The Socceroos
For 32 years, the Aussies have been trying to get into the World Cup Series in soccer. For 32 years they have failed. For a country that is so serious about sports, being bad at one sport for such a long time is quite upsetting to them.Wednesday night, Christine, Eric, and I went to the Stork (our local) to hear the live folk-rock guy that was supposed to start at 9pm. When we walked in around 9:30ish, the guy was sitting on the stage writing with a marker on some paper. He was not on a break. He hadn't started yet. The soccer game had gone long and was still on. It was the weirdest thing - we walked into the pub and it was completely silent and everyone was staring at the screen. Everyone, except for lead singer of the band who was still sitting on the floor of the stage, writing with the marker. We made our way easily up to the bar (no one was moving, so we could walk straight to it), got our drinks, and found an open two-seater for the three of us to squeeze into.
Pretty soon, there were screams and cheers again when things would happen in the game. I'm not sure I've heard, "Come on, Aussie!" so many times in such a short period. If you have the opportunity, you need to watch sporting events with the Aussies. They make the funniest comments that don't all necessarily make sense, but they're said with feeling. Anyway, they beat Uruguay in the overtime shootout penalty kicks, and the place went nuts.
Christine and I were most excited because we got our first live "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! - Oi! Oi! Oi!" since we've been here. The place cleared out a bit after the game. Anyone who might have enjoyed the band probably needed to go home by the time the game ended at 11. They played a short set because by then, the pub had to close for the weekday curfew at midnight, or something.
Oh, and yes, "The Socceroos" is their official name. Seriously.
Aussies end 32 years of heartbreak
In other sports news: I picked up a Powerade the other day, feeling a little low on my electrolites. The flavor I found is something you'd only see here: Wallaby Gold Rush. (Speaking of, one of these days we're going to go to one of the old gold mining towns around here. I'll letcha know if I find anything.)
posted by Halley @ 11:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home