On Saturday I attended my first (and, let’s be honest here, last) “football” match. As I’ve previously suspected sporting events not taking place in the Oakland Zoo or featuring Sweet Caroline hold no interest for me.
We’d been instructed not to expect or even hope for a win, such is the talentlessness of the team we were there to support, but the Queens Park Rangers pulled off a narrow 2-1 victory. That’s right, three goals the entire 95 minute game. Exciting! Although there were brief bouts of heading the ball that were amusingly not unlike really violent tennis.
Avid fans may have noticed that the typical match should go on for a mere 90 minutes rather than an excruciating 95, but the refs added on five minutes to compensate for the disruption in play caused by the streaker. Yes, the streaker. That actually happened.
When we asked Professor Fosdal about it he said he’d only seen such a thing happen once before, ironically by a CAPA student with the result that student advisor Kieran is now banned from buying QPR tickets.
Other things we asked Professor Fosdal about:
Me: “Where’s the best place to watch the Chinese New Year Parade from?”
Him: “…China”
Rachel: “Where are you going?”
Him: “Into the dark cold void of your absence, the arid desert of banishment from your lovely presence, wherein I shall be sustained only by the flickering hope that I may have the joy of seeing you once again next week.”
He also told me not to turn in any written substantiation for my oral presentation because then he’d have to read it and he’d rather not read papers.
Sunday we went to Trafalgar Square to see the Chinese New Year celebration. Being just barely five foot one on a really good day crowds are not so excellent for me: I could barely see even the giant television thing let alone the actual festivities. I think there was a giant caterpillar on sticks at one point? Might have been a tiger or a dragon or something.
Later we went to Regent’s Park to walk around, then walked to Hyde Park, to walk around more. Lot of walking going on here. I love it, my Tae Kwon Do-worn knees do not. There are times when I can feel my ligaments pulling apart in unnatural ways when I wonder if all those jump spinning hook kicks were worth it, and then I remember the indescribable feeling of breaking boards and I think yes, and then I try to walk up some stairs and I think no.
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LOVED this blog, of course! Can't help but wonder about the similarity of our reactions to stuff... like the "football," and the crowd situation, and the poetic brilliance of your total character prof, and the phenomenal park and walking experience, and well, the vicarious thing is definitely the next-best-thing to being there... wow; you've saved me a TON! I tend to avoid crowds and football games that don't hold strong communal affection for me, as well. Thanks for sharing this weekend!
ReplyDeleteI don't even know how to begin to think about the relative merits of unnatural ligament contortions. Hope that Barcelona is another in the wonderful adventures; love to Ms Bell!
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