Are you Ready for Some Futbol???

This Sunday marked an athletic showdown for the ages.  And no, I'm not talking about the Superbowl. (more on that later)  Obviously, I'm referring to the Epic English Premiere League Battle between the Liverpool and Chelsea Football Clubs.  (or, as we Americans call it - "Soccer Teams")


Before I sound too much like an idiot who merely loves the idea of soccer, I will say that, as a 1/2 Mexican, I, myself, am only 1/2 interested in soccer.  Admittedly, I've acquired most of my soccer knowledge though osmosis via my 100% Mexican husband, Flavio, who is a full on soccer fanatic.  Unlike most Americans, he regularly watches non-World Cup soccer games on TV, knows stuff about all of the European soccer stars, and he even plays in several intramural soccer leagues in the Twin Cities.

So, why the interest in the Liverpool/Chelsea game?  Well, that too is quite the little story.  See, one Saturday morning, about two months ago, Flavio went on over to Brit's Pub to enjoy some English Football and AM Ale.  While there, he began chatting up a very lovely Northern Irish chap named Jim who was there to watch the Liverpool game.  The two of them got to talking, Flav impressed this Northern Irish gent with his Premiere League knowledge, and the next thing Flav knew, Jim gave him the Liverpool jersey off his back and adopted Flav into the local Minneapolis Liverpool Football Fan Club.  And, as Flavio regularly points out, Liverpool has steadily climbed in the Premiere League standings since he's been invited to be an official fan.  Coincidence? I think not.

Now, on to the game.

As I've come to learn, Liverpool has a fairly large and loyal fan base in the T-C.  Last Sunday, at 10:00 AM mind you, Brit's was filled with lots of Liverpool fans all donning their red jerseys in support of their team.













Flav, the proper fan he is, was wearing his very own Liverpool jersey, gifted to him by Jim, the Northern Irishman. As you can see, he was very pleased that I was documenting the occasion with my camera.



I on the other hand, did not wear any Liverpool related apparel. See, because many of my former clients are from West Africa, I've developed a fondness for the African players in the European Leagues.  And, since one of my favorite players, Ivorian star Didier Drogba, plays for Chelsea (the opposing team) and because we schlepped on over to Brit's at 10:00 on a Sunday, I donned some neutral "College Ana rolls out of bed for morning class" attire. 



The outfit & hair say "college student"
The face says "lawyer in her early 30's"















And speaking of college, since the game was fairly early in the day, particularly for non-morning folk like myself, I decided to perk myself up with some A.M. alcohol consumption. If memory serves correctly, the last time I drank this early in the day was at Spring Jam my senior year of college.



Breakfast of Champions

The match itself was a bit of a nail bitter. At halftime the score was 0-0. But, finally, at approximately the 70:00 mark, a goal was scored for Liverpool by none other than Flavio's aesthetic idol, Portuguese footballer Raul Meireles.

For Flav, it's like looking in a mirror...

After the goal, the crowd erupted in celebration.



Followed by 20 to 25 minutes of nerves as they willed the lads of Liverpool to hold their slim lead, and eventually, jubilation after the final whistle was blown and Liverpool declared the victor.




And what about the other big sporting event on Sunday? After all the morning drinking and Liverpool related excitement, we played it low key and watched the game at home.

Since I have little to nothing to add by way of actual sports analysis of the showdown between the Packers and the Steelers, the best I can do is give a "Minnesotan Take" on the Superbowl. 

Basically, for most people without a horse in the race, deciding which team to root for was fairly easy. (Sorry Leah & other Steeler fans)  In one corner, you have the Green Bay Packers, led by Aaron Rogers - the NFL's latest golden boy who might just actually be as sweet and humble as he appears on TV.   On the other side, you have the Anti-Rogers QB in Pittsburgh - "Big Ben" Roethlisberger who, in the past two years, has been accused of raping, not one, but two women.  Not looking good Big Ben.  Not looking good at all.

However, for Minnesotans, the choice was not so easy.  See, the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers have what I'll call a "friendly rivalry" - in short, for most Minnesotans, random snide comments about Wisconsin and disliking the Packers are pretty much second nature.  Given this history, many Minnesotans were torn over who to root for in the Superbowl.  Would it be Team Cheesehead? Or Team Rapist?  Sadly, most people here were on Team Rapist...

And the game?  Ehh, it was fine.  The last quarter was pretty exciting.  And, to be honest, I was actually OK with Green Bay winning the Superbowl.  They were clearly the better and more likable team this year.  And honestly, Favre kinda had this coming. (two words - wiener texts)

But for me, the best part of the Superbowl extravaganza was watching the Black Eyed Peas at Halftime, particularly with Flav's running color commentary.  Here are a few of his sparkling gems:

On the BEP generally - "this band is so stupid.  They don't even write songs, they just write jingles."

When Slash joined Fergie for a cover of Sweet Child O'Mine - "wow, Axel gave them the rights to do this? And Slash is playing... Bet that didn't come cheap."

When they played "Let's Get it Started" (theme of the 2004 NBA finals when the Lakers lost to the Pistons) - "Ugg, I hate this stupid song.  It reminds me of my team losing."

And finally, when Usher was dropped onto the stage - "Geez, this is really bad.  Jerry Jones even resorted to air lifting Usher into the arena to try and save the show."

Hope you all enjoyed Superbowl Sunday.  Fingers crossed, next year will be a very purple celebration:)