Kick it where they ain't

Finally, it begins today.
Now I've had to give up baseball in the sense that I can't sit down with a cold one, flip on WGN and watch my beloved Cubs. I really miss those West Coast road trips where you'd get some nice late-night baseball for a week straight, and of course 1:20. I miss sitting in Wrigley Field and I miss watching these games with great friends. The only baseball I've seen on TV in the last 8 months has been Bull Durham, and I fell asleep right before Meat goes to the big show. Sigh/cry. I even just received an email from my mom saying how her and some friends were going to a Joliet Jackhammers game, complete with Steppenwolf concert following. Baseball is the way of the summer.

But not here. And I'm ok with this for the time being because the World Cup starts tonight. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been able to reacquaint myself with the one sport I was better than average at actually physically playing, and not just burping in front of on the couch. FOOTBALL.

Note: I'm American and don't spell favorite as favourite or color as colour. But I do spell soccer as football.

I found an abandoned football in a parking lot about a month ago. I immediately tried to "juggle" it and after two feet and one knee bounce the ball was back on the pavement. But that was really all I needed to remind me how much I used to love playing this sport. Does the indoor facility in Frankfort still exist? It was called Sports Club and I spent many a winter's day there playing in its inner warmth. Sophomore year of high school I did my part in leading our Knights to a conference championship. By 1993 I had given it all up and joined a band. No worries; life is cyclical and it's back 'round again.

Still mostly an armchair midfielder for sure, I've made my predictions and caught a huge case of World Cup Fever (already blogged the song back in November AJ!). The excitement here in Sweden is pretty huge as football is the country's most popular summer sport. I've the pleasure of rooting on two teams (Sweden and USA) and luckily they won't play each other unless they both reach the finals which will not happen. That can't happen, right? Let's just assume that it's impossible and save myself a whole lot of worrying.