To reply to "anonymous" about the reason why i refer to Football as "soccer", the answer is that i have become half americanised since living in Belize. We travel alot through the USA and also the majority of our guests are from America. Americans as you know consider football to be American Football. And when they ask me what i used to do for a living i often have to use the term soccer. So i have sort of been crossing my words a bit. And i also know that it is infuriating for British people to read but i have "kinda gotten" used to it. (more amercian slang). I'm sure you all know what i mean anyway.
And if you read further down this blog you will see that i have more in common with the USA than England at the moment, especially as we have US Satellite TV at the Jungle Dome. Which is why i comment more on the American way of life, the war in Iraq and my favourite subject George Bush, the global US redneck leader!!!
Tonight sees a great game in the Champions League, with Liverpool having the unenviable task of defeating Chelsea. Mourinho has been lamenting on the use of chip technology in the ball to settle goal line disputes. Its always a battle between the old timer traditionalists in football whose romantic memories of bygone eras sometimes need to be shaken up a bit to allow soccer, sorry football, to evolve and change. I agree with Mourinho, and lets face it, in a multi-million pound industry refereeing decisions should be correct. I for one am definitely for the use of modern technology to improve the accuracy of football decision making, as long as it is doesn't deter from the cut and thrust of the excitement of the free-flowing game that football is.
Today was Lucas first day of school. It was brilliant to see him starting class and he had such a great time. And as any parents reading this will testify, a welcome rest for me and simone.
Tomorrow we have a couple coming to stay for a few nights. They are on a honeymoon and are doing one of the best trips we offer.
They will head off into the Jungle for a 2 hour hike to a sink hole, where they will rappell through the jungle canopy. They will stay in the cave overnight before returning to base camp in the morning. It is a really great trip and if you have a fast internet connection you can view the Black Hole Drop Slideshow by clicking this link.
3 comments:
Andy, as a Canadian born Addick (and a great admirer of your contributions to the new Charlton)I can relate to the "soccer" vs "football" usage question. When visiting England I call it football, when at home it is soccer.
Perhaps UK folks would not be quite so intolerant of many in the world referring to the game as "soccer" if they harkened back to the origination. In the latter part of the 1800s, students at Oxford started referring to Rugby as "Rugger" and Association Football as "Soccer," with the "soc" being extracted from "association." The vast hordes that emigrated to seek a better life, took the game(s)with them to Canada, Australia, The USA and elsewhere, where "soccer" became the accepted appelation. And back in the UK, many referred to football as "soccer." Numerous senior aged ex-pats I know from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland said they grew up calling the game soccer. If you reference David Ramzan's pictorial on Charlton (Images of Sport, The Archives Photographs series), pages 61 and 67 show newspaper clippings using the word "soccer" in their headlines, one being "10 Men Make Soccer History," referencing the famous 1957 cup tie when Charlton came back from 1-5 to win 7-6 over Huddersfield, with Summers scoring 5!
So, it isn't an American affectation or anything like that, although it does serve nicely to differentiate the game from American, Canadian and Australian Rules Football. The game has been referred to as soccer since it was first introduced by the British and that's what they called it! So, Andy, feel perfectly free to call it whatever you want! To call it "soccer" is very English, although pretty well out of favour these days.
Three more against Tottenham this weekend?
Cheers, Bob Miller, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
hi, congratulations on the upcoming arrival, a future charlton star?? if you don't mind i'll be adding a link to your blog from my site www.cafc.20m.com to your blog as i know many charlton fans will be interested to see what you are up to now. maybe you could visit us at the valley, we'd love to see you back.
Or is it just another example of the continuing 'Americanisation' of the world?
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