Merseyside Red vs London FC

"I'm sorry, but to avoid the ultimate embarrassment for me and you, an unknown number of broken bones, knocked-out teeth, bad tackles, missed goals, cat fights, blisters and sore feet, I refuse to play soccer with you and your friends. I think it is for the best for both of us."

That was pretty much my response last time I got invited to play soccer, and there was no sign of protest against my reply. Fair enough. Soccer is just not my thing.

Well, that is not exactly right. I love soccer, there's nothing better than a good game between bitter rivals, and due to my multiple nationality disorder usually one of my "countries" always have a fair chance of winning (often whilst beating another one of "my" teams).

Then there is of course the last name who will light lightbulbs in the heads of old school soccer fans. Rossi - Rossi - Rrrrrooosssi - AHA - that was that Italian player back in 1982, right? Pretty boy, right? Got into a bit of trouble with some mixing and trixing hey? But totally innocent, went on to become top scorer in the championship that year, right?

Mmmhhmm. I nod. That would be him. I googled Paolo Rossi for the first time today and actually learned that he is a year younger than my father. He became a star in the 1982 World Cup, top scorer and ranked best player both in the championship and in Europe that same year. He later played for Juventus, AC Milan and Hellas Verona before finishing up in 1987. And by then he had united Italy as a soccer nation and made my dad very proud.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, so if you are not into it - too bad.

As you can see on the map, Europe is heavily engaged in the sport (the darker colours, the more players per 1000 people), along with a few isolated states in Africa (Mali, Zambia and Eritrea), Mexico, Chile, Equador, Uruguay and Paraguay. And Japan. Soccer can make or break communities. The feeling of comradeship is never so great as when your country has won an important match and there are never so many grumpy men going around as when Liverpool looses important matches to insignificant opponents (although it might be questionable to call Chelsea insignificant, nevermind).

Soccer connects, bonds and bring people together, totally disregarding age, sex, religious and political beliefs. It honours bravery, teamwork, creativity, survival and fortitude. That's a lot more than you can say of the UN. In times like these when villages are blown off the map in Burma, global warming is a more eminent threat than ever (daah), and there's only seven years to complete the Millenium Goals we need something to unite us all. So three times Hoooray for soccer. And Arne Sandstø. And Paolo Rossi.

Hooray, hooray, hooray!

All good

You gotta be happy with that. Time for a new adventure soon. Yiihaaa!!

Sing...ehhh...star?

After another eventful party with a close friend and some of her friends I've realized there's a few things that makes a good party a good party. There's the obvious - friends and foes who can entertain you with their interesting stories about their work-, school- or love-life, and booze. And then there's the little extra, the oomf, the oh-la-la that makes everyone remember it as a great party instead of just the normal start to a bad hangover. Games. I'll fill you in.

Sing-star:
What: it's karaoke in your own livingroom. Why embarass yourself in front of the whole pub when you can keep it to the friends and family who will remind you of your tone-deafness tomorrow. You get a mic and the song text in front of you along with moving dots that are supposed to tell you how high or low tone you should sing. Or try to sing. Or wish you were even remotely close to sing. At the moment the DVD with 80s hits is most popular, so you can just imagine all the people humming Eye-of-the-tiger in the loo-queue.
My rating: 1/10. That might even be an overrating. I suck at this, but good fun and of course a chance to shake that booty to George Michael without being embarrased.
Viewers' rating: 6/10. If there's some real singstars in the group this is good entertainment for a while, but when the fame (or the wine) has gone to their heads it usually turns out to be a drunken karaoke-brawl where you end up wishing you were at a nightclub, because you could then keep going to the next.

Guitar Hero:
What: similar to Sing-star only here you have a toy guitar to jam away on. You see notes on the TV and are supposed to hit them at the same time as the real thing. Lots of rocksongs and if there's a secret Mick Jagger inside he sure can come out to play.
My rating: 5/10. I'm not very musical, but with a bit of practise I'll beat other semi-good people in a guitar-duel. And it's good fun.
Viewers' rating: 5/10. As with Sing-star, if there's some good people around it's fun for a while, but usually the good people have their very own favourite song they're so good at so it's played over and over and over again...

Poker:
What: self explanatory. Royal flush is best. Or was it house of kings and aces? Or a pair in threes? Never mind, poker is poker and there's the bonus of money being involved.
My rating: 8/10. I'm a beginner, but this is fun.
Viewers' rating: 8/10, assuming you're playing too. Losing all your cash and having to watch your friends get rich isn't that fun, but as long as you're in it's entertainment on a high level.

Buzz:
What: New-found game. Definitively more fun than Jeopardy and has room for several players, interactive quizz-game with lots of different types of means to earn points. How about cake-throwing your opponents out of the game?
My rating: 10/10. Due to a questionable fairly good memory and decent geography skills I rock this game - especially any questions regarding Australia. I challenge you!
Viewers' rating: 9/10. You can be on teams, play against each other and there's questions in all genres, so definitively something for everyone.

Monopoly:
What: buy all the houses you can't afford in real life. I'd normally settle for a one-bedroom flat at Sagene, but here it's not good until I have a hotel on Rådhusplassen.
My rating: 7/10. If you're on a buying streak and end up with some good shares it makes you king of the world.
Viewers' rating: 3/10. It takes a while and if you're not in you will be bored.

Twister:
What: coloured dots and the right limb on the right dot will get you points (or close contact to someone you're trying to pick up).
My rating: 4/10. I was never that bendable.
Viewers' rating: 5/10. Arguable. If the participants are naked it could be more interesting.

Drinking game (with playing cards):
What: different ones to chose from, the one most normal is where every card has a meaning (i.e. 8 - sing a song, jack - you may go to the toilet, 3 - everyone else drinks).
My rating: 6/10. Normally drags on and I never seem to be able to get drunk. And there's way too little kissing involved.
Viewers' rating: 8/10. To watch others get drunk while performing ridiculous tasks could be quite entertaining.

So, while I go to bed while trying to get Marianne's version of Sean Kingston's Beautiful Girl out of my head (or I will never get to sleep) I wish you a very happy Saturday night/Sunday morning.

Cheers!