Londontown is very cold.
I believe those are the lyrics to some song or another. I actually know which song but I can't be bothered in telling you at this moment simply because.
Anyways, as the big freeze is happening across merry old Enger-land and parts of the continent, many games have been postponed. There is this whole thing about fixture congestion that starts to become more and more an issue around this time of the year and the weather is currently not helping.
Meanwhile, across the pond, in a little pub on Thames Street was seated your faithful author. Why? Because he has fuck all to do on a Saturday morning except wait for some damn football to be played.
I hadn't realized the damage the snow and ice had wrought upon the isles, when I had left my house for the pub, nor did I really care. I was hungry. I believe the breakfast is the reason I am getting a little bit more pudge as of late.
I sat down with a few others who had not checked the over-seas weather reports and chatted for a bit. A few of us were checking out various websites to see which games were actually going to be played.
Conclusion. A whole 2. Arsenal v. Everton and Birmingham v. MancScum.
Let's just say, had I known the Everton game was going to be such, I would have just stayed home. The only thing that made it interesting was NightCaller was in a rage and ManCity himself was playing the comedian and talking about perfumes at one point in time.
Grant Wahl did make an appearance. We spoke for a bit on the Togo tragedy and security in South Africa. He had an interesting story about Landon Donovan being put up in an airport Marriott in Manchester and not the good one, mind you. It is always nice to get a little personal insight into how the players are living life without it being all tabloid fodder.
Now the Arsenal Everton tie was at least tolerable for the last 10 minutes but the sleep inducing Birmingham United match, well let's just say if I had a gun I would have put it to my head and wished for the chamber with the bullet.
To be honest, at least it was proper football and I am sure the weather had a bit to do with not only the pace of the games but the stand offish nature of the whole thing. There were a few "injuries" that probably were more superficial, just because of the weather.
Also, I can say, at least I had the enjoyment of the pub crew to keep me entertained. There is nothing more entertaining then a bunch of supporters, slightly tipsy at 10AM and bored. The amount of crap that comes out of one's mouth would make a catholic priest blush. I hope that's the right analogy, I'm reaching here.
Needless to say, Sunday was not happening.
All Games Postponed.
I did head to the pub and ventured up to the 3rd floor where brownchicken/browncow was working. I thought I'd take in a bit of the throwball and have a few rum drinks whilst keeping her company. FancyPants manager came up and put the Milan game on the closest television. ACMilan appeared shortly after with his drink in hand.
He had never been up to the third floor and was shocked at the view. I will admit that it is probably one of the nicer views down the point. The only problem with the third floor is that it becomes the epicenter of pure douchebaggery in the summer and is not much fun for anyone with more than two brain cells.
The three of us, after BC/BC shift was finished, waited with her to get her cellphone that had been "found" by someone else the night before. We then headed over to another spot and had a couple of more drinks while listening to one of the funniest musicians that I have had the pleasure to meet. Well it was an unintentional funny, not like a comedy routine just him being himself.
So all in all, not too bad. Throwball team is in the playoffs I believe. Premiership remains where it was before the weekend began and fucking Patrick Viera signed for ManShitty... wait, what? Oh it's looks like he's injured. Sorry guys.
~LeChat
Showing posts with label Grant Wahl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grant Wahl. Show all posts
11 January 2010
09 December 2009
Midweek - Radio Show - Olympiakos Away (CL)
Same day post, now what do we owe this pleasure?
Well, to be honest, it's a post the day after the remote broadcast from the pub. Which I must say was an interesting little happening. I'll take a moment to mention the Champions League in brief because really not much happened from the Arsenal point of view.
The Arsenal fielded a young side and took a reasonable loss. The scoreline justly reflects that. Of course, I am only going off of highlight reels and not the whole match. However, what is slightly more interesting is the Scousers fell once again. It is really not their year. I would say my heart goes out to that lot but I wouldn't really be sincere with it at this time.
Radio...... life transmission.....
As many of you may or may not know, one of the local sports shows decided to do a remote broadcast from the pub. The focus was on the World Cup draw and impressions from some of the pundits and players, more like two or three. Little to my knowledge, the extremely talkative Manc chap who was at Grant Wahl's reading was the radio host.
Early Monday evening, SlainteLOSC was sending me messages about this thing. Apparently there was an FB invite to it but I don't recall ever receiving it. I agreed to show up, just to represent and see what was really happening.
After work on Tuesday, I head over to the pub. The downstairs was bare, maybe 2 or 3 random people but nothing exciting. I take a few moments to harass Little sister and say hey to Bridge then head up.
Little sister was warning me that they all looked like skinheads. I laughed and said they were probably all balding and shaved the rest off to look cool. She wasn't convinced, so I started singing some lines from some random old school dirty reggae song as I headed upstairs.
Exactly as expected, just a couple of random guys. I immediately recognized the talkative Manc and put it all together about him hosting the radio show. Part of me knew how this was going to play out but I would endure it either way.
Manager in Black came over and was talking me up to the TalkativeManc. We nodded and he asked if I had any questions for Alexi Lalas. I bit my tongue and just said no but I was thinking "What the fuck would I ask that dude a question for?"
Yes I am being nice today, can you tell?
It was more interesting that Grant Wahl was going to be there. I'll say it again, very cool guy. Now if I had a question to ask, that is the man to ask the questions.
Grant came in and talked to me for a bit about the Arsenal. TalkativeManc came over and started yapping his ear off. I will say Grant is a patient man. They went over to the broadcast set up to begin the show and go over some of the talking points.
I took a seat at the bar, SlainteLOSC joined me and we perused some scores from Europa and he gave me a little jibe about Lyon losing to Lille. The Manager in Black sat on the other side of me just as the show began.
The first bit was a little interesting, however the three stooges began our own conversation. All I can remember is there was a discussion about the Revolutionary War, Lafayette, and something about how come the French got their asses kicked by the English.
My response -> We did not cheat. followed by a Gallic shrug.
Somehow, I hope none of that got picked up on the mics. The show continued, one of the DC United players was on for a bit, talking about things and then some more commercial breaks. Grant and TalkativeManc, with his sidekick, got into a decent discussion about the African teams.
HOWEVER, after the 10th commercial break, they had to start talking about American Football, to keep their numbers up, or so they say. I really think there needs to be a proper football show, if you are going to call yourself a sports radio station.
One show where it is on target, that would help raise the level of interest. People just aren't exposed to the beautiful game like they should be and when they are, it's by some semi-supporter of (insert the club everyone supports). It gives a very skewed vision of the dynamics that reside in the game and within the greater culture surrounding the game.
So, there were like about 20 people scattered around the pub, they all converged for the Ravens segment, like flies to shit. It was really odd. SlainteLOSC and myself moved to the corner by the bar supplies and talked about the crowd. We also decided to stack a bunch of the kiddie cups and thought of other ways to entertain ourselves at the expense of others.
Final segment was with the gentleman from the Baltimore Brigade. One of the US supporters club that is based in Baltimore, of course. I bet you had trouble figuring that one out. They are trying to connect with one of the national groups, forget which one but it's not Sam's Army.
So the broadcast ends and that is my cue to head home. Like I said, it was interesting and now I understand why TalkativeManc is the way he is. I don't think he has an off button.
They are planning on doing some more remote broadcasts closer to WC2010, so we will see.
Final Note
I actually failed in my radio bombing. The only thing I really did was yell WOOOO really obnoxiously whenever they mentioned pub on the air. I know, not exciting, should have broken into some vulgar football songs and see how many F-words I could get away with before being carded.
Such is my life!
~LeChat
Well, to be honest, it's a post the day after the remote broadcast from the pub. Which I must say was an interesting little happening. I'll take a moment to mention the Champions League in brief because really not much happened from the Arsenal point of view.
The Arsenal fielded a young side and took a reasonable loss. The scoreline justly reflects that. Of course, I am only going off of highlight reels and not the whole match. However, what is slightly more interesting is the Scousers fell once again. It is really not their year. I would say my heart goes out to that lot but I wouldn't really be sincere with it at this time.
Radio...... life transmission.....
As many of you may or may not know, one of the local sports shows decided to do a remote broadcast from the pub. The focus was on the World Cup draw and impressions from some of the pundits and players, more like two or three. Little to my knowledge, the extremely talkative Manc chap who was at Grant Wahl's reading was the radio host.
Early Monday evening, SlainteLOSC was sending me messages about this thing. Apparently there was an FB invite to it but I don't recall ever receiving it. I agreed to show up, just to represent and see what was really happening.
After work on Tuesday, I head over to the pub. The downstairs was bare, maybe 2 or 3 random people but nothing exciting. I take a few moments to harass Little sister and say hey to Bridge then head up.
Little sister was warning me that they all looked like skinheads. I laughed and said they were probably all balding and shaved the rest off to look cool. She wasn't convinced, so I started singing some lines from some random old school dirty reggae song as I headed upstairs.
Exactly as expected, just a couple of random guys. I immediately recognized the talkative Manc and put it all together about him hosting the radio show. Part of me knew how this was going to play out but I would endure it either way.
Manager in Black came over and was talking me up to the TalkativeManc. We nodded and he asked if I had any questions for Alexi Lalas. I bit my tongue and just said no but I was thinking "What the fuck would I ask that dude a question for?"
Yes I am being nice today, can you tell?
It was more interesting that Grant Wahl was going to be there. I'll say it again, very cool guy. Now if I had a question to ask, that is the man to ask the questions.
Grant came in and talked to me for a bit about the Arsenal. TalkativeManc came over and started yapping his ear off. I will say Grant is a patient man. They went over to the broadcast set up to begin the show and go over some of the talking points.
I took a seat at the bar, SlainteLOSC joined me and we perused some scores from Europa and he gave me a little jibe about Lyon losing to Lille. The Manager in Black sat on the other side of me just as the show began.
The first bit was a little interesting, however the three stooges began our own conversation. All I can remember is there was a discussion about the Revolutionary War, Lafayette, and something about how come the French got their asses kicked by the English.
My response -> We did not cheat. followed by a Gallic shrug.
Somehow, I hope none of that got picked up on the mics. The show continued, one of the DC United players was on for a bit, talking about things and then some more commercial breaks. Grant and TalkativeManc, with his sidekick, got into a decent discussion about the African teams.
HOWEVER, after the 10th commercial break, they had to start talking about American Football, to keep their numbers up, or so they say. I really think there needs to be a proper football show, if you are going to call yourself a sports radio station.
One show where it is on target, that would help raise the level of interest. People just aren't exposed to the beautiful game like they should be and when they are, it's by some semi-supporter of (insert the club everyone supports). It gives a very skewed vision of the dynamics that reside in the game and within the greater culture surrounding the game.
So, there were like about 20 people scattered around the pub, they all converged for the Ravens segment, like flies to shit. It was really odd. SlainteLOSC and myself moved to the corner by the bar supplies and talked about the crowd. We also decided to stack a bunch of the kiddie cups and thought of other ways to entertain ourselves at the expense of others.
Final segment was with the gentleman from the Baltimore Brigade. One of the US supporters club that is based in Baltimore, of course. I bet you had trouble figuring that one out. They are trying to connect with one of the national groups, forget which one but it's not Sam's Army.
So the broadcast ends and that is my cue to head home. Like I said, it was interesting and now I understand why TalkativeManc is the way he is. I don't think he has an off button.
They are planning on doing some more remote broadcasts closer to WC2010, so we will see.
Final Note
I actually failed in my radio bombing. The only thing I really did was yell WOOOO really obnoxiously whenever they mentioned pub on the air. I know, not exciting, should have broken into some vulgar football songs and see how many F-words I could get away with before being carded.
Such is my life!
~LeChat
26 August 2009
Midweek - Beckham Experiment - Celtic Home(CL)
Tuesday!
My maybe became a why the hell not, so I headed down to the pub to sit in on the Beckham Experiment reading/discussion. All in all it was a pretty interesting time. There was that one guy though, you know the one, "that guy".
When he first came in, he seemed alright, wearing an Arsenal shirt and all to boot. He sat down and kept saying how much he liked this place. I shrugged and returned to my chicken cheesesteak. Lyon was on the replay on television so that was definitely more interesting than hearing this guy rattle on.
A few minutes later some of the local scousers start showing up. It was a relief to see them, as now I knew there would be more people who I respected as football supporters than just myself and SlainteLOSC. SmoothtalkerScouser started talking to the guy and he started making relevant points. This, of course, surprised me. He also let it be known he was MancScum and he had lost a bet so that's why he was wearing an Arsenal top.
Respect meter begins to fall.
Let me hit a good point. Grant Wahl is a great guy. He penned the Beckham Experiment and has a lot of interesting insights into the way MLS works and dealing with the personalities in football in general. If you see him, definitely give him a hello and some appreciation for the work he has done.
So, you know how you have that one guy in class, that really annoying guy that can't shut the fuck up. MancScum in disguise is officially that guy. You know one or two questions, ok cool. He decides to prattle on and on, asking more questions then trying to answer his own questions, interrupting Grant and just being, I don't know, Classless?
Classless and MancScum.. sort of fits.
LilBlondieGooner and her man (sorry can't think of a good name for you yet) showed up, which was nice as well. LilBlondie's parents even came, very cool people in deed. Grant had a nice crowd, which was good in terms of it not being a match and something more intellectual.
See, football supporters aren't all that bad.
Millwall - West Ham
Fun Fun Fun in the London Suuuuuuuunnnnn, good to see some ink on a classic confrontation. There were some brilliant pictures in the Guardian. My favorite was this one.
Celtic at HOME
I have not seen a thing. I know the result and it makes me smile. However I did get a facebook message from a certain MancScum earlier today.
MancScum -
Response -
I look forward to the weekend. Chelski then Liverpool then The Arsenal- ManYoo, after which, if I am still standing...
The Italian Diving Competiton(Milan edition)!
A More Somber Note
Edward "Ted" Kennedy passed away today, last of the boys.
I am drinking a Sam Adams Black Lager in his honour.
Peace be with you, Ted.
Ciao
~Le Chat.
My maybe became a why the hell not, so I headed down to the pub to sit in on the Beckham Experiment reading/discussion. All in all it was a pretty interesting time. There was that one guy though, you know the one, "that guy".
When he first came in, he seemed alright, wearing an Arsenal shirt and all to boot. He sat down and kept saying how much he liked this place. I shrugged and returned to my chicken cheesesteak. Lyon was on the replay on television so that was definitely more interesting than hearing this guy rattle on.
A few minutes later some of the local scousers start showing up. It was a relief to see them, as now I knew there would be more people who I respected as football supporters than just myself and SlainteLOSC. SmoothtalkerScouser started talking to the guy and he started making relevant points. This, of course, surprised me. He also let it be known he was MancScum and he had lost a bet so that's why he was wearing an Arsenal top.
Respect meter begins to fall.
Let me hit a good point. Grant Wahl is a great guy. He penned the Beckham Experiment and has a lot of interesting insights into the way MLS works and dealing with the personalities in football in general. If you see him, definitely give him a hello and some appreciation for the work he has done.
So, you know how you have that one guy in class, that really annoying guy that can't shut the fuck up. MancScum in disguise is officially that guy. You know one or two questions, ok cool. He decides to prattle on and on, asking more questions then trying to answer his own questions, interrupting Grant and just being, I don't know, Classless?
Classless and MancScum.. sort of fits.
LilBlondieGooner and her man (sorry can't think of a good name for you yet) showed up, which was nice as well. LilBlondie's parents even came, very cool people in deed. Grant had a nice crowd, which was good in terms of it not being a match and something more intellectual.
See, football supporters aren't all that bad.
Millwall - West Ham
Fun Fun Fun in the London Suuuuuuuunnnnn, good to see some ink on a classic confrontation. There were some brilliant pictures in the Guardian. My favorite was this one.
Celtic at HOME
I have not seen a thing. I know the result and it makes me smile. However I did get a facebook message from a certain MancScum earlier today.
MancScum -
Diving Croatian (?!?) bastard.
Response -
I did not see a thing. :)
I look forward to the weekend. Chelski then Liverpool then The Arsenal- ManYoo, after which, if I am still standing...
The Italian Diving Competiton(Milan edition)!
A More Somber Note
Edward "Ted" Kennedy passed away today, last of the boys.
I am drinking a Sam Adams Black Lager in his honour.
Peace be with you, Ted.
Ciao
~Le Chat.
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