This evening, courtesy of live television, I watched the England men's football team beat Switzerland to reach the semi-finals of The European Nations Cup. It was an enthralling, closely fought match in which the teams were level at 1-1 after half an hour of extra time. Consequently, the game had to be decided on penalty kicks. Here England came out on top - scoring all of their five penalties while Manuel Akanji of Switzerland saw his kick saved.
Now we will be playing The Netherlands on Wednesday evening in Dortmund to decide which team will advance to the final in Berlin on Sunday 14th July. There the other finalists will be either France or Spain.
It's all very exciting and sometimes nerve-wracking.
Professional sports have become part of the entertainment industry. Many millions of people find much distraction and indeed joy through watching their chosen sports. Top players are paid a king's ransom and for many onlookers how their team performs means much more to them than any form of religious belief.
Societies put successful sportsmen and sportswomen on pedestals but when all is said and done, sport is not really all that important. It rides upon the back of real life like all other forms of entertainment. Real life is about survival, keeping a roof over your head and putting food on the table. In real life it's all about your particular version of "the daily grind". You get up and go to work day after day, year after year. We can only dream of standing in the spotlight, entertaining our fellow citizens.
Sport has given me plenty of pleasure through the years - along with plenty of heartache. Nonetheless, I recognise that it has all been a kind of distraction from things that really matter. Still, I will be cheering England on right to the end of The European Nations tournament and hoping that this time our team can rise to the top like cream in a milk jug. COME ON ENGLAND!
Dream of standing in the spotlight? No thank you. I'm the one in the corner hiding behind the large dense potted plant.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shy creature you are Elsie! Like a housemaid in "Downton Abbey".
DeleteSome sports people can put very nice rooves over their heads and some very fine food on their tables. I'm not saying what has given me plenty of pleasure over the years, but it wasn't sport.
ReplyDeleteTrain spotting?
DeleteYou will be getting told off for saying England instead of Britain or the UK YP. Why do England always finish the match with the best players instead of starting with them? Palmer is sheer class.
ReplyDeleteIn Gareth We Truss!
DeleteWhen I gave up any interest in sport. At school when playing hockey. This large girl waving a hockey stick at me bore down and I meekly let her have the ball, thinking it wasn't worth fighting over!
ReplyDeletePerhaps hockey was the wrong sport for you Thelma. You should have picked rugby league!
DeleteI am not a fan of the sportsball on television; I do love a good baseball game seen in person, though.
ReplyDeleteDo you support the Charleston River Dogs?
DeleteI am only now beginning to get interested, I just hope they don't fall at the final hurdle.
ReplyDeleteHurdle? They don't play on an athletics track Cro!
DeleteI watched an hour of a game while walking on the treadmill at the gym one day this week, nothing happened in an hour of kicking the ball back and forth, and back and forth. Maybe I should have tried rugby.
ReplyDeleteOver here in Europe, football is in many people's blood. Even a 0-0 draw can be exciting to watch.
DeleteHere are my answers in advance to this week's quiz: 1. Idi Amin, 2. Saddam Hussein, 3. Pol Pot 4. Leopold II, 5. Mao Zedong, 6. Adolf Hitler, 7. Joseph Stalin, 8. Genghis Khan, 9. Ivan the Terrible, 10. Vlad the Impaler.
ReplyDeleteHow did you know that I was getting a quiz ready? All of your answers would have been correct apart from the last one where the answer would have been Jacob Rees-Mogg. Now I have had to change all of the questions which is pretty annoying.
DeleteMy hubby is watching car racing this morning, boring.
ReplyDeleteAt one time these men and women, with their strength, quick reflexes, ability to notice patterns on the fly and tenacity would have been amazing hunters, I'm sure. But now, there is no need to hunt and I think sports is what have taken their place. Just my opinion.
I watched the F1 race in England this morning and the crowd roared when Lewis Hamilton won since he is British. He was so pleased and had kind words for his team. He hadn't won for a couple of years so it was a treat to see.
ReplyDeleteSome of my sons are following the Euro tournament. Good luck to your team, Neil!