Four days since the Premiership season ended, slowly life under the summer sun is starting to take shape, albeit at a much slower pace.
Strolling through the local park, on the way to work this morning, I couldn’t help but notice that the park is now devoid of the goal posts that paid host to many a Sunday morning dream. The penalty area’s have all been re-seeded and the lines, etched out with lime, have all started to fade as the summer heralds the onset of the grass cutting season.
Already, my own lawn is starting to resemble the rough at your local golf course. The kids run through it and their training shoes disappear in the lush grass. Is it coincidence that the grass only starts to grow once the football season is over? Is it nature’s way of giving you something else to do on a Saturday afternoon other than sit down in your local with your mates looking forward to next season?
At Lords the cricket season is about to begin in earnest with the first test match of the summer, will the euphoria of the Ashes triumph last summer be carried across to this summer? Unfortunately the opposition isn’t as attractive and the couch potato brigade may well prefer the aura that surrounds the World Cup in Germany. Indeed, the fervour that gripped the nation, during the Ashes series, last year seems to returning this summer.
Already, with more than four weeks to go, houses are being decorated in flags and cars are also being decked out with miniature flags. Amusingly, you’ll notice several of these discarded in the gutter over the next few weeks. These will no doubt belong to those who inadvertently wind their windows down only to see their little flags pop off in the downdraft and disappear in the rear view mirror. Off course pride prevents them from pulling over and picking them up but it has to be said that most of these instances will naturally involve the fairer sex!
The World Cup promises to be an emotional event, tears will inevitably follow whenever a country is knocked out, however, you’ll be hard pressed to beat the gentleman who was cheering on Sevilla against Middlesbrough last night. Once, Sevilla had taken the lead, the cameras spent an inordinate amount of time focussing on this one gentleman. At first he simply looked a little overwhelmed at seeing his beloved Sevilla take lead. Then he got a little more emotional discussing the situation on a mobile phone with someone else. By this time I decided I’d had enough of the Waltons scenario and turned over, keeping up with events via text messages.
By the time the fourth Sevilla goal went in I couldn’t help but smile. I guess, given the chance, Middlesbrough would rather have faced Chelsea in the final, that way they know they’d have only lost by 2-0. Last night was McClarens’ twenty-fifth loss of the season, what a fine credential for our next national boss!
As for the emotional gentleman from Sevilla, does anyone know if he coped with three more goals or indeed the presentation of the EUFA Cup?
More tomorrow.