The Game Played in Heaven ... and the one they'll be stuck playing 'Down South' (if you know what I mean)

The Super Rugby season is upon us to much my immense delight. The days of watching millionaire football players wearing helmets, pads, cups, towels, play books, ear pieces and black eyeliner move for a few seconds before a 1/2 minute break have given way to evenings watching real men protected only by uniforms, mouth guards and a smattering of sports tape smash each other for 80 full minutes under the guise of an organized ball game, all the while being paid a sum that proves they participate more for love than money.

I have such respect for the game and its players that I’d choose to watch a game of Rugby over any other sport save for Australian Rules Football which is basically in the same class of masculinity and dedication. And speaking of respect for a game and its players – I have almost none for most levels of Soccer (baring International during World Cup time, and even then my interest is tested) and here is a prime example of why:

Yes you indeed just saw a (presumably highly) paid professional athlete act like a 7 year old play fighting with his 8 year old brother in the back seat of the family sedan. Childish, petty, and as we’ll soon remember ‘Loco’ behavior unfit for a professional sporting arena – or so we’d like to believe.

And the worst part is - he got away with it!    (Bad parenting Mr. referee)

Though we can’t fully understand what the commentators are saying – if any of you can I’m interested to know all that was said between them – we can make out their surprised laughter at the absolute silliness of the circumstances. At one point one of the commentators says “Loco” (I at least know that means crazy). Agreed my South American friend, that is absolute bat s**t crazy right there!

But wait ... did I also catch an “E Spectatullllllor” from the other fellow? Perhaps he has mucho restecp (thanks Ali-G) for such an ingenious form of free kicking milkery (another word to add to my new dictionary). Because let’s face it, that is pretty much what 40% of Soccer is now days … a contest to see who can be awarded the most penalties via swan-like dives, arms upraised with heads thrown back and enough over acting to earn a gold statue. Otherwise known as deceit and cheating!

At least as the vide fades out a sting of “por favors” (I know that means please), can be heard indicating at least one of the commentators is asking for some form of sanity to be re introduced to proceedings.

But this is such a supreme case of petty deceit and cheating it leaves me flabbergasted. Flabbergasted AND at the same time glad this sport of soccer is a distant 10^th in the line of competitive team sports one can spend time watching in the coming months.

Thank goodness for a real man’s sport like Rugby (check out the top video in the sidebar to the right for an easy to understand illustration of soccer and its players vs Rugby) where and act like that would be laughed off as the silliness that it is. Well … unless your name is Bakkies Botha (Russ Fox knows what I mean) He just got an idea ;)

It’s Raining its Pouring the Old Man is … about to Run the Gauntlet Home

It’s raining in So Cal and that means trying to drive home on So Cal freeways filled with So Cal drivers who are scared of the rain and have NO IDEA how to drive in it! An explanation of that statement to follow at a later moment.

If I make it home safely and in one piece I’ll tell you the tale of my harrowing journey

Wish me luck!

Fate foretold by my Galactic Horoscope, Randomly Fortuitous, or an Act of God?

This morning I was late to work.

To be more specific I was late to work because I left later than usual, because I woke up later than planned, because my alarm didn’t go off, because my mobile phone was powered down, because the battery had died, because stuff like that can sometimes happens, right. But why?

Lately my phone battery life has been getting shorter and shorter. But last night when I went to sleep it had at least 25-30% battery life remaining (just switched over to battery code level ‘orange’) – which is actually a pretty typical night-time scenario. It has often proven to be able to stay powered all night when left alone at 20-30% battery life. So why then did it fail me last night/this morning?  

This is where the mind starts getting all big picture and “what’s it all mean” on your arse.  

Is that just a lucky/unlucky random event?

Was I Supposed to be late for work?

Or more specifically was I supposed to be driving to work later than usual?

Is this the handiwork of God and if so is he protecting me from something?

Would I have gotten into an automobile accident had I left at the ‘usual’ time?

And why is my head hurting now? J

Do any of you ever think in such a way when something unscheduled or slightly out of the ordinary happens?

Do you put it down to random chance, or are you more likely to thank God for interfering with your life, even though the positive outcome is not often blatantly apparent?  

I'm curious to know

P.S. while your thinking about it - check out the top video in the YouTube videobar to the right :)

Driving Thought for the Day

Why is it when someone is walking down the aisle handling a shopping trolley or a pram and someone else gets in the way it’s a usually polite “excuse me” (with the except of my friend the Wal-Mart lady), whereas putting the same person behind the wheel of a car and moving the scenario to the roadway suddenly turns into “F*** you!”?

Seriously, how much does getting behind the wheel of a car change a person’s attitude or demeanor?   

Super Bowl Sunday Spectacular ... and that

Well the Super-hyper-awesome-turbo-max-world-Bowl is done and dusted for another year and it must be said it was an interesting game with the deserving team crowned World Champions (that’s right somehow the winner of the “National” Football League in somehow henceforth known as the ‘World’ champion’) but enough about the game – how good were the Superbowl Ads this year!!

Big thumbs up for the creative and funny Ads from Pepsi Max, Snickers, Volkswagen, and – in my opinion – the Super Bowl Ad World Champions … Doritos. In case you missed any of them (or happen to live in another country where such Ads are not broadcast) here are some of the best:

Volkswagen 'The Force':

Snickers 'You're not you when your hungry':

 

Pepsi Max 'First Date':

Bridgestone 'Reply All':

Doritos 'House Sitting':

And the Winner of Super bowl 2011 Advertising (in my opinion) is Doritos 'Office':

This last Ad may not have been as funny and clever as what you just saw, but it does feature something I am personally quite familiar with which makes it one of the “oh man I know that place, I’ve been there” TV situations. It was filmed at the local Rotolo Chevrolet here in Fontana only a few blocks from work and where I get my Commodore dressed in Pontiac’s clothing serviced. Note the stunning snow capped mountains in the background. That’s real So Cal snow people.

So well done to the Green Bay Packers and their star quarterback and my fantasy football hero Aaron Rogers and congratulations to Doritos, the un disputed Super Ad World Champions J