Saturday, June 10, 2006

World Cup Opener

Well, I wasn't alive when Kennedy got shot, but I do know where I was during the Opening Game of this year's World Cup.
First, I was at my laptop, desperately trying to find a live stream that wasn't overloaded. No luck. Anyway, at noon I had to pick up Coco from school, so the effort was moot at best.
As it was, I picked him up, saw that the corner bar was open, and stopped by on our way home.
This was twelve minutes into the game and the SECOND goal had been scored, to equalize the game. That was a lot to be digested. Not only were there already more goals than I had anticipated, but they had happened about an hour before I thought they might occur.
Would Coco stay at the bar? you ask.
No.
Grr.
Home it was. Checked a live blog of the game. And, 2:1 Germany. I missed another goal. How does this happen when I can't watch?
I found a live stream. Yay. It took quite a while to download the player - by cable standards, forever, in real life, maybe 5 minutes. All the while Coco got jealous and antsy and he got it into his mind to have lunch at "Old MacDonald's" - he's three, give him a break.
So we go. We come back, and the score is 3:2 Germany. Eek. I'm about to explode. I try to watch, but the image is blurry and streaky and still buffering and Coco wants to go to the playground.
Okay, the playground was fun. It was a gorgeous day and the fountain was just right. Coco's class had an outing at the playground, too, so I got to watch him run around with his friends and show off for his teachers. It's always a treat to watch your kids interact with others without you being the focus of their energy (and whining). He even fell down and banged his knee and cried out of embarrassment. (His teacher is really cute and he very much wants to make a big boy impression on her, I think, so it was extra embarrassing for him.)
I decide to call my parents, who, I'm sure, are watching the game. And...4:2 Germany with nine minutes left.
I'm spent just reliving the match (and I didn't even get to watch it).
So. Where were you?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

where was i during the opener? i was with family and friends watching it! yeeeeah! i had the day off since it was my birthday. my family thinks it's sign that the opener was on my birthday. a sign that they'll win. unfortunately for my family, there are several teams my family roots for since we're all mutts. we got the spanish contingency here...the brazilians there...the argentinians...the mexicanos and yes, even the U.S.A. (no snickering, please).

i would say there 2 bright spots to your story. #1 is that you're spending precious time with your amazingly adorable son (but that maybe too syrupy sweet to digest, even for me) and #2 is that as i am seen as some good luck charm for the various members of my family, perhaps you too are a good luck charm of sorts for your national team. they score when you're not around and if your half as superstitious as i am--i would like make myself scarce everytime they play. i know, that may not fly either. as much as i love the spanish team--i can't imagine any european team winning a gold cup this year.

love the blog! i'll be a regular. you've inspired me to sit on my brown ass and blog. i've been talking about it for too long!

i am very sorry that you missed your game but