THE ORGANIC HERO

Corporatisation has ruined sport. The guy who signs the broadcasting cheques is the real boss of modern era sport. Gone are the days when all professional sport was played on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Now, there is a massive variety of sport broadcast live 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Money obsessed corporations have insisted on round-the-clock sports coverage and this over-exposure of commercialised sport has ruined the appetite of many sports fans.

However, not all sport is the work of the devil. True sporting heroes and heroines still exist. They can be found living next door to you, on the next street, the other side of the village, in the next town or even in your own house. Hats off to every man, woman and child who gives up three evenings a week after a hard day’s work to train, and a further afternoon at the weekend to play their respective sport. They don’t get paid, they don’t receive free gear and equipment, and they don’t receive endorsements. They volunteer their bodies and efforts for a cause they believe in. They sweat for the good of their parish. They do it for the combat, the challenge, the intensity, the competition, the camaraderie.

Participating with their local club or society draws people out of their houses, away from their computers, off their sofas, and out into the fresh air, mixing with other people, and plotting their rival’s downfall at the weekend. Training, perfecting, honing. Sport gives people an escape, an outlet to vent frustrations, let off some steam.

The excesses in modern professional sport are to be deplored. Cheating is rife amongst elite sportspeople. More and more tales of corruption are leaking all the time. There is little doubt that many sports are rife with drug abuse. Cheats win. Check out David Walsh’s investigations about Lance Armstrong and his cycling teammates. The end result: Game over.

Amateur sport is the new dawn. There is a real sense of community when it is my street against your street – my parish against your parish – my village against your village – my county against your county. Whatever the sport, the competition is of the same intensity. An overwhelming sense of belonging exists at amateur level. You and I losing a match against those people over there hurts much more than Manchester United losing to Chelsea. It’s tribalism at its purest. Sport played with passion, heart, commitment and courage wins out every time. A sense of place – a place in your community.

So why buy a sporting hero? Nothing beats growing your own.

Liverpool 1-0 Everton match report

Liverpool 1-0 Everton

Ultra-consistent Dirk Kuyt saved the day for 10-man Liverpool by nodding home his 10^th goal of the season to send the Anfield faithful delirious in what was an aggressive 213^th Merseyside derby.

A beautifully delivered corner from Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard had Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard flapping in front of Kuyt, who took full advantage by nodding the ball downwards into an empty net despite close attention from Phil Neville.

Up until the goal in the 54^th minute, Everton had been holding their own against a Liverpool side unbeaten in their previous six Premier League matches. However, the Toffeemen failed to make their numerical advantage pay dividends much to their manager’s frustrations.

Everton started brightly in the opening 10-minutes and took the game to Liverpool with an array of tough tackles.

Thorn in Liverpool’s side Landon Donovan set out his stall as early as the second minute when getting in behind the Liverpool defence to win a corner from a Marouane Fellaini through ball.

Everton continued to cause the Liverpool defence problems, especially from set-pieces. A corner from the left had Kyrgiakos and Fellaini tussling at the back post, with Greece defender Kyrgiakos eventually ending up on the ground and winning a free kick.

However, Liverpool soon found their feet and a fluid passing move from one end of the pitch to the other resulted in a cross from Carragher on the right being lashed over the bar from Lucas.

Kuyt was booked for a challenge on Donovan around 25 yards from goal. A curled free kick by left-footed Baines had Reina at full stretch to tip it over the bar.

 An explosive high-tempo midfield battle was threatening to boil over approaching the half-hour mark.

Kuyt was kicked in the face by Fellaini after being chopped down by Pienaar and just moments later Pienaar was lucky receive just a yellow card following a very high lunge on Javier Mascherano. Seconds later Carragher was booked for an old-school retaliation on Pienaar deep into Everton territory.

A decisive moment came in the 34^th minute when Kyrgiakos slid in with a two-footed block on Fellaini. Replays suggested that both Fellaini and Kyrgiakos could have seen red for that clash, having both gone at each other with two high feet. However, it was Fellaini who came off worst physically and was stretchered off, needing six minutes of treatment on his right ankle before the physio admitted defeat and Mikel Arteta entered the fray. In the meantime, a visibly frustrated Kyrgiakos was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson.

In a first half heaving with strong challenges, a highly motivated Jamie Carragher was leading by example, marshalling the home sides’ defence and keeping the Everton forwards at bay. He started the game at right back, and within seconds of the match kicking off, clobbered Pienaar. The strong, full-blooded challenges continued from the Liverpool vice-captain, who switched to central defence after Kyrgiakos’s dismissal, and continued to dominate and clear anything Everton threw in his direction.

Minutes before half-time, Gerrard controlled a ball 25 yards from goal but went over quite easily from Cahill’s lunging leg. Gerrard took the free-kick himself and his curling effort pinged the crossbar, just out of reach of Howard’s out-stretched fingertips.

However, best chance of the first-half fell to Cahill, who had a free header at the back post from six yards out. A misdirected defensive header from Mascherano found its way to Cahill on the back post and with Reina scrambling across his goal line, Cahill’s diving effort brushed the top of the bar.

Liverpool started the second full of gusto and immediately put the Everton defence under pressure. The Reds won a corner which was dealt with effectively and Everton countered through Donovan, whose pace was too much for Insua. He played in Cahill whose drive was saved well by Reina.

The Kop showed their appreciation for Mascherano, who chased and harried the Everton attackers single-handedly on the left-hand side of the Liverpool penalty box and eventually blocked an attempted cross.

Liverpool regained the upper hand and started to control the pace of the game. They were rewarded with Kuyt’s simple headed goal from which Everton were visibly shaken by the goal and took them some time to recover. Moments later, Gerrard had a free kick easily saved by Howard and also caused some problems from a corner.

Late on, a sliding challenge from Gerrard on Pienaar, who was already going to ground from a Mascherano tackle, caused a mêlée in the middle of the pitch, with substitute Anchibe retaliating most. Both he and Gerrard were booked for their parts in the tussle.

Anchibe could have carved a decent scoring chance for Everton as he took a touch too many deep inside the right-hand side of the Liverpool box, but his attempted cross was charged down by a sliding defender and collected at the second attempt by a grateful Reina.

Pienaar was sent off deep into injury time for a second bookable offence. He challenge Gerrard late in the air and referee Atkinson had no hesitation in brandishing a second yellow to the South African.

Kuyt was substituted with just seconds remaining on the clock to a standing ovation. As the final whistle  blew, the Anfield crowd roared their approval at their sides’ hard fought victory again their city rivals and the winning of three vital points to lift the Reds into the much-coveted fourth place in the league.

LOI — a hidden gem

In years gone by, I had occasionally thrown an awkward glance at League of Ireland soccer, as do the majority of soccer fans in Ireland. I had attended a few St Pat’s games, swayed by the energetic enthusiasm of a friend who was a Saint through and through. I admit I enjoyed the experiences and with St Pat’s being my local club (well, the club whose ground was located closest to my childhood home), I formed a long-distance relationship with them.

In Ireland, our national league tends to receive a sneerful attitude from soccer fans who much prefer to follow the English Premier League and would happily pay €300 to take a trip across the Irish Sea to watch a game, yet scoff at attendees of local LOI games.

What a shame. As I found out on Sunday evening, the LOI is a hidden gem.

I attended the Shamrock Rovers and Derry City league game at Tallaght Stadium. This was my first LOI game in about six years, and I was impressed.

First of all, when I arrived outside the stadium about 30mins before kick off, there were hundreds of people milling around. I began thinking that Tallaght are really adopting Rovers and making them their local team. Once i entered the ground, I was shocked by the amount of people already in their seats. The stadium has only one stand open for business (the stadium is still under construction), and there were very few seats vacant.

Once the match began, the die-hard Rovers fans started chanting and singing. I was well impressed. They even have a song for former Manchester United recruit Dessie Baker! I was thinking that this was just like the Premier League, but on a smaller scale. These die-hards adore their club and the players. I found it difficult to take it in…it was surreal.

Rovers went into a 1-0 lead quite early on thanks to a stunning placed effort from Sean O’Connor which sailed into the top corner. The crowd went bananas. Straight away the “Yer never gonna believe us, we’re gonna win the league” chants began.

About 20 minutes later, a headed goal from Tadhg Purcell from a cross dug out brilliantly by Dessie Baker. Purcell struck me throughout the 90 minutes as a very good player, and one who may be good enough to ply a trade at Championship level in England.

The crowd wer in raptures at this point.

Derry suddenly woke up and applied some pressure and carved out a number of chances but in Barry Murphy, Rovers have a very competant goalkeeper. He might not be the tallest keeper around, but he has safe hands.

A minute into the second half, and Derry scored with a scorching drive from just outside the penalty box. Another great goal. The ground was silent.

Derry pressed and pressed, Rovers tried to make their counter-attacks work. It was a very good second-half, full of determination, courage, and some very nice football.

Humour seems to rank quite highly with the Rovers fans. Chants at the Derry team of “You’re Brits, and you know you are….you’re Brits, and you know you are….” were followed by “What’s it like to…what’s it like to…what’s it like to have a Queen? What’s it like…..”

Rovers hung on in the end to win 2-1, keeping themselves within three points of leaders Bohemians, and effectively ruining any chances Derry had of winning the league.

As I left the stadium, amid a chorus of 4,000 delirious Rovers fans bellowing “We’re gonna win the league”, I felt proud to be out supporting my national league and to have witnessed a great game of football so close to home.

I have a feeling that games of this stature and passion are very often witnessed in the League of Ireland and I want to make sure that I experience a bit more of that very soon. The passion and enthusiasm of the Shamrock Rovers crowd is to be commended and is infectious. The atmosphere was fantastic and I’m sure Derry were intimidated by it. Once the stand on the far side of the pitch is completed, Tallaght Stadium will be more like the fortress that the Chairman Jonathan Roche is hoping to create. Last, but not least, the football was pretty good too — not the hoof and chase game I was expecting at all.

What are your experiences of LOI soccer?

What are you giving up for Lent?

I was just reading the latest edition of The Irish Catholic. Not my regular read, you understand, I had access to a copy of it and I thought: “It’s Ash Wednesday, why not see what the good paper have to say on one of their biggest days of the year.” This time of year must be The Irish Catholic‘s version of the Punchestown Festival…well, maybe not that big, but big.

Anyway, apart from all the child abuse scandals, retiring Bishops, and an editorial stab at Mary Raftery, Lent seems to have a fairly low profile within their 36 pages.

However, there is a “Going Green” campaign feature on page 12 which certainly makes you wonder about the benefits of giving up Penguin Bars for Lent. The article suggest an environmentally friendly approach for the next 40 days.

All the usual stuff is included (turn down your heat, conserve water, leave the car at home, look both ways before crossing the road, switch off electrical appliances, attend a table quiz,  hang out your washing instead of tumble drying etc) but it certainly got me thinking (seriously).

There are a lot of things around the home that people can do to help our environment. But those little things don’t help the kid on the front of the Trocáire box. Reducing our domestic bills is only gonna contribute to our lavish Easter party — lots of food, gargle, and chocolate. Or go towards paying your car’s NCT or your television licence. That doesn’t help the little kid on the front of the Trocáire box.

Lent is not about giving things up, apparently. Lent is about “not being greedy, cutting down on things we dont need, Fasting, not watching as much television or playing on Playstation, cutting down on our waste, caring for our environment” (The Irish Catholic page 27).

I’m gonna play less Playstation. The Trocáire kid will appreciate that.

A green Lenten campaign certainly has its merits. Obviously schools are teaching our kids to take this approach too, which is fantastic. Now, instead of kids sitting indoors, eating Wagon Wheels and baiting each other on Wii Boxing, they’ll be outdoors running through meadows with dogs, skipping, jumping rivers,  swapping Panini stickers, playing Feet Off The Ground, drinking Galahad Lager and sniffing petrol.

I’m being cynical.

Kids should be taught that there’s more to Lent than stuffing 18 pancakes into their gobs and then not eating Cocopops until Easter Sunday. The environment angle certainly adds a new dimension and it is to be applauded.

For me, I’ll be abstaining from all kinds of nice stuff for the next 40 days and nights. That means no sweets, chocolates, fizzy drinks, crisps, take away food (chipper and Chinese), cakes and biscuits. Popcorn is allowed seeing as it’s made of air. And I never mentioned Thai food. Also, plain biscuits are permitted…like digestives, or maybe a Rich Tea if can get them. I can’t wait.

I tried this venture before at Lent — about three years ago I think. It wasn’t very successful. I broke a number of times. This year’ll be different. I promise. I’ll be fully expecting to drink a squeezable bottle of honey to get my sugar fix. Or I’ll be whacking little Bono tomorrow night at the recoding of Jonathan Ross’ show. It depends how much honey is available at the BBC studios.

No Line On The Horizon

[For a proper review of U2’s new album, please go here https://ohsitdown.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/u2s-no-line-on-the-horizon/.]

 

 

U2‘s new album is “only” at number 12, or something. Honestly, I couldn’t give a shiny one. I’m no big U2 fan, though i did attend one of their Croke Park gigs a couple of years ago thanks to a free ticket. Moreover, I certainly don’t get into a tizzy at the band’s releases. I’m really not bothered.

However, it appears that i’m gonna be at another performance of the band this week, courtesy of Jonathan Ross, of all people.

Mrs Ohsitdown successfully secured a quad of tickets for this week’s recording of the Friday Night With Jonathan Ross show at the BBC studios in London. Thankfully the Ohsitdown’s family schedule has been altered to allow for a hastily arranged break to Lahndan. U2 are the musical act lined up for this week’s JR show.

I haven’t heard anything from the new U2 album though I have a feeling I will be sorely tempted to download the latest offering from the twatters before I head to Dublin Airport on Thursday. Something for my ipod to get worked up about during the flight.

My personal opinion is that U2 are one of the most over-hyped bands on Earth. I dont undersand what all the fuss is about. Admittedly they do have some good songs. Maybe it’s just the band members i dont like, or maybe it’s just Bono. I don’t care anymore.

It is said that everyone in Ireland has “a Bono story”– a tale of when they bumped into the Bonoi Lama himself. I dont have any such stories. I dont like the little man with the big boots and the even bigger attitude. Is he affected by the recession? Bloody sure he’s not. Does he shop around for cheaper car insurance? Bloody sure he doesn’t. He pays full whack.

Anyway, on with the show. Thursday should be great craic. Also on the JR show is Sir David Attenborough, some British actress with a Blunt surname, and Clive Owen. Mrs Ohsitdown is particularly pleased with the last-named. In fact, I would be willing to bet that she would prefer that I wasnt there at all….I’d only embarrass her in front of him.

THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT

My ipod has been thanking me continuously recently. It is fairly new and i’m in the arduous process of filling it with aural gems. That, by the way, is a more time-consuming task than filing away all those stacks of bills and statements  I have gathering dust at home in my castle. Stacks of cds take ages to rip, convert and sync you know…..but that’s another day’s blog.

Anyway, I keep getting thank yous from my pod, largely because i’ve been listening virtually non-stop to The Airborne Toxic Event‘s self-titled album. In a word, it is class.

Fair enough, it may not feature on too many definitive Top 100 Albums Of All Time lists, but it’s a terrific prescription of uptempo, melodic tunes straight out of The Brilliant Trees and Whipping Boy‘s song-writing classes.

The five-piece hail from Los Angeles and got their name from a section of Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise. They are signed to Majordome Records, who also have The Von Bondies on their books.

Anyway, back to the music.

As well as sounding very much like the late 1990s Irish bands mentioned above, the band have a real Razorlight feel. All-in-all, The Airborne Toxic Event know how to blast out a roaring track with tremendous melodies.

Possibly the star attraction on the album is Sometime Around Midnight, which recalls a guy’s drunken night out in a bar and a piece of eye-candy he obviously yearns. The lyrics are very clever and the song builds and builds and builds with a powerful drum and bass combo.

 

The opening number, Wishing Well, offers a fast punchy beat – perfect opener. Papillon, which strangely has nothing to do with the Ted Walsh-trained horse who won the 2000 Aintree Grand National, has a very Nick Cave-sounding vocalist and has a very catchy melody. Gasoline hits you as being a very happy song — it’s very catchy and has a super riff.

The track Does This Mean Your Moving On? has a distinct Shed Seven aroma – it’s an uptempo song with some catchy lyrics.

Regretably, there are also two or three  fairly forgettable album fillers on there that only die hard fans will be screaming for them to play at their gigs.

Nevertheless, the album overall is a winner. Their style, their lyrics, and the lead singer (who somebody said reminded him of Glen Hansard) should appeal massively to Irish audiences.

Get downloading my friends. Winner alright.