Tag: Tottenham

  • Missed Out on all the Stuff

    I don’t know what happened to me this weekend, but all the stuff I normally pay attention to, I completely spaced out on.

    It started on Saturday, when Tottenham played Arsenal. You know, their top rival, the team they hate. These matches even have their own title, “North London Derby.” Since I started follow Tottenham, these games have been a big deal, usually both teams are in a “need to win” position, and the games are exciting and dramatic. This Saturday, totally spaced on it. Just forgot.

    Same thing happen on Sunday, when I spaced on the Cowboy game against the Saints. But to be honest, the Cowboys played so bad, it was better that I missed it.

    And because comedy and drama both follow the rule of three…

    Then Sunday night, I forgot about the Emmy’s. When my wife pointed out that they were on, even my kid was surprised that I wasn’t watching them. (I am a sucker for an awards show.) It was like the Emmy’s snuck up on me and then I ignored them. (Though I did get to see that very weird Johnny Walker backstage bar moment.) Oddly, I had watched most of the shows that were nominated this year, so I sort of did know what was happening.

    Not that any of this really matters in the big scheme of things, yet I still found it odd that I whiffed on three events that normally are rather important to me. Such as I make plans to watch them. But for some reason, I missed all the ads for these things, or I missed the conversations about these things. It left me feeling like I was running behind everybody else.

    Just odd is all.

  • ODDS and ENDS: She Called Me Old, Clothes Matter, and a Draw

    (Way down around Vicksburg…)

    I live in Harlem, and I love my neighborhood. I especially love my block. I have been here nearly twenty years, and we are all friendly and pleasant to each other. So, this morning, as I was crossing a busy intersection near my apartment, a person drove their car right through the crosswalk while me and a bunch of other people were crossing. Like I said, we are a friendly pleasant group of people around here, that is until someone does something stupid, like try to run us over. So, as this idiot was driving away, we all yelled at him, maybe gave some hand gestures, I don’t know, there were a lot of people. One of the people, an elderly woman who was moving slow, but was quick to disgust with that driver, turned to me and said, “Can you believe that person. Driving like that. No respect for us old people, like you and me.” And I said, “I know, what an asshole, and did you say I was old, because I’m just in my mid-forties.”

    I am going to say this about Kamala Harris, and her address to the DNC last night; She had the right clothes on. This is not some sexist statement about clothing and women, and being an object. No, this has everything to do with dressing for the job. She wants to be President, and she looked like The President. Out of everything that happened last night, and I do think she gave a great speech which set the correct tone for the final push of her campaign, I am aware that clothing is the last thought on anyone’s mind. But as she finished her address, she looked like the boss out there. She exuded that she could lead, and was ready. Whomever picked out that suit; good call.

    Tottenham drew its first match on Monday. So, they’re still undefeated going into week two.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Premier League Begins, Commuting to School, and Change is Coming

    (You can have yours, just gimme mine…)

    Later today, the Premier League starts up for the season. Clearly, and no one can dissuade me from this, Tottenham Hotspur will win the whole League. Yup, they will sit atop the table and lord it over Man City, and the forever a league-bridesmaid; Arsenal. Sure, Spurs qualified for the Europa League, just falling short of the Champions League goal, but hey! We’ll take whatever hardware that is offered. Am I over confidant? You Bet’cha! (I am a Cowboys fan, after all.)  I have paid for all the services, against my better judgement, so I will be able to watch every match. Not sure if I can get myself to go to the local Spurs bar and start drinking at 7am on game day, but we’ll see – that still feels like a goal to aim for in the next year or two. Either way, I’m ready for English football. (An Aside: I will still keep my eye on Brentford, as I still like the scrappiness of that team. They’re fun to root for.) I do feel that a new Tottenham scarf could be in my future, maybe even a sweater. Putting it out there, see if it manifests itself. You know. #COYS

    I had a moment this morning, when I was taking the kid to school, I started to ponder how different the way my kid goes to school is compared to how I went to school when I was her age. The kid takes the subway to school, and is accompanied by me. Sometimes a friend from school will be on the train with us, but most mornings, it’s just us. Sometimes we chat, sometimes she reads. It is the subway, so every now and then, an incident has happened; crazy guy, someone begging for change, homeless guy sleeping on a bench, or people yelling at each other. On the whole, most mornings the people on the train are tired, not in the mood to interact with anyone, and just want to be left alone. At her age, my family lived in a generic suburb, and I walked down the block in the neighborhood and caught the school bus with about five or so other kids. No one escorted me; I would say bye to my mom, and walk out the door. The bus stop could be dicey on certain mornings. This was grade school, kindergarten to 6th grade, so you could have 5 to 12-year-olds out there. Some mornings it was “Lord of the Flies” with kids being shitty to each other, but most days it was just a conversation about cartoons. Getting on the bus had its own perils; social order, and ostracization could be on full display. Would you get a seat? Who would you sit with? Would it be an older kid who would bully you the whole way to school? The anxiety, drama and fear! When I think about it, the subway isn’t so bad.

    And as school has started and Autumn is on its way, I have started to think that this is the time to begin the process of change. Or at least evaluation to determine if change is needed. I do know that if I am thinking about change, I should change. I need a better work schedule, and a more rigorous regime at the gym, as pants are getting tight. (I might have mentioned that.) I should get better sleep, and possibly change up my wardrobe – more sportscoats? Maybe this is a moustache year? Not that something needs to give, but it would be nice to change things up. I don’t think I ever want to be set in my ways. Roots are good, but being unable to bend with the wind sounds detrimental.

  • Coaching My Kid

    I like soccer/football. If you follow this blog, then you know that I support Tottenham Hotspur, and follow all the major international football tournaments. I am a fan, through and through.

    My daughter knows I’m a football fan, and on occasion will watch a match with me. Yet, I think she has come to believe that my dedicated fandom also equals that I know how to physically play soccer.

    I mean, I know how to kick a ball with the inside of my foot. I also can explain the offside rule…

    My daughter is going to try out for a travel soccer team, and she wants to be prepared. As a man who strives to be a good father, I am 100% in support of her ambition, and am willing to do anything to help out. For me, that meant going to YouTube and watching a video on teaching your kids the fundamentals of soccer by running several different drills.

    My kid, to say the least, was very surprised that I needed to watch a video, as she explained to me that she expected that I should “just know” how to coach soccer. I won’t say disappointed, but I think she is now coming to understand that when I yell at the Tottenham players that “I could do that!” when they mess up a play, I don’t actually mean that I could do that.

    Better she learn that now.

    As for coaching her; it’s actually fun. I have a drill checklist, and we go to the park every day and run through them. I find myself saying cool coach stuff like, “give me ten more.” Or “Dig deep and try that again.” She responds positive to it, which reinforces that I know what I am doing.

    And maybe I do know what I am doing.

  • What Did You Say?

    On Sunday, late afternoon, I was out walking my dog. Normal Sunday in the City, it was a little warm so I was in shorts, and I had on my Tottenham Hotspur t-shirt that my wife and kid got me for Father’s Day last year.

    As I got to the corner to cross the street, a guy was coming across towards me. He stuck out a finger, pointing directly at me, which made me think, “Oh god, here comes a crazy person.” Then he yelled at me;

    “C’mon You Spurs!”

    He smiled at me, and just kept walking.

    It took me a second to realize that he wasn’t crazy. He was a Spurs fan, calling out to another Spurs fan.

    But you see, as I already told you, I had thought in my mind that this dude was crazy, so my brain didn’t register exactly what he was saying to me. It was like I heard just a jumble of sounds that I was trying to ignore. And then it hit me, “That guy didn’t say something crazy!” But I wasn’t sure what he said, so I had to play it back over in my mind – “C’mon You Spurs!” That’s when my head kicked into gear and was like, “He’s a Tottenham fan! He’s Saying that because of your shirt, you big dummy!” And what I said back to the guy was:

    “Hey! Yeah! That’s right!” Sometimes I amaze myself at my ability to express myself so clearly and concisely.