The World Cup broadcasts in Civic Center Plaza are coming to a climax this Sunday the 11th with the final game of the tournament between the Netherlands and Spain.
I am torn between rooting for both countries, though Matt Hubbard has decided that all pointy-headed intellectuals must go for the Dutch.
I felt similar ambivalence watching the Ghana-Uruguay quarterfinal, Africa's last chance to advance in the tournament, which they lost in overtime in excruciating fashion.
The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department is promising two large screens along with food vendors, music, and a beer garden from 9:30 AM to 4 PM. Broadcast time of the actual game starts at 11:15 AM, and may the sun shine on all of us.
Mike- I can't find your e-mail address so I'm posting this here. Can I use your Oldenburg image of the apple for my post on the Fisher collection? The museum doesn't have a picture and I'd love to be able to post yours (with appropriate attribution, naturally)
ReplyDeleteMike, Ghana-Uruguay -> quarter final, not semi. Last four were Germany, Spain, Uruguay and Holland. It would have been nice to see an African country break into the final four, but not this year.
ReplyDeleteDear Nancy: Sure.
ReplyDeleteDear Ced: Thanks for the correction. I was looking at the schedule, and still didn't get it right.
Excruciating is correct. American sports often have a certain, "we won, you lost, sit down and shut up" finality about them, but some of the best soccer games are remembered for years because they were robberies. A very bad call or an exceedingly unlucky bounce or a shot that should never have gone in but did is the difference in the game. In this way, the U.S. beat England 1-1 at this World Cup, and cheaters prospered when Ghana lost to Uruguay. It's a very different emotional vibe, and the feeling of theft is actually commonplace.
ReplyDeleteAnd allow me to be a pointy headed intellectual once more and quibble. I said the only people I could find who were on the Dutch side were pointy headed intellectuals. There may be some pointy heads rooting for Spain as well.
That logical fallacy is that "all birds are warm blooded" is not equivalent to "all warm blooded creatures are birds".
I wrote, rubbing my pointy head.