Saturday 26 June 2010

Football and tea: a perfect combination?

I know I said I wouldn't blog anymore about the World Cup, but it's all I'm doing tonight. Ghana's side went ahead at the beginning of the match, then the Americans equalised. Despite both sides half-hearted attempts to go another goal ahead, they ended regular time and stoppage time tied at one goal a piece.

Then in the first five minutes of extra time, Ghana scored again. Up 2:1, they didn't do what many conservative teams would've done. Teams like Italy would shift back and hold their one goal lead, but the Ghana side does the opposite. They stay on the attack. It's admirable really.

But now the players for Ghana are wasting time. Doing exactly what I just commended them for not doing. Guy falls on the pitch, and then pretends to be injured. They take him off on a stretcher, and then as soon as the ref isn't looking, he does a Lazarus and hops up from his deathbed. Now the only remaining African team is playing dirty to advance to the quarter finals. Seems like the opposite of fair-play, but I assure you this isn't solely an African problem. I assure you the Portuguese or the Argentinians aren't too proud to fake injury in order to win a match.

Lack of fair-play is probably what Portugal's Christiano Ronaldo is best known for. When he was at ManU, he regularly went down to the pitch to draw a penalty. But often he'd do it when there wasn't a defender within a metre or so. In my book, that's cheating. He knows it. He doesn't care.

What does any of this have to do with tea? Nothing.

I did start the evening with a pot of Assam Sephinjuri, and it got us through the first half. Then I brewed some China Sencha Dong-Bai, which I drank the second half with my meal of Greek Bifteki. Great dinner (thanks Jeffrey) and really exciting football. Wish the American team had played better, but Ghana is no slouch.

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