Destination Germany

I saw the yellow DHL delivery van in the driveway this morning as it was about to take off. “Hey, DHL!”, I yelled out of the bedroom window, “I’m up here!”. From behind the steering wheel, the friendly driver yelled back, “The package is at your front door.”

‘That’s funny’, I thought to myself as she drove off, the email from FIFA asked me to make sure that either I or someone else be home to receive the ticket(s). What if she had dropped it off and then some evil neighbor had come by to steal my ticket to the Olympiastadion for the quarterfinal match in Berlin?

But alas, that did not occur and I now possess what footballing fans across the globe all covet, a ticket to the World Cup Finals.

It had been nearly a year since I went online and requested entry to seven late-stage matches. Unlike so many disappointed others, I wasn’t shut out and was mercifully awarded a single pass to see the winner of match 49 vs. the winner of match 50 on June 30th at 1700 hours.

I really don’t care who’s playing, so long as it’s a good game. I’m just looking forward to being at the center of the sports globe along with the rest of my brothers and sisters from around the world. I hope to see you there!

On an unrelated note, did you happen to see the final North London derby ever to be played at Arsenal’s venerable home Highbury? It was, as always, a highly-spirited affair, but with higher stakes than usual on this occasion. With Tottenham, currently in 4th place in the league, leading Arsenal by four points and with only a few games left to be played, a loss for Arsenal would surely have left them out of the running for next year’s Champions League (unless they manage to win this year’s tournament) since only the top four teams from the EPL qualify for Europe’s top club competition.

So when Robbie Keane easily touched in the first goal of match midway through the second half, it seemed like and uphill climb for the Gunners. But the controversy surrounding the goal was whether or not Tottenham’s English midfielder Michael Carrick should have knocked the ball out of play after two Arsenal players collided moments earlier. Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann certainly appeared to think so after picking the ball from the back of his net, but I don’t really agree.

Since neither of the injured Arsenal players seemed to be mortally wounded (i.e. head wound, misfigured limb, etc.), since the referee did not blow his whistle to stop play, AND since Tottenham were on the attack following an Arsenal defensive blunder - not to mention the incredibly high stakes involved as well as the age-old rivalry between the clubs, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that play should have continued.

The players Lehmann should have been upset with were on his team - his two mates who took one another out of the play as well as the other eight who mistakenly expected that Tottenham should have done the so-called “sporting” thing by kicking the ball into touch.

No, I don’t blame Tottenham for continuing their attack and seizing upon the opportunity at hand and I doubt that Arsenal, faced with the same opportunity, would have done anything differently themselves.

Now, on a personal note, I’m happy to have finally moved back onto the pitch outdoors after spending a long winter exclusively inside. And in my first match back in the middle I officiated a U16 girls game in a State Cup match. In a game that was more a test of my physical fitness than a test of my player-management skills, the home side easily won by a score of 4 - nil.

But what made the day particularly pleasing, other than getting a good run in, was the comment made by the coach of the losing team (which had traveled more than three hours from Long Island) as my crew and I walked off the field to grab our things after the game. “Best refereed game I’ve seen in a long time”, he said in our general direction, adding, “Very professional.”

I thanked my colleagues for making my job easy, but I’d like to think that my performance was no different than usual. The difference on this occasion, however, was that the coach took the time to notice and appreciate our service to the game and then to provide the positive feedback that made our work even more rewarding than usual.

Until next time…

Peace,
ac