EuroCup is coming to Poznań!

On a Lighter Note...

Congrats to my favorite Kiwi All-Blacks who triumphed over Australia in the rugby semi-finals. The All-Blacks will face France on October 23 for the Rugby World Cup.

Aspiring astronomers should look toward the Big Dipper soon to get a glimpse of a one of the brightest supernovas in the last century. Soon the light will fade so that it will only be visible to professional astronomical equipment.

A bit of humor for my Dutch friends and for any ex-pats living in the Netherlands: You Know You've Been in the Netherlands for Too Long When...

And finally... a product of the iAge, this one-year-old knows how to use an iPad but can't comprehend traditional magazines. They must be broken!

Lech Poznań: Kolejorz!

The latest TV-spot for Poznań's football/soccer team.

Poznań Marathon 2010

Poznań Marathon, 10.10.10
from Aleja Niepodległości
runners from all over the world and all ages












And last but not least, my favorite participant, and the last runner of the day:

Last World Cup post (for this year)

The World Cup has been quite a ride this year, and soon this largest sporting event in the world will be over until 2014. Well done, South Africa.

With the first half of the final well under way, the question on everyone's mind is not only who will claim this year's title, but will the octopus remain undefeated?

Unless you've been living in a box, you've probably heard of Paul the Octopus by now. This "psychic" cephalopod lives in an aquarium in southern Germany, and he has a knack for determining the winner in German matches. His fame skyrocketed when he correctly predicted the upset victory of Germany toppling Argentina in the semis. The octopus makes his selection by choosing a tasty mussel treat from one of two boxes, each with a national flag on it. His record is currently 7 for 7, correctly predicting each winner in every match Germany played.

Now he'll try his knack with other teams. Paul's picked Spain as today's winner. Experts have carefully calculated that Paul has a 50% chance of being correct, so let's see how it goes.

If my team is out (though bronze again is better than nothing, I suppose), I guess I'll cheer for the German octopus instead.

USA v. Ghana

It's been an interesting World Cup. The French couldn't win, the favored Spanish lost to the underdog Swiss, and the Italians, the defending world champions, were ousted by the small nation of Slovakia, in their first World Cup since independence. The quote that has been circulating the internet jokingly claims, "This World Cup is like World War II. France leave early, USA turn up at the last minute, and England is left fighting the Germans."

I'm very excited for the USA. I'm thrilled that this is the first time that they've won their group (and possibly the first time they've made to it Round of 16) since the first World Cup in 1930. But the Americans will be playing Ghana. As the last African nation in the first African World Cup, I think that I agree with this NYT commentator. The USA has dominated countless sports for decades. We consistently top the medal records for the Olympics, an American just won Wimbledon, and the US has won the women's World Cup in 1991 and 1999. Our first love remains (American) football. Another FIFA loss would be frustrating, but most of America probably wouldn't even care. In contrast, imagine the morale boost for the entire country of Ghana, and for all of Africa, if their team gets to advance. Perhaps it's an idealistic notion, but perhaps sports bring healing and progress.

I hope the Red, White, and Blue play well, and I will be thrilled if they do advance. But patriotic allegiance aside, I'll be cheering for the Red, Yellow, and Green. Let's go Ghana, and let's go Africa!

May the best team win.

World Cup Again

The World Cup starts this Friday in South Africa. So excited! Here's another "official" theme song... how many are there now?

Worldwide World Cup Frenzy

FIFA World Cup 2010 starts in two weeks in South Africa!! Listening to K'naan, I can't help but get excited.

You know you're new to Washington when...

... you see someone wearing a "W" in script on a hat and immediately think it's the insignia for Wegman's, not understanding why someone would be sporting the supermarket's hat on the metro. At the next stop, when a flood of other people get on wearing various "W" gear--hats, shirts, bags--you realize that it's the insignia for the Washington Nationals who played today.

I contend that it was an honest (albeit amusing) mistake, from one who does not closely follow baseball and who misses having the Wegman's supermarket nearby. ^_^











Side-by-side the truth is more apparent: differences in script in the W for Wegmans and the W for the Nationals.

March Madness

In the spirit of March Madness, the fifth annual Tournament of Books is underway. The Morning News and Powell's sponsor this "tournament", with two books that were published in the past year facing off each day. So far, the winners from the first round are 2666, Netherland, and The White Tiger. Check out the standings (on the right) and check back daily to see who's winning. May the best book win!

In basketball news, a Brooklyn indie bookstore is starting a literary summer basketball league. However, only bibliophiles can join. Rather than trying out by shooting hoops, you try out by answering a set of questions, such as "Who wrote Ulysses?" and "What is J. D. Salinger’s most well-known book?". Be ready to analyze literature while dribbling.

Finally, if you know Philadelphia, check out Philly Lush's Philadelphia March Madness. Vote for your favorite places in the city and see if Mayor Nutter or the Philly Phanatic takes home the trophy.

Terrible Towels for Superbowl XLIII

It's time for the Superbowl! (Yes, this is a pro-Steelers blog. Sorry Cardinals/Patriots/Browns/etc fans)

In about four hours, the Pittburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals will kickoff for this championship game of American football. Fans are cheering on their team or placing bets as to whether the underdog Cardinals will be able to top the boys from Pittsburgh, who will break records to hold the most Superbowl titles in history (6) if they win.

Normally, I don't follow American football closely, at least not during the regular season. (Give me European football any day). However, the Playoffs are a different story. And the Steelers' Playoffs is something different all together.

I can't claim to have ever lived in Pittsburgh, but I'm proud to be part of a large diaspora of Steelers' fans around the globe. This article, recently published by the Times, made me even prouder of my team: The Legacy Behind the Terrible Towels.

One of my biggest complaints about professional sports is the absurd salaries of the players and how it often becomes all about money. But when Myron Cope first suggested the Towel, he didn't envision some grand marketing scheme. Instead, he encouraged the everyday blue-collar workers of his city to just bring out a dish towel or whatever they had to wave and support their team. Even with the success of the golden towel, Cope put the proceeds to good use, donating every cent it earns. What a refreshing reminder, especially during this current recession.

Enjoy this great American holiday of pizza, wings, and the best commercials of the year. May the best team win!

Fußball, Soccer, Football

EuroCup 2008 is winding to a close with Germany's last minute victory over Turkey. Tomorrow is Spain vs. Russia, and Sunday is the finals.

The EuroCup, held every four years, is supposedly the third biggest sporting event in the world (after the Olympics and the World Cup). This year it is hosted by Austria and Switzerland, two small countries that were sadly out of the running rather quickly (there was a joke for a while that neither would be able to score a goal during their own tournament!). The finals will be in Vienna: to the despair of the cultural centers, which have suffered from depleted ticket sales and admissions. [The State Opera--probably vying only with the NY Met as the top Opera house in the world--had to cancel a ballet. That's unheard of! And I admit, I cringe at the thought of rich fans defouling the beautiful Burgtheater.]

The Fußball insanity is very real. Even in early 2008, Wien proudly began to produce banners and signs to advertise the tournament. They extended the U2 subway line to go directly to the stadium. And like the NY Times article says, they did indeed add cleats to the statues outside the Künstlerhaus (formerly THE art institution and exhibition hall, right beside the Vienna Philharmonic's MusikVerein).

Sometimes it's hard for Americans to fathom; the closest would be comparing it to the USA's obsession with our version of football (a term which I never understand, as Amer football only uses the foot to punt...). Fußball--almost the same word in every European language--divides but unites. For continent-wide tournaments like this, it divides across national boundaries as each country roots for her own team. In many ways, the sport promotes nationalism with a fervor that's rarely been seen since the end of WWI. But it also unites and shows the strengths of countries that may be less politically or economically powerful. Former Eastern Bloc countries, notably Croatia and the Czech Republic, were some surprises who advanced well into the tournament (see Croatia's defeat of Germany. It was a big deal). However, the most successful underdogs or black horses would be Turkey and Russia. (Turkey defeated the former two countries with stunning/devastating last-minute goals). Despite heated political debates as to whether or not Turkey and Russia count as Europe and whether the former will be allowed into the EU, both countries were admitted into the Euro-centric tournament and have advanced to the quarter-finals. Indeed, with a large Turkish immigrant population throughout Europe and a strong anti-Turkish sentiment felt by the "natives", it would have been interesting to see how things played out had Turkey advanced once more.

There's something universal about dribbling a black and white ball, whether you're playing in a glamorous turf stadium in Wien, or on a dusty street corner in Brasil. To quote Aishah Schwartz, "[T]he beauty of soccer is that it transcends cultural, religious, and social divides. It demands dialogue and the forging of a collective identity, for no single player can score alone; the overall experience is a true test of tolerance and endurance. 'To be able to equip girls with just a ball and see them turn into ambassadors for athletics is the key to creating positive social change'" [see the full article on AYSE and girls' soccer in Afghanistan].