September 11

Eight years ago today, America was attacked as the day got going.

I was a senior in high school and I was in my second period percussion class. My band director came into the band room after having gone to the office for something and said something bad had happened.

There was a joke or two made but the look on Paul's face displayed the gravity of the situation. I could try and be the next Tolkien and describe the silence that fell on that large space with its great acoustics but that would be pointless.

He flipped the t.v. on and there was the coverage.

The second plane had went into the towers moments before and people were speculating about what had happened.

The thing that surprised me the most was the fact that school did not come to a halt.

I went to the rest of my classes that day and did my work like it was any other day.

Hell, we had band practice that afternoon. It went off without a hitch. We even went to a competition two days after it happened. The flag was at half mast for the entire contest but it went on.

I have read several accounts of what the government was like on that morning and it all seems like it would be a huge cluster fuck working in an agency when an event like this occurs. But it all went on.

When someone asks me what it means to be American, that resilience that we displayed as a nation comes to mind.

There are several nations across this world that are on the brink of collapsing in the next 36 hours (trust me, it's what my thesis research is on), but we took the hit and came back.

God bless those that gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense and aid of their fellow Americans and God bless the United States of America.

Cancun Day 2 And The US Got Beat By England...Big Shocker

So I woke up yesterday and went to this meeting where they tried to sell me and mom a place in a vacation club. Sadly, we did not have the $55,000 they wanted for the top level of the club or the $32,000 for the lower level.

We went out and walked around for a bit and came across an open air mall where we were approached by two gentlemen who also tried to sell us membership in vacation clubs with their hotels. At one point I just wanted to tell them, "thunder's loud, guys." I came across a footy shop that had a very nice selection of kits and boots and balls. I could have easily spent $1,000 in there.

After dinner last night, we went up to the bar on the roof where I had a very interesting conversation about footy with the bartender, Jose. We talked mostly about the Mexican teams and Portugal and Argentina. I had a bit to drink and began to amaze one of the gentlemen who showed up with his drunk friends. We were talking about the program and the stuff that we did for our first project at the Hurst. All in all, it was a good evening.

In other news, the US lost to England. What else is new? John Terry scored the opening goal at 36'. His header was stunning and it scooted just past Tim Howard. Steven Gerrard netted the second goal of the evening. He punched the back of the net with a ground ball past Howard to send the Lions past the US in what I am sure will not be the last time the US will loose over the next year or so leading up to the 2010 World Cup.

Global Politics and Soccer?

You bet your sweet ass they go together! I've met a lot of footy players over the years and most have been rather chill individuals, like sub-arctic... well, until you score on them. Anyways, most of them couldn't tell you the five members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), but they should really get acquainted with them if they have hopes of seeing Tibet in the World Cup ever.

We live in an amazingly connected world these days. I mean come on, there are three hundred page books and thesis work on the extent of globalization and rather or not it exists. From the footy fans perspective, I doubt the world is really all that flat because some countries simply can not seems to be able to get onto the moving ball. If you are still reading this and wondering why I brought up the UNSC in regards to this topic, here's why. FIFA, our beloved governing body, will only admit national teams that are recognized as a country/nation and the UNSC makes that decision.

This is truly sad. Football is the most popular team sport on the face of this flat earth of ours. No other sport can even begin to say that it has the fan base that the beautiful game does. But, when you start to ban teams from competition because five stuck up diplomats sitting in a building in New York fail to recognize you as a nation, how beautiful is the game?

I think it is pretty damn ugly. It is a disgraceful practice and one that you would think FIFA would not go along with. What do they loose if they allow Tibet to play? China? The Chinese can not even play decently, except their womens team and who really watches the Womens World Cup? And what about Greenland? What does FIFA really have to loose by not admitting a team from a damn country that most high school seniors in America can not find on a map?

What are the consequences here? Maybe the five security council member nations will pull their teams from the cup. Do it! That's one less grouping of teams to have to go through. And seriously, the US and the UK will not miss much by not going to the World Cup. Hell, maybe then they could devote money to building a better youth program (at least here in America). Russia has only attempted to go to four World Cups and they did not qualify for two of them. See the above paragraph for my opinion on China. Lastly, the only team that would really be hurt if their nation left FIFA would be France.

When it comes down to it, at the end of the day, the situation is rubbish! So, there is a snippet of how politics can influence something as beautiful as international football. Happy footy all. And as of this moment, I am officially boycotting the 2010 cup until FIFA can get its head out of its ass, wipe the shit from their face, and make football beautiful once again.