everybody’s got a hungry heart

Can we talk about how much soccer I’ve been watching in the last few weeks? I don’t have cable but my sister advised that I could get the EPL games through a subscription via Sportsnet and words cannot express how much I love this way more than finding somewhere else to stream it from in low-fi crappy quality. And it is glorious in HD. GLORIOUS! This post is exceedingly long.

An ordered list of thoughts on the EPL!

1. The EPL is, as mentioned, easy to follow when it comes to actually catching the games. Depending on the schedule I can watch three or four live each weekend (and others on delay, if I so choose) and so I usually sit down and make my decision about who to watch, starting with Liverpool and then moving onwards. This usually involves choosing the Arsenal, Chelsea, or Man United games, if only because there is a higher chance for goal scoring there and who doesn’t like goal scoring? I am of course properly aware that Liverpool’s rivals are Man United and thus cheer for their opposing teams accordingly.
2. I’ve decided that the Wolverhampton Wanderers are going to be my secondary team because evidently they’re terrible but mostly because I love how out of place their logo is with the rest of the EPL. Everyone else has these old-timey looking crests and the Wolves look positively futuristic by comparison. Is this a stupid reason to cheer for a team? Sure. But sometimes I feel like teams in the bottom of the league table need more love and everyone needs a second team to cheer for when theirs isn’t playing.
3. We went down to the pub for 7:30am this morning for the Liverpool vs. Man Utd game and had a pretty great time even though Liverpool lost, though not for lack of trying because they played pretty well. The pub we go to is the official Liverpool pub in Toronto, so I was surprised to find Man Utd fans there since the official Man Utd pub is just a couple of blocks up the street. Maybe they just like cheering on someone else’s turf? I have no idea. There were lots of delightful British ex-pats present as well, which is always fun.
4. There are only two good things about how early most of these games air in North America: 1) that they’re over early enough that you still have the rest of your day to do things, and 2) that they air before pubs are legally allowed to serve alcohol so no one is drunk. The rowdiness has to come naturally.
5. I couldn’t commit to getting someone’s number on my Liverpool jersey as when I ordered it I wasn’t yet decided on whose to get, but I love seeing whose numbers other people get. I think my favourite guy at the pub this morning was the guy in the Martin Skrtel jersey. Unique and bold choice, dude! Also, clearly this guy is my new hero; in a sea of Gerrard and Torres jerseys, I applaud the unconventional choice. I love Skrtel.
6. I don’t know why, but I’m getting really behind all the new boys at Anfield like Joe Cole and Raul Meireles. I’ve also decided that Meireles shaved his head so he could be BFFs with Paul Konchesky and Skrtel, and given the fact that Joe Cole is starting to go bald as well, I feel like he should jump on that bandwagon. Bald men of Anfield, unite!
7. I’m also enjoying:
   • Daniel Agger, for his bad hair cut, his tattoos, and his general antagonism today towards Nani.
   • Pepe Reina, for being pretty competent.
   • Christian Poulsen, for looking like a 1970s Scandinavian tennis player.
   • Steven Gerrard, for being Stevie G and all that entails. There’s something about the way the he wears his uniform that makes him look like a pre-teen boy; we’re convinced the size of his uniform is a boy’s large. Also, last week he had the bleeds, True Blood style. What’s not to love?

   I’m indifferent to Fernando Torres right now, which I understand is a crime. When he really gets going he’s fantastic, but he seems a little fragile.

8. I know that one constant complaint about soccer is how the players dive all the time. I don’t mind the diving, I mind the refusal to get up off the pitch or the faking of injuries. The aforementioned obnoxious Nani was doing this ALL GAME today and there was one glorious moment where he was on the ground and two seconds later you could see Agger yelling at him “GET. UP.”

And now an ordered list of thoughts on the Bundesliga / the German national team!

1. It is nigh impossible to follow this league without being incredibly behind at any given time. It’s easy enough to find English soccer on TV or on an online subscription here, but German soccer? Fat chance. I was trying to prioritize watching crappy live streams of Bayern Munich games over live non-Liverpool EPL games, but the quality is so terrible that it’s difficult to watch. I’ve decided that when possible I’m just going to download the games after they’re over and watch them later, but of course then you get a back log of games to watch. I’ve still got the Bayern Munich vs. Roma game Champions League game from Wednesday to watch and I missed the Bayern Munich vs. FC Koln game yesterday, too.
2. I’ve tried avoiding my various RSS feeds if I don’t want to know the score of the games, but I think I’m going to have to accept that I’m never going to get the games in a timely fashion and so it doesn’t matter if I know the score going in. Didn’t ruin things when Germany beat Azerbaijan 6-1, and I’m hoping it won’t ruin the other Bayern Munich games I haven’t seen.
3. I want Bayern Munich to trade Mario Gomez if they’re never going to bother playing him. He’s too hilarious to keep on the bench. (This is why I don’t make coaching decisions.)
4. Per Mertesacker, the gentle giant, broke his eye socket. HIS EYE SOCKET. My understanding is that when he eventually gets to play again, he has to wear a mask like Hannibal Lecter’s in order to protect his face. Also, Mertesacker added me back on Twitter, which I suspect is because he is too nice and adds everyone back. I love Mertesacker.
5. My love for Bastian Schweinsteiger is well documented on Tumblr, but I feel like I need to get more of the Bayern Munich season under my belt before I go full fan and order a BM jersey with his name on it. If I ever find a black Germany jersey from the World Cup in my size with his name on it, though, I will not hesitate in buying it.
6. Also, I never get sick of rewatching Germany’s World Cup games. I’ve watched the Germany vs. Argentina game like eight times now. I also completely forgot what the score of the Germany vs. England game was, so I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of that game once again.

Welcome to my obsession.