World Cup

In Ann Arbor…dept.

My English first-cousin-once-removed Frankie enquired as to World Cup interest over here.

I had gotten wind of things when people showed up at the Bern/Orit Shimoni gig at Amelia’s market in Toronto, having come directly from the stadium where the CFL Argonauts play, and having witnessed Canada’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, amounting to Canada’s first ever World Cup points.

Then I became aware of the US’s four to one pummeling of Panama, I learned that England does (or “do” as they say) not play til Wednesday.

Walking down the streets of Ann Arbor on a rare off-day when I had gone into a store looking for a 10 foot instrument cable and walked out with a fiberglass blue guitar with built in effects, I saw that Belgium – Egypt was on, at an outdoor big screen, and instead of the Thai place I’d been targeting all day, I sat and ordered first a Stella and then a Reuben.

Egypt and Belgium ended in a draw (a tie). The game (match) ended one - all (one apiece).

Saudi Arabia and Uruguay would be next.

I don’t know if the World Cup is important.

Probably it’s good if it brings people together and we become more aware of each other, more compassionate, and maybe better able to think of the planet as a whole, a single entity. It’s not that often when that happens. Even the Olympics are pretty fractured, with the Ethiopians dominating the Summer Games and the Winter Games ruled by Swedes and Finns.

The reuben was not so great. The corned beef was clumpy and fatty. Not Katz’s or Langers that’s for sure. Leaves room for Thai later on. The place is open till 2 AM.

Large Watch Parties seem to be the thing now in America. First, the Knicks fans took over New York, and the Communist mayor personally went door-to-door to prevent children from going to bed until each Knicks victory was secured.

Now it seems that large gatherings of Argentina fans, and Uruguayans, and Ghanaians, and Scots and Japanese and Iranians and Mexicans will gather in the streets for their games (matches). And, except for the occasional street fighting bloodbath when followers of, say, Scotland and Belgium play, it seems generally a pretty good thing.

It may not be on the order of saving air and water, but it seems like a good thing, probably better than simply continuing to come up with new adjectives and metaphors for cultural depravity

Better than that.

In any case, it’s nice to sit outside with beer and watch soccer games (footy matches).

Hopefully the American side can avoid too many howlers during squeaky bum time, can convert our sitters, maybe with a clever nutmeg or two, maybe even bang in a squealer or a worldie here and there.

And we’ll be watching Frankie’s England.