Happy Saturday everyone! I woke up early this morning for a Saturday. I was out of bed by 7am. For me, that is early on a Saturday. Why? Well I wanted to watch the Liverpool v. Arsenal match on TV. I have been a sports nut all of my life. I grew up in sunny California and it was mandatory (well not really, but kinda) for all of us to play soccer and to own a skateboard. I did both. I no longer ride my skateboard, however I still love soccer. I don’t play anymore, but I love to watch. For my friends outside of the States, I’m sorry, I haven’t gotten used to saying football instead of soccer. I may need some type of shock therapy once I move to London so I don’t slip up. I can see it now, “Hey did anyone catch that socc” zap, “ I mean football match?”
My two favorite sports are soccer, err football, and tennis. Over Labor Day weekend we are heading to New York for the US Open. I am so excited. We’ve done this for the past four years. This may be our last year for some time. I hope not since I love going to New York for this tournament. However, now that I will be in England I’m hoping I can go to Wimbledon and maybe even the French Open. That would be amazing.
Last summer we traveled to South Africa for the World Cup and went to two matches, one was in Cape Town and the other in Johannesburg. It was an incredible experience. So many fans from all over the world. Visiting South Africa was a fantastic experience. There is so much history in this country. The country is beautiful and the people were absolutely amazing.
We were lucky. I have always been a fan of Brazil and my better half is a fan of Spain.
When we purchased tickets for the Cup we didn’t know which teams we would see. The first match was Brazil v. Chile. The second match was Spain v. Portugal. It really couldn’t have worked out better. I wish I could say we planned it that way, but it was luck.
And I am looking forward to socc…football matches in England. I started following the English Premier League several years ago. Liverpool is one of our faves, which is why I got up early today.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t like other sports. I enjoy most sports. I haven’t decided about cricket yet, but I’m willing to give it a go. And by that I mean, I’ll watch it. I’m not sure about playing it yet.
For the past six years I have enjoyed living in Boston. This is a sports crazed town. The
Red Sox are inserted into almost every conversation. I’ve been lucky enough to see several games at Fenway, including a game against the Yankees. I have enjoyed this town. I have enjoyed the sports here, including going to see the Celtics, Bruins, and New England Revolution in addition to the Sox. I didn’t get a chance to see the Patriots play but you can’t win them all.
But now I am focusing on seeing some football matches in England. Liverpool won today’s match, but Arsenal had some injuries and then one of their players received a red card so for the last twenty minutes they only had ten players on the field. However, Liverpool did look good and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.
50 Year Project 
I wish I could achieve your energy levels, my friend!
Well done!
I wish I could keep it up on a consistent basis!
You´re going to love all the sport in London and then you´ve got the Olympics too!
I am looking forward to it. And our friends are looking forward to planning their trips around the Olympics. It will be a great time.
HI, it sounds like you are well organised. You might want to play Sunday football in the park too. Lots of local leagues.
I just posted a piece about London as I promised.
But another thing you should check out is London Open House Weekend which is always the third weekend in September. Make sure you have comfy shoes!
I may bog about it soon, but I’m going to be offline for a bit probably; heading to a patch of the country where the internet has no reach!
My playing days might be behind me but I’ll look into it. Do they have a league for someone with a bum knee and hip? If yes, sign me up. I’ll pop over to your blog about London! And I will be in London the third weekend…so I’ll check it out!
Enjoy being offline and your solitude!
I’m sure there will be! Time Out will probably be a good place to look.
Or your local parks. Being among Ozzies means there’s bound to be loads of sport about.
Here you go.
http://www.londonopenhouse.org/
Usually I volunteer, but this year that’s going to be difficult.
Thanks! You’re a great help. I appreciate all of your tips!
I can never see the name Arsenal without thinking about Nick Hornby and his professed lifetime love of the team. I watched live soccer in college and enjoyed it, particularly the women’s game which seemed more competitive to me, but since then I don’t keep up with it except for the Olympics.
I used to watch tennis a lot as well back in the days when Andre Agassi was playing. He was enough of a rebel that I couldn’t help but like him. I played a lot of recreational tennis at that time in my life too. I told my wife recently that we really need to start playing again. I’m sure it would kill us at first, but we always had such fun with it.
I got up early on Saturday too, but I did it to head to the Farmer’s Market and then spent several hours reading The Way of Kings so that I could be finished with Part Three in time for Monday’s post.
I didn’t know Nick Hornby was an Arsenal fan. Soccer in the Olympics is awesome. I’m hoping since we will be in London during the 2012 Olympics we can catch a match or two, but tickets are hard to come by.
Ah Andre Agassi. I enjoyed watching him play. He was one of the best returners in the game and a good thing since he was usually playing Sampras, one of the best servers. Their matches were epic!
We recently bought some tennis racquets. I haven’t played in years, but it would be a ton of fun. They are on the boat so hopefully I will see them again. I hope you enjoy picking up the game again!
I love going to the Farmer’s Market. Is yours large? The one in Boston is large and the sellers are intimidating. Don’t touch the goods until you pay for them. Or you’ll get yelled at!