AndyMead
27 Jun 2006, 04:54 AM
Well,
I'm more or less back. One day of nasty sinusitis infection, followed by yesterday's bronchial tube mucus-fest, and today, I'm more or less clear.
I've been popping more pills from the local pharmacy than Courtney Love on a three day bender. I can't read the packaging, and who knows what's available over the counter in Germany, but I'm almost game fit again.
I've still got a little bit of a cough, but my throat isn't all tightned up, and my brain has cleared from the sickness induced haze and fever.
Let's see if I can catch up.
I didn't let the blahs keep me from any games. But I'm not sure how much it would matter. Is it just me, or are the games just not that gripping this time around. There have been some very good games, but way too many of them are of the plodding tactical variety. I wish I had gone to Leipzig for Argentina/Mexico. Hopefully today's Brazil/Ghana is more free-flowing with flair.
I went to Germany/Sweden. This was a nice game. The stadium in Munich is very sweet. It's one of the best I've seen so far. The Swedes seemed to play better with only 10 men than they did with 11. Germany's real test is going to be how they play when they don't get an early goal.
I went to England/Ecuador. Stuttgart is the best organized of the venues I've been to with regards to getting people to and from and into/out of the stadium. I've been to two games there now. This game was alright, but Ecuador didn't really seem to understand the concept of trying to score goals, and England is obviously struggling with lack of available strikers with Rooney marooned up top. They're very lucky to have a free kick taker like Beckham because Lampard and Gerrard seem to be auditioning for NFL placekicking jobs this World Cup. I haven't seen so many balls kicked "through the uprights" at a soccer game since Mike Burns was still playing.
Yesterday was Italy/Australia. I was sitting straight up from where the penalty was called. It looked more or less legit from my vantage point. Italy never seemed out of control. This was a much more poised effort from them than they had against us. once they went down, they seemed content to conserve energy and look for the odd counter, then push everyone up after the 85th minute looking for a winner before being forced into another 30 minutes shorthanded. It worked. The Aussies looked to have plenty of talent, and the Italians let them pass the ball around, but they never really seemed to be able to break open the defense.
Having previously had a blue ticket in Kaiserslautern, I took off at pace once the penalty was called. No way was I going to get caught in the 30-45 minute nightmare that followed the U.S. game. And I wasn't. The crowd erupted in cheers and whistles as I stepped out of the stadium, and I was able to make the 45 minute walk back to town without any problems.
Today is my first game (of two) in Dortmund. I can't wait to see the stadium. I'll be hooking up with Wade for the first time in a week. I see, from the photos, that he made it into the stands for yesterday's game.
I did change rooms at the InterCity yesterday morning. I had gotten in late after the England game and kicked off my shoes. I took a step near the window and the carpet was soaking wet. There was also a drip behind the wall that continued about once a second through the entire night. That room also had a musty smell, and I'm guessing the mold/mildew in that room may have contributed to my sinus meltdown. I'm susceptible to some molds. The new room is much better and the wireless internet actually works up here. I also have successfully completed a second round of clean laundry. I'm good to go for most of the rest of the trip. In fact, I'm about to start leaving some clothes behind when I change hotels. Part of the plan was to bring some old, but wearable clothes, and leave them in Germany - freeing up room in my luggage for the trip home. It's a trick I learned from Wade.
Of course I still had to buy a second bag, mainly because of all the scarves I've been buying. When I get to Berlin I'm going to have to see about possibly just mailing a box of crap home.
Well, I'm off to Dortmund.
I'm more or less back. One day of nasty sinusitis infection, followed by yesterday's bronchial tube mucus-fest, and today, I'm more or less clear.
I've been popping more pills from the local pharmacy than Courtney Love on a three day bender. I can't read the packaging, and who knows what's available over the counter in Germany, but I'm almost game fit again.
I've still got a little bit of a cough, but my throat isn't all tightned up, and my brain has cleared from the sickness induced haze and fever.
Let's see if I can catch up.
I didn't let the blahs keep me from any games. But I'm not sure how much it would matter. Is it just me, or are the games just not that gripping this time around. There have been some very good games, but way too many of them are of the plodding tactical variety. I wish I had gone to Leipzig for Argentina/Mexico. Hopefully today's Brazil/Ghana is more free-flowing with flair.
I went to Germany/Sweden. This was a nice game. The stadium in Munich is very sweet. It's one of the best I've seen so far. The Swedes seemed to play better with only 10 men than they did with 11. Germany's real test is going to be how they play when they don't get an early goal.
I went to England/Ecuador. Stuttgart is the best organized of the venues I've been to with regards to getting people to and from and into/out of the stadium. I've been to two games there now. This game was alright, but Ecuador didn't really seem to understand the concept of trying to score goals, and England is obviously struggling with lack of available strikers with Rooney marooned up top. They're very lucky to have a free kick taker like Beckham because Lampard and Gerrard seem to be auditioning for NFL placekicking jobs this World Cup. I haven't seen so many balls kicked "through the uprights" at a soccer game since Mike Burns was still playing.
Yesterday was Italy/Australia. I was sitting straight up from where the penalty was called. It looked more or less legit from my vantage point. Italy never seemed out of control. This was a much more poised effort from them than they had against us. once they went down, they seemed content to conserve energy and look for the odd counter, then push everyone up after the 85th minute looking for a winner before being forced into another 30 minutes shorthanded. It worked. The Aussies looked to have plenty of talent, and the Italians let them pass the ball around, but they never really seemed to be able to break open the defense.
Having previously had a blue ticket in Kaiserslautern, I took off at pace once the penalty was called. No way was I going to get caught in the 30-45 minute nightmare that followed the U.S. game. And I wasn't. The crowd erupted in cheers and whistles as I stepped out of the stadium, and I was able to make the 45 minute walk back to town without any problems.
Today is my first game (of two) in Dortmund. I can't wait to see the stadium. I'll be hooking up with Wade for the first time in a week. I see, from the photos, that he made it into the stands for yesterday's game.
I did change rooms at the InterCity yesterday morning. I had gotten in late after the England game and kicked off my shoes. I took a step near the window and the carpet was soaking wet. There was also a drip behind the wall that continued about once a second through the entire night. That room also had a musty smell, and I'm guessing the mold/mildew in that room may have contributed to my sinus meltdown. I'm susceptible to some molds. The new room is much better and the wireless internet actually works up here. I also have successfully completed a second round of clean laundry. I'm good to go for most of the rest of the trip. In fact, I'm about to start leaving some clothes behind when I change hotels. Part of the plan was to bring some old, but wearable clothes, and leave them in Germany - freeing up room in my luggage for the trip home. It's a trick I learned from Wade.
Of course I still had to buy a second bag, mainly because of all the scarves I've been buying. When I get to Berlin I'm going to have to see about possibly just mailing a box of crap home.
Well, I'm off to Dortmund.