A high percentage of Apprentice Writer's family members are glued to the TV today, by turn is agony and ecstasy on the whim of a soccer ball.
The Eurocup 2008 quarterfinals continue, with ludicrously fit, passionate men filling up the screen in a dozen camera angles including straight-from-the-top, UFO view) being ludicrously fit and passionate. The crowds in the stands are somewhat less fit but no less passionate. Or colorful, for that matter, since having a costume/wig/chest coloration lively enough to warrant notice by the cameras can liven up a long, long game.
Makes AW wonder: any fiction out there with soccer as a backdrop? She herself knows of none, whereas American style football makes an appearance in many a contemporary novel.
Gentle Readers,what say you? Do you know of such a book, or any other that features a different type of sport? (Apprentice Writer herself considers pondering on this subject sufficent exercise for the day).
where a budding comedy writer marks milestones on the road to dropping the 'apprentice' portion of her name
Sunday, June 22, 2008
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7 comments:
My DH isn't really into sports. (THANK GOODNESS)
BTW belated congrats on the win from Alaska!! WOOT!!
M. -- My hubby has been glued to the tv and by extension, me too :)
Did you see the Italy/Spain game yesterday? HOW TENSE WAS THAT??!!
Alas... I was rooting for Italy, while hubby rejoiced with Spain.
And guess what? My current WIP's hero is indeed a 'football' player (that being the real name for soccer), who plays for one of England's big teams. I haven't decided between Arsenal or Man U yet.
amy - my husband, usually, either, which means that until the advent of Toronto's fledgling professional football (as it's known everywhere else in the world) soccer time, we never had to have any discussions about whether tickets were a good choice on our budget.
and thanks on alaska! feels great!
wylie - i always feel for the poor players and the poor, poor goalies when it goes to penalties. the stress - unimaginable. i was rooting for spain because i still haven't forgiven italy for the way they won the last world cup (through heckling rather than skill) but truly, the teams were completely evenly matched.
and - wow! - you have a soccer player hero! i must have sensed some kind of vibrations in the air...
Is there anything sexier than a soccer player? Lord...
I've had to work some Toronto games (working in TV is often lame, but can be cool sometimes)and I can say that players are even hotter in person than they are on camera. Very testosterone-y environment.
Wylie - first the rock star, now the football player. You like bad boy heroes or what?
Ooh, this is a toughie. I can only think of two soccer/football (yes yes, I'm an American *blushes*) books...one is a young adult series I used to read and I can't even remember its title! The other is called "His Enemy, His Friend" by John R. Tunis. It's about a Nazi officer who is stationed in a small French town--he is sympathetic to the people there, coaches the town kids in football, is friends with the local priest, etc. However, he is given the order to kill many of the townspeople (this is right before D-Day), which he permits to happen. He's later tried and convicted for his war crimes, and after serving his time he makes it on the German national football team. The story culminates in a match with the former officer having to play against a man from his past--a young boy he taught to play soccer, who also happens to be the son of one of the men he killed. The football match is a huge part of the story--and really well done. I think it's out of print now, but you can order it used online at amazon, or other textbook type sites.
But other than that...I'm empty! Football movies, on the other hand, there are a whole bunch of ;)
abby - how cool! if you tell me you've ever met zidane or christiano ronaldo i'll faint. i've never quite figured out why beckham gets 99% of the public attention...
thea - fascinating reco. i'll keep my eyes open for it.
I love football and would confess to tiny little crushes on a few players (Torres and Fabregas being the best of the current crop imo) but... a romance about football players? These guys are seriously skanky; the number of stories about their promiscuity, moral vacuity, licentiousness, idiocy, greed, selfishness, arrogance... well, it keeps the British tabloids going, that's for sure. (I hasten to add I don't read the tabloids(!) but this stuff filters down).
And then there's the bizarre fascination British players have with capturing themselves on tape in flagranti. Weird.
Honestly, if I read a novel with a football player hero, it would need to realistically address all of the above, or I would toss it away with a disbelieving laugh.
But maybe I'm taking it too seriously. I just think there's too much money in the game, particularly the English Premiership, and it's a corrupting influence on the very young men who are at the centre of it.
Do I sound preachy? I'll step away from the soapbox...
Love your blog, btw.
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