew up with. But many football fans adopt international professional teams for any number of reasons. It always makes for entertaining smack talk at work, if nothing else. It also gives you an excuse to wake up stupid early on weekends and drink beer for breakfast if that's your thing.

In 1998-1999, Manchester United won their famous treble, taking home the Premier League title, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League crown. Their keeper was Danish legend Peter Schmeichel. My friend Phil and I were along for the ride, watching the games and taking it all in. As a brother goalkeeper, I tend to get attached to teams based on their keepers. But I never hitched my wagon to United, or any other team. I guess I cheered for teams that had American born players in net (Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, etc.). But in 2014 I discovered that Kasper Schmeichel, the son of Peter the Great, was playing for Leicester, so I decided it was time to pick my Premier League team, and it was the Foxes of Leicester.

Their run at the end of the 2014-2015 season was fun to watch, if more than a bit nerve-wracking. But who would have thought LCFC would fire their manager who guided them to the Premier League and then to safety, and bring aboard a nice but not hugely successful Claudio Ranieri and then go on to win first place in the BPL? Not me, and pretty much not anyone else in the football world.

So congratulations to mighty Leicester, who dared to dream big and had the skill, courage, and spirit to see that dream become reality. Fearless, indeed.

I've Got a Fever...And The Only Cure Is More Football!!!

That's right, World Cup 2014 has kicked off and I'm once again knee deep in the beautiful game. It's been fun to watch so far, because you never quite know what is going to happen on any given day (like the Netherland's 5-1 dismantling of Spain or Germany's 4-0 pummeling of Portugal).

Last night started off great for the US with hometown hero (Seattle Sounders) Clint Dempsey scoring in less than 30 seconds. Then things get somewhat dicey as we endure a couple of injuries and a relentless Ghana attack that is less than technical until they tie the score in the 82nd minute. And then magic:

John Brooks comes on and powers in a header off a corner in the 86th minute and the US holds off Ghana for a 2-1 victory!!! I'm a happy camper, for sure. Now we face a reeling Portugal and then the German machine. Hoping for the best in the next two matches.

Last day of school for my little dragons is tomorrow, so I will have a lot more time for painting, posting, and perhaps even finally listing some of my excess lead on eBay. Unless I just sit around and watch the World Cup for the next several weeks...one never knows.

Achilles Reborn!

I will rupture you!

 

 

No, I am not declaring myself the second coming of the legendary warrior Achilles. Rather, I am celebrating my return to indoor soccer after a seven month hiatus, courtesy of a ruptured right achilles tendon suffered at the end of January. My repaired tendon held up just fine - the rest of my muscles that have seen scant use in the intervening months, however, made their displeasure be known. The pain was worth it! Things started out well as we went up 2-0, and then quickly fell apart in the second half as we went on to lose 4-3. I am, needless to say, very happy to once again don my gloves and jump around and catch the ball kicked towards me at high velocity.

I have been eyeing the lead pile lately, cleaning up and organizing the mess that has lingered over the summer. Over on acaeum.com, there is a thread that shows the result of one collector's hard work: his painted collection. Hats off to Chris for the drive and desire to not only accumulate a nice stash of lead, but to actually paint every piece.

Painting Progress, Dead Computers, and Rooney

I've been hacking away at my DA scouts, and while I feel I'm getting close to finishing them, I've also been a little frustrated. There are so many details on them! Grenades (3-4 different kinds), pouches, holsters, weapons, armor, commo gear, skin, eyes, hair, etc. Looking back, I probably should have picked a standard tactical squad to paint up first. Oh well, just a bit more work.

I'm also working on some D&D lead as well, and really like how those are shaping up. Let's just say there are skeletons, and then there are skeletons clad in plate, grinning skulls leering at the PCs they are about to tear into.

A couple of posts back, I talked about the new Peryton from Center Stage Miniatures. I really like the look of their Sea Devils, so I ordered the three different sculpts available. I'll be sure to post a product review once they arrive and I get a good look at them.

We finally decided to replace our aging PC with a new laptop, complete with a 24" monitor and docking station. A couple days after we place the order, the old PC stops working! Seems to be a hard drive issue. But lo and behold, the new rig arrives a day or two early, so I'm back in business. Huzzah!

And for those footie fans out there who have not already seen it, here's a link to the Wayne Rooney bicycle kick goal he recently potted against Manchester City. Brilliant!

That is all for now. Until next time, happy painting and prosperous gaming.

Been There, Done That

I feel Robert Green's pain. Green was in goal today for England, and he made a terrible mistake and let a bad goal in. Good for the U.S., bad for Green & England. I'll take the point and hope we beat Slovenia and Algeria to advance to the next round.

I've been a football/soccer goalkeeper for 32 years and counting. If I tallied up the number of bad goals I've allowed in over three decades, it wouldn't be pretty. But Green's gaffe and Kasey Keller's recent blunder against DC United show that even the pros have bad moments. Granted, I've never blown a save in a World Cup match, but trust me, a glaring error by the keeper in any league isn't fun.

Go USA!

Are you ready for some FUTBOL?

World Cup 2010 kicks off on Friday June 11th! I am primed and ready to spend the next month watching the best footballers in the world do their thing in South Africa. First up for the U.S. is the English juggernaut on June 12th, with most pundits predicting a victory for England. I am hopeful to prove the pundits wrong, because I know the U.S. lads are capable of great things (see their 2-0 victory over Spain in the Confederations Cup for example). But my optimism is tempered by their ability to implode (see their 3-2 loss to Brazil in the same Confederations Cup final after going up 2-0 for example).

Advancing out of group play is not a sure thing for the U.S. this time around - in addition to facing England, we also need to do well against Slovenia (6/18) and Algeria (6/23). As always, it's going to be interesting and entertaining to see how events unfold for each and every team.

Luckily, the games are going to be on in the morning around here, so my World Cup watching won't interfere with my painting schedule, such that it is.