Friday Five: World Cup Wonderings Week One

The World Cup has kicked off and there is plenty to think about. I will not venture into the tactics of teams or specific match reports in these posts, and I will do my best to stay away from the politics of the Resident Evil. But there is plenty of other chat around the grounds.

Three lions in the crowd

1. Ad breaks - call them what they are. The totally unnecessary, momentum-killing, three-minute intervals midway through the halves give the Americans what they have always wanted: a game of quarters for their attention-deficit, commercial-forward nation. They were understandable in Qatar (the fact that the World Cup was held there at all is a totally different proposition), but everyone knows they are not really for hydration here. The rest of the world despises them (the breaks; not the nation - we save that contempt for their president), and the fact the crowds at every game are boo-ing them is testament to their unpopularity. Maybe FIFA will take note of this, but probably not.
2. National anthems - Scotland win, and I don't mean with Yes, Sir, I Can Boogie. I'm not a great fan of bagpipes, but they certainly make a noise. And I have to concede that when played well, they are a damn sight/ sound better than vuvuzelas. To be fair, those blowing and squeezing out Flower of Scotland in Boston are generally superb. Uruguay are a close second with a jolly, rousing number that makes one want to party. The New Zealand cry-for-help in song is a two-header. Everyone thinks it's finished after the Māori version and then are surprised when the English version kicks in - people might know the words to this bit, but they're bored by the end of it. New Zealand are the lowest ranked team in the tournament, so we're unlikely to hear it too often.
3. The refs - Ref cam is fascinating. We can watch the match officials try to keep up with the game while staying out of the way, which doesn't look easy - they have to read the game to know where they expect the ball to go and then be near it but not in its path. The view shows what they see of the action and explains why they sometimes need to refer to VAR because their vision is blocked of a potential infringement. It's early days, but I think they're doing a good job, refusing to be swayed by histrionics and giving free kicks for obvious shirt pulls and trippings. 
4. Tiny teams - The extended format of this tournament isn't to everyone's liking (I have questions, including why do some group winners play the second-placed finishers in the next round, while others get an apparently easier route against the best-placed losers?) but it does introduce new countries and their fans to the world stage - namely Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. Curaçao (a nation with a population the size of Toowoomba) scored their first ever world cup goal against Germany, and one of the biggest talking points of Week One was when Cape Verde kicked off their first ever World Cup campaign with a point from a scoreless draw against fifth-ranked Portugal. And what's not to love about that?
5. The crowds - Scotland (again), who have embarked upon a full-frontal love affair with Boston in which they have drunk the city dry, the mayor wants to twin town with Glasgow, and no traffic cones are safe. The colours are a riot - and perhaps fearing this, England fans have been told they cannot hang theirs at stadiums because they might - heaven forbid - cover up the advertising hoardings. See point one about the money-making-morality of this tournament. Apparently images depicting weapons are also not allowed (because we all know how strict Americans are about 'actual' gun control...) so a submarine on a Barrow AFC flag is forbidden entry. The flag of Haiti, however, bristling with six rifles, two axes, two cannons and two piles of cannonballs, is absolutely fine. If you haven't got a flag to wave, you can always hold a baby aloft. We only a week into this tournament and it appears that babies are the new must-have accessory as many folk seem to be thrusting at the cameras for air-time. No, sir/madam, I have no interest in your spawn; I would far rather watch the Norwegian team sitting down on the pitch to celebrate their victory by joining the fans in a Viking row. 

World Age Group Duathlon Championships - Edinburgh 2010

The parade of nations for the World Age Group Duathlon Championship is an interesting affair. The athletes range from slightly embarrassed to pleased as punch, but all are proud to be wearing their national colours – it’s a pretty big deal to represent your country at something; especially a sport.

A female piper leads them through their paces – she is bouncy and bubbly and really rather good. There are bagpipers on every corner of Edinburgh. I don’t particularly like the infernal instrument but most of these pipers are excellent – as they should be really or they would be drummed out of town. There are the ususal Flower of Scotland and Gay Gordons and we did hear one playing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star which sounded rather odd. Our lead-out lady played We Will Rock You, among other things, and the athletes all lined up to listen to welcoming speeches and be inspired.

No amount of inspiration and plates of carbohydrates can make up for a stinking cold, however, and Him Outdoors suffered somewhat in the race. It was around Holyrood Park, and the Salisbury Crags, Arthur’s Seat and the Scottish Houses of Parliament made a dramatic backdrop. We all met at the transition to cheer and support him on his runs and bike ride.
 

He was obviously feeling the effects of his malady and, although he was laughing on the start line, he was visibly struggling in the first lap (out of four) and actually turned an alarming shade of grey. He then settled into something ‘a little more comfortable’ (these were his words afterwards) but it clearly wasn’t his best form. (You can check out his split times if you’re interested.)

His transition was excellent and he seemed to be happy to be on the bike. He cycled the five bike laps pretty much on his own which must have been hard. Of course there is no drafting in age group triathlon, but it still would have been good to see someone to chase down.

The final run was actually quite good – he had found his rhythm and was running confidently through the last two laps, bringing his position up to 38th (out of 74). Apparently you could request music as you ran over the finishing line; he didn’t know this but was still welcomed home by The Cure, perhaps a trifle too appropriately; ‘I’ve waited hours for this; I’ve made myself so sick, I wish I’d stayed asleep today.’ The commentators picked out his kit and he got a great mention for representing New Zealand in the ‘famous all black strip’ – he was first Kiwi home.

His overall time was 2:25:04. I know he said that he had wanted to do about 2:10 (which would have put him about 20th) but that’s simply not possible when you can hardly breathe. I know he will be the last to make excuses, and that he won’t be happy with the result but we are all very proud of Him Outdoors.