Fireworks and Soccer

I just finished watching a pretty damn decent fireworks display right outside my front door. At first I thought the neighbours had a couple and were having a little fun, but after 20 minutes I decided that must not be the case. It lasted about 45 minutes in total, and hundreds of fireworks went off, there was cheering and applauding on the street parallel to my own (primarily children), so I gather there was something or other was going on for the kids. Either way, we planted ourselves on the front steps for the duration and enjoyed the show.

Speaking of entertainment, did anyone catch the first two games of the 2004 European Championship? The first game was a stunner, with the underdog Greece pulling out a 2-1 victory over the host. It wasn't a terribly great game to watch, the Greek style of play makes me think of the Minnesota Wild. That is to say, they play tight tight defense, and they are very chippy in the way they do it.

I've been happy lately as I take in matches, noticing how different players behave now as opposed to '94. Back then drawing fouls was the order of the day, and there was no end to the bad acting. These days it's a lot more rare to see that type of bad sportsmanship, but the Greek side displayed it in spades. It was annoying watching their players go down screaming for every little tap, and then seeing them push, elbow, kick and otherwise rough up any Portugal attacker to got within 40 yards of the goal.

That's not to say they don't deserve kudos for their win, on the contrary I applaud their solid defense and opportunistic offense. There's no doubt that the home side didn't show up until the final minutes, and in the end, that's what made all the difference.

In the other match, Spain defeated Russia in a more or less one-sided match. The first half seemed pretty even, with both sides getting some great chances on goal although neither found the back of the net. The second half though was all Spain. In the end their domination paid off and the Spanish walked away with a well-deserved 1 to nil victory.

I hope everyone will be plastered to their televisions tomorrow afternoon (2:30EST) for the France vs England matchup. It'll be a helluva game, and I'm really looking forward to it, and you can bet I'll have my England jersey on with a beer in hand.