quick update before i catch a cats nap

I am depressed.

GERRARD WHY DIDN'T YOU SCORE THAT PENALTY.

Yen, Dor, let's go drown our sorrows in Tiger Beer.

EDIT:
Before my huge rant tomorrow, I just want to say great, excellent, fantastic job to Hargreaves and Lennon. Especially Lennon for being the crazy sprinter and Hargreaves for creating so many chances and defence! His defence was tight. Crouch was alright for the most part, besides scaring me the whole time with his lanky body, but obviously did very Crouch-y stupid things along the way like bouncing that header away from the goal...

I respect Ricardo a great deal. You can tell by the way he moves that the experience and the skill he's got - nearly every lunge was pitch-perfect and precise - that he's an exceptional goalie.

Though, I still firmly believe that Robinson will manage to live up to maybe Seaman's legacy but it'll take time. wtf he went completely off for that penalty!!! >_< If I was still playing as goalie more often for whatever soccer matches that came my way (hay band? when's the next game?) I'd aspire to be just like Ricardo/Seaman/Kahn/and my all-time favourite Schemichael.

Sad doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. It's a not a good way to send off the Golden England players like Beckham (never liked him, but you've got to admit the guy gives gorgeous crosses and free kicks), Neville (one of the best defenders, in my opinion) and possibly Terry amongst the others who are too old. I mean, even Figo surely won't be playing again for Portugal. The Golden Age of soccer has ended. Pray tell will the next generation live up to that.

EFFING ROONEY WHY DID YOU DO SUCH A STUPID THING TO GET SENT OFF! WE COULD HAVE USED YOU FOR THE PENALTY SHOOT OUT!!!!! AND LAMPARD. THAT WAS a #@*(&#*!@(&!*@32817429831293 SHOTS YOU MISSED. WHY. DID. YOU. MISS. THEM. LAMPARD.

Hats off to you, England, for putting up a great one-man-down fight against Portugal.

EDIT:
Portugal fans, please be more mature?. I mean, hurrah that you won - I agree fullheartedly that you guys deserved to win the match in overall performance - but you don't have to be snide about it and pick on England.

EDIT:
Woah, okay wait a second. I'd just like to establish my stand here? Though I'm an ardent England fan, Rooney was the childish one here. Please don't go pointing fingers at Ronaldo? The most Ronaldo did was be an ass on the field with his annoying tackles, but that's all. I mean, God, if you saw your teammate's family jewels get stomped on, accidentally or not, you'd go up and try and clarify the damn matter wouldn't you?

EDIT:
Newspaper reports and more newspaper reports. Frankly I don't give a damn who's in the wrong - just that Manchester United will be turned upside down of this. Whether Ronaldo did threaten Rooney before the match that he'll get the latter "sent off for sure", or whether he went up to the referee to "ask for a foul not a red card", it's all over.

You silly fools. Why are you doing this to Man U? :\

this is more of self-reassurance.

Okay, one question, WHAT THE FUCK IS BRAZIL DOING?! God! You've got Barthez at the goal and you didn't score!?

Wait a second here before I rile any French-supporters. First, SNGS people know I love Barthez (hahaha BabaBarthez of GMUFC...) ever since his introduction into Manchester United. But you've got to admit that he wasn't very on form ever since the previous world cup. Simply put, I miss the man in the awesome black jersey. But really Brazil, Barthez and you didn't score? Personally, while he's a great goal keeper better than James and Robinson!!!!!, I've just noticed that he has this tendency to under perform. So basically you've got this goalkeeping giant who while largely consistent in his goalkeeping, tends to screw up somehow, somewhere.

And Brazil, you should have taken an opportunity of that.

Henry scoring wasn't any big surprise... He's an awesome striker, as Ah Feng would agree. This World Cup is full of upsets, some deserved and some not and... wow, it's been exhilarating. Though it hasn't been joga bonito for the whole course of the WC so far. It's sad. I'm a bit at a loss of who to support because I have half the mind not to support Germany because Kahn isn't the starting keeper (if you can guess by now I usually support teams with solid goalkeepers; personal perference), France because... well actually I supported France way back in the 1998 World Cup and since there's Barthez, Silvestre, Makelele and Saha.... Italy, never. Nooo nonoo. I won't support the team that has Totti. Portugal does have C. Ronaldo (hurhur, Manchester United loyalties lie here) and Louis Figo and Maniche who always tries the semi-long shots which never nearly make it... But naah. After the upset with England, I won't turn my back on my team.



Why do I support England, despite everyone else jumping on the bandwagons of Germany, Italy and I don't know, even Brasil and Argentina? Well I don't pretend that even though following the EPL since Sec 2, I'm not extremely familiar with other players outside the EPL, namely those of the Spanish League and etcetera. That is to say that I have the slight tendency to be a France supporter other than supporting the British.

I don't know exactly why I do support England. Afterall, their football skills aren't really top-notch at international level, seeing how they always break down somewhere during the quarter-finals as usual. But I guess its the sentimental value that supporting England brings that I just continue to hope. Realistically speaking, it's extremely tough for them to get into the semi-finals, anything above the quarters was always a bonus.

The EPL was what got me into soccer, England was what bonded me and my friends together... I don't call it 'indebtedness', but its this inate loyalty instilled in me and Yen and the majority of GMUFC to root for England for the most part. What else but the EPL and Schemichael and Barthez could have gotten me to dive in front of the ball countless of times and nearly spraining my arm during SN matches and bandcamp matches (when I actually dared to play against crazy SJI boys), and getting up to feel crummy about the balls I didn't save (which were a lot, obviously). It's the pride you get when you grab that ball with that trust old pair of goalkeeping gloves and tuck it into your safety zone, and the swoosh! of the ball as you perform that magnificent goal kick. Lack of practice makes me miss the ball whenever I goal kick now, but again it was the EPL and English teams that got my brother to mercilessly train me on goalkicks and diving to the ground for the ball. It's humbling to have your sibling of three years your junior, exceptionally talented in soccer, beating you down for not performing that save - but when you perform in a game against unpredictable crazy secondary school girls during the penalty shootout, you get that crunch-time save. Seeing your friends and classmates kick around the ball and perform mindblowing shots because they're 14 year old girls and have zero experience, watching people get whacked in the face by an errant ball...

It's those times when we're half-asleep and half-awake in the middle of the night, waiting in anticipation and in dread for Pong to message us the scores of Bayern Munchie Munich against Manchester United. Or howl in incredulity when Blackburn scores against our darling Red Devils. It's the sadness and slight indignation you get when Beckham leaves, and that rising feeling in your heart when you see the old greats like Giggs, Scholes and the Neville brothers rise up to take their places.

It's those times when we gather at our now London-based WJ's house for the Euro and World Cup matches, screaming at the TV who will never respond except for flickering every once a while, crying together when England lost and then punching in the numbers of the Comfort Taxi company, panick-ridden with the fact that we're going to be late for our performance in just 1/2 an hour.

It is us in my living room, lying on matteresses, eating grapes washed by Yen and a brush, potato chips bought from 7-11 and trying to get knocked out by Barcardi Breezers and then yelling again when England misses a shot or when Rooney does something incredibly childish yet again. Then waking up the the morning, in the freezing temperatures of the air-conditioner and sighing to ourselves.

It's England that kick started all of this. Sentimental loyalties, inexplicable and unexplainable support - that's probably why we all continue to cheer for the union jack: because of that hope, no matter how small or how big.