Tour de France shows us what "Nerves of Steel" are about

Sis, the Germany win at the World Cup was absolutely fantastic!   I watched the replay of the game yesterday morning (3am was just too early for me) and was able to marvel at how the two teams played so hard to get the gold.  But, in any sport there can only be one winner and Germany got all its stars aligned at the right place and right time! It was such a pleasure to see how in synch the German players were throughout the match.   Excellent show of team work Germany!

I read a very interesting article about how the German team was able to acclimatise and recover well throughout the World Cup by spending time in Campo Bahia, a training camp located close to Rio de Janeiro.  Campo Bahia gave the team a venue to continue their training in a beautiful environment and at the same time focus on the build up of the all important team spirit that was evident throughout all their matches. Check out the article on Campo Bahia

I appreciate football but ever since I started joining triathlons, I developed a keen interest in cycling events.  As we all know, cycling is a third of the three disciplines one needs to train for in a triathlon.   The Tour de France, one of the oldest and most prestigious of the world cycling events, is one that I had been following through the years.

Yesterday was a full-day of sports, World Cup finals in the morning and Stage 10 of the Tour de France at night.  Yesterday's stage proved to be very memorable as one of the favorites to win the race, Alberto Contador, suffered a bad crash on a descent and had to bow out of the race because of a fractured tibia.  This comes after an earlier crash by last year's Tour winner, Chris Froome, who fractured both his hands.

I am in awe of all the riders who have gathered enough experience and courage to join the Tour.  All the riders have to contend with the ever-changing weather conditions, sunny one day and rainy the next.  Throughout the race one is faced with brutal mountain climbs that are horrifically steep and then upon reaching the top of the climb a rider has to contend with narrow and windy roads on the way down (as they say what comes up, must come down!) which they need to ride as fast as they can, sometimes reaching speeds of over 100 kph.  Can you imagine being on a bike that weighs less than 7 kgs. and going downhill in winding roads at over 100 kph?  Scary thought!  The Tour has become so popular, that fans all-over the world line the course at various locations.  At times you can see over eager fans who cheer and give a pat to the rider as a sign of support, but this may prove to be detrimental at times as it may startle the rider unnecessarily.   But despite all these circumstances, the riders with "nerves of steel" still continue to amaze us by joining the Tour.  Kudos to all of you!!!

In addition to the live telecast of the Tour, I would suggest that you monitor the Tour website to appreciate the goings on of the race Tour de France 2014 .  They have live commentary, maps, daily news, photos and videos, that make the Tour experience absolutely enjoyable!

Below are some info that may be of interest if you decide to follow this years Tour de France:

1.  First Tour de France was held in 1903; primary purpose of the first tour was to sell more newspapers
2.  First Tour had 5 stages vs. 21 stages in todays modern day Tours
3.  A few riders in each team aim to win overall but there are three other competitions that draw riders: points, mountains and young riders
4. Overall (Individual) or general classification - riders' times are added so that the rider with the lowest aggregate time wins;  the overall leader has the privilege to wear the yellow jersey
5. Mountains classification - points are given to the rider who is first to reach the top of each climb
6. Points classification - points are awarded to riders depending on the type of stage i.e. flat, mountain, etc.
7. Young rider classification - leader is determine the same way as general classification, but restricted to riders under the age of 26; the leader of this classification wears the white jersey
8. Since 1975 the race finish has been held at the Champs Elysees
9. Most stages are in mainland France but since 1960s the Tour has included stages in nearby countries i.e. Belgium, England, Germany
10.  Youngest ever winner of the Tour - 19 yrs; oldest winner ever - 34 yrs.

Yeah, Deutschland!!!

After 114 minutes of football -- unglaublich!!! Unbelievable!!! The long awaited goal 6 minutes before end time by Mario Goetze on a pass by Schürrle.  After tense moments half-expecting Argentina's star player Lionel Messi who is constantly lurking around Germany's goal waiting for the right moment to sneak in a goal...it is over!!! Die Deutsche Mannschaft hat es geschäft! The German team has won the World Cup!!!

Goal-maker Goetze kisses the Golden Cup

Again, what a game!  Was für ein Spiel!!!  I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, holding my breath as spectacular play flashes through the screen. Argentina's super strong defense squeezes out Germany's repeated attempts to drink from the Cup.  Then, finally, the Cup could not be denied to Deutschland!

First, Khedira was not on the starting 11 due to an injury. Christof Kramer takes over, but is later sidelined with a possible concussion as a shoulder smashes into his neck and head during play. Schweinsteiger falls several times to the ground due to fouls on him, with one foul resulting in a small cut on his face with blood dripping out just below his right eye.  But he gets up yet again, even as I wince with him in pain, and I wonder how the bodies of these players can take such punishing blows. The team out on the field continues to work wonderfully together -- calm, focused, patiently waiting for the right  time -- Boateng, Hummels, Kroos, Höwedes, Klose, Muller, Schweinsteiger, Özil, captain Philipp Lahm, Schürrle and Neuer, yes, Neuer, who stonewalls all Argentine attempts on the goal.  He is later chosen to receive the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper of the tournament, and one former Cup player even goes so far as to say that he is the best goalkeeper in history!

The Argentine team puts on a valiant attempt, and how close they were, they could almost have tasted the sweetness.  Messi, even as his head is hung in defeat, so close to ultimate glory had his team brought home the Cup, looking unhappy as he climbs up to the stage, is awarded the Golden Ball trophy as the best player in the World Cup.  How he must have longed to hoist up the Cup.

Amazing! Finally, Germany's 4th World Cup win after 24 long years.

Herrzlichen Gluckwunsch, Deutschland!!! You totally deserve it!

What a World Cup!

Just watched the Germany-Brazil World Cup semifinal game last night, and wow, I must take back a lot of what I said in my previous blog post (which I wrote after watching the Brazil-Colombia game).  This was a game worthy of the World Cup -- even with the thrashing of the Brazilians 7-1.

Amazing game -- the Germans played so well -- just how football should be.  They showed teamwork, focus, concentration, sportsmanship, and humility, even as the Brazilians fell apart, maybe psychologically affected by the absence of top-gun Neymar and captain Thiago Silva.  You could see how the German Mannschaft was not just one or two players, but a team playing together.  I couldn't believe how they got 5 goals within the first 30 or so minutes of the first half -- volleying in one goal after another as if playing against some college football team instead of the mighty Brazil.  I had joked around previous to watching the game about a possible 4-0 -- but the actual result was totally unimaginable.

I can not believe how much I am enjoying watching football at the World Cup. Terrific games! Different styles, different emotions...  Another semifinal game tonight -- Netherlands vs Argentina, to decide who plays against Germany for the World Cup 2014, then the finals on Saturday. So looking forward to it -- I am a total football fan!

What I learned from the World Cup

Sis, I don't know how it is on your side of the world, but World Cup Fever is at an all-time high here in Germany.  First because Germany has a pretty good chance at making it to the top.

Anyway, luckily, here in Germany, all the games are covered on public TV -- public TV is paid for by the people. Each one has to pay an amount, called a gez here -- something like Euro 18 every month if you have a house or apartment, which means pretty much everyone. Before it used to be paid only by anyone who had access to media -- like a television or a radio, or even a computer.

So back to the World Cup. I couldn't believe how rough and tumble football was. Okay, I am not an expert, but I do know that people can get pretty hurt from the things these players are doing. I am thinking if a normal person was out there running full speed with a ball and someone puts a leg in front of him -- basically, you know, like the thing we used to do in elementary school, when we put out a leg to trip someone, and laughed when they did trip -- the other person could get pretty hurt.  Or when someone stands right behind another who is currently jumping high -- meaning obviously that they land on the other person and completely lose their balance and fall on their backs -- and this, from some really high jumps -- that could mean a real ouchy.  (I remember they used to call it "sahod" in the Philippines-- translating to "scoop" in English).  But that seems to be pretty much what football playing is all about -- and this at the World Cup.

Until I saw how Germany played vs France, then I knew it could in fact be a gentleman's game (They do call rugby as  hooligans playing like gentlemen and football as gentlemen playing like hooligans ). Here in this game, everything was pretty orderly, the players were dribbling the ball nicely, passing nicely, heading in goals nicely, saving nicely and correctly and there was not too much pushing and pulling and clawing and desperate kicking and tripping and diving.  I am not saying that all South American teams play that rough and tumble way -- Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay -- hmmm, wait a minute...  Could it be that some teams are more evolved?  Playing the game a longer time, perfecting the moves, but it ain't fun playing only with each other, so you have to let the other kids in.

The crazy thing is, you can see every little move now on high-definition television, so for every foul or almost foul or red card or yellow card, there is an instant replay in slow high def motion.  And you see the culprit and his devious plans. Like, say, a player biting on another player's shoulder or a player running full tilt and with a little jump, planting a knee into the middle of another player's back, or a player belly-flopping and diving wildly even as the other player just scratches his head.   And the referee who is supposed to penalize evil pats his hand. What lesson does one learn?  Could it be that "one can get away with anything even when everything can be played back and checked in slow motion"?   How can you solve this problem? -- Maybe whenever there is an iffy decision, then they can check out the playbacks -- but then that would be just about everything and the game would go on forever, so scratch that.

Another realization is that I actually enjoyed the rough and tumble football loads more than the orderly football. I liked watching the players cry their hearts out like little lost boys when they lost and wholeheartedly dancing together, kneeling and pointing fingers up to their God, leaping and jumping over each other for joy, dancing and hugging and tightly embracing and kissing, yes, even kissing, when they scored a goal.  Wow, the depths of their emotion!  Those are the moments you remember, but then, when I look back, I think about those times when they were playing and maybe unwittingly (?) seemed to be out to physically hurt the other team's players, and there are, in fact, bruises and broken bones, even blood at times.  Is this something one should enjoy?  Pretty much reminds you of the arena/colosseum times when the gladiators are out in front of city crowds to fight each other to the death for the entertainment of all.  And yes, during those times, the crowds roared and enjoyed the blood and gore and egged on the gladiators to greater glory.

It seems to me also that football reveals the character of a nation. Which one gets things done in a disciplined, orderly, mannered way, and which gets it done in a haphazard, not following all the rules, even desperate, sacrificing it all, way. I hate stereotypes but football style does seem to play out these stereotypes.

I am also pretty much impressed at the dedication and athleticism of these football players -- aside from their wonderful abs, of course!  To reach this level, they must have trained forever -- lived, slept, ate football, given up a lot. You can see this passion and hunger in each of the player's faces.  I am worried every time they fall if they would get up, but they always seem to do so -- although, once in a while, with a little acting, it looks like.

Anyway, I am out of my depth here.  Just some ruminations on football and the World Cup from an observer.  Looking forward to Brazil vs Germany.  Chaos vs Clockwork?  Emotion vs Precision?  Pure joy vs Fulfilled Expectation?

And my final lesson, Football is like life.  Here you can fill in all your cliches...