Normalerweise verbieten sich Queen-Cover ja von selbst. Aber Pink darf das glaub ich… schon allein wegen des Originool Outfits!

Das Original zum Vergleich:

Wembley 1986

From the Topical Times Annual 1970…

Anyone know what happened to Wembley Lester Dewick?

A delegation from Bristol travels to London to Wembley stadium to deliver the city’s bid to host world cup games in 2018…. From BBC News. Full story

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A delegation from Bristol travels to London to Wembley stadium to deliver the city’s bid to host world cup games in 2018…. From BBC News. Full story

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Gelukkig had ik een paar weken om bij te komen voor het volgende avontuur: London! Met de gebroeders Loos en later ook Mark en Niels. London? Dat is toch niet in Schotland? Inderdaad maar wel op hetzelfde eiland! De aanzet van dit avontuur was het live bijwonen van een American Football wedstrijd in het moderne Wembley. Slim als we waren besloten we wat eerder naar London te gaan om de stad ook eens te bekijken. Een plan hadden we niet opgesteld. Owww.

Ik had speciaal voor deze gelegenheid de trein genomen, ja vliegen was misschien sneller en zelfs goedkoper maar het hele gedoe eromheen is zo vermoeiend. Dus koos ik voor een ontspannende en ruime vier uur durende treinreis door het Schotse en Engelse landschap. Weer eens wat anders dan dat ellendige Eindhoven – Amsterdam traject. Eenmaal aangekomen op King’s Cross (jawel Harry Potter fans!) mocht ik opzoek gaan naar het hostel dat gelukkig in de buurt lag. Het hostel was vroeger een gevangenis en dat was er nog goed aan af te zien, al vermoed ik dat de gemiddelde gevangene nog meer ruimte had dan wij in het tien persoon stink hol dat onze kamer was. Je betaald dan ook het minste, wat verwacht je! De grbroeders Loos arriveerde laat en na wat McDonalds en een biertje gingen we onze eerste poging doen te slapen. De volgende dag betekende op avontuur in London!

Laten we het maar uit de weg hebben, London is groot GROOOOT. En druk! Ontzettend! En als je niet weet waar je naar toe wilt/moet en geen echte plannen hebt is het nogal een bende. Veel heen en weer lopen naar verschillende standaard stukjes London om uiteindelijk bij een Footlocker terecht te komen waar het eerste stukje American Football plezier gevierd werd, een showtje van de cheerleaders. We waren verre van niet de enige die dit wisten.

Ergens daar achterin? Cheerleaders! Heus!

De bende er omheen zorgde wel voor enige entertainment waarde. Intussen hadden we contact met Mark en Niels die ook al aan het verdwalen waren in London. Ze waren al belandt in een, kennelijk veel voorkomende, protest actie van een berg hippies op Trafalgar Square. We ontmoette elkaar uiteindelijk in een pub nabij Buckingham Palace. Na wat standaard kliekjes vertrokken we in de richting van de London Bridge en bezochten zo nog wat standaard Londonse attracties.

Mark peinst over de zin van het leven en wat er allemaal fucking briljant is

Opzoek naar wat avondeten! Natuurlijk was het overal druk maar we vonden een geschikte Mexicaan en voor we het wisten was het alweer laat en we wilden nog graag het uitgaansleven bezoeken dus gingen we terug naar het hostel voor een verdiende douche. Onze totale onwetendheid van London bracht ons naar de receptie om maar eens te vragen hoe het zit. De beste man keek me eens goed aan en besloot dat we ons wellicht het beste konden vermaken in Camden. Op naar Camden dus!

Daar aangekomen konden we aan het straatbeeld zien dat hier vast wel wat te vinden was. We kwamen uit bij een tent genaamd Worlds End. Waar we geheel volgens Britse traditie lang moest wachten op ons biertje maar de sfeer wel lekker was! Had Camden nog wat meer te bieden? Onze strategie van mensen achterna lopen en richting veel lichten lopen was niet heel vruchtbaar meer aangezien de vele clubs of uitverkocht waren of uit lange rijen wachtende mensen bestond. Lekker terug naar het hostel dan! We waren toch kapot van het vele gewandel in London. En hoe eerder we sliepen hoe eerder voor de gebroeders Loos en mij het American Football zondag was!

We waren weer vroeg op, en ik had alweer niet echt geslapen (mijn god wat haat ik hostels!) dus we hadden nog wel even de tijd om wat Londonse attracties te bewonderen om vervolgens richting Wembley te gaan. Leuk was ook het straatbeeld van London, overal spotte je wel een mede American Football toerist.

Trafalgar Square, gegarandeerd elke dag iets te beleven

De sfeer en wedstrijd waren top ook al wonnen de New England Patriots, het waren de cheerleaders van Tampa bay die het wel goed maakten. Die waren natuurlijk ook niet ver weg.

Erg leuk om dit eens mee te maken. Volgend jaar zijn we dan ook zeker terug, ongeacht wie er speelt. Er was zelfs gewoon bier te verkrijgen in het stadion! Hoera! Bier en reuze (scherp geprijsde) Hot Dogs!

Waren we te zien op tv? Jawel!

We hebben weer veel geleerd van dit avontuur, namelijk:

• nooit meer London in gaan zonder plan of professionele begeleiding van een local
• Trafalgar Square is gek
• zelfs in London zijn de Patriots klote!
• voor een tientje of twee meer slaap ik liever in een fris hotel
• Edinburgh is zo lekker rustig
• cheerleaders voegen wel degelijk iets toe!

Cheers!

There seems to be two types of match report to do these days. We played well but we lacked concentration and we let in a late equalizer or we simply just played well.
Last nights game was an example of just what a fine line it is between the two.
We started really brightly full of training ground flicks culminating in an unbelievable passage of play on fifteen minutes when the Standard goal was comparable to an Iraqi stronghold with a Cobra gunship peppering it with shots on the first day of the Gulf war. Thanks AA (your forgiven)..

But as the half wore on Liege managed a shot that cannoned of Almunia’s bar.. Then we went into sadism mode.. Gallas nutting Arshavin meant we went down to nine men at one stage.
Then when Gallas came back  on he looked as if he had a session with Paul McKenna and looked well out of it, “When I click my fingers give a penalty away” luckily the ref wasn’t a Lilly Livered Pansy and you had to get a death certificate to get a penalty.

Somehow in all the melee Nasri broke through and put us one up. It won’t be this easy against the Chavs.

Just before half time Denilson must have remembered what country it states on his birth certificate (I know two certificates) and tried a Jairzinho type shot that swerved back and forth and totally lost the keeper.. 2-0 to the Arsenal..

The second half was similar except we created a few chances and they just crept the wrong side of the woodwork.
The highlight was when after getting his shirt half removed and falling to a tackle from behind Captain Cesc went to have a quiet word with Carcela-Gonzalez.  Cesc didn’t turn into Ole Gunnar Solskjar and stayed on his feet. The opposing player got sent off. But Cesc got booked, why??

Anyway 2-0 was the result.. but the funniest thing of the night was, the cash strapped Bindippers crash out of the Champions League.. The press’s darlings.. But we didn’t have Torres.. we didn’t have Alonso… haha good.. Their wasn’t much to watch on a Thursday night, now we can watch you lot get beaten.

Almunia.. 6.5 Strange night for him, sort of just watched any decent shots fly by and hit the woodwork.

Eboue.. 6.5.. I suppose he did okay, never had much defending to do, the diving and sprawling on the deck is getting boring and embarrassing now.

Gallas.. 7.5 Was leading by example, didn’t look well when he came back on after the head injury. Hope he is okay for Sunday.. I like a man who wants revenge.

Vermaelen .. 7.. Done as good as he needed to, he worries me slightly when we was two on two and he didn’t mark the spare man.

Gibbs.. 7.5 .. Nice one Gibbsy.. you are going to make the left back position yours soon.
But as I am writing I have read that he has fractured his foot and will have a operation today (Wednesday)..  2 months out ffs.

Song.. .. 9.. WOW!

Denilson. 7.. Looked okay for his first game back.. Super goal, dare I say a bit like that ex Man U cheating scum bag.. more of please.

Fabregas.. 7 .. Yeah not bad, bit wayward on some of his passes but that could be the new guys coming in, perhaps they need to read Cesc better.

Nasri..7.5 . He did okay, I would like to see him step up a gear soon,  hopefully he has settled into the way of life in England. Good finish for his goal, very cool.

Arshavin.. 7.. A pretty good performance, but a lot of his tricks were not going his way. Had a great chance whistle past the post.

Vela.. 6..very similar to Eduardo, lacks that physical presence that we need to lead the line.. Went missing a bit during periods of the game that Nikki B  doesn’t seem to do.

Silvestre.. 7.. There is hope, isn’t there??

Walcott.. 6.. Failed to shine, he should be running the show.

Rosicky.. Came on a bit late to judge him..

I don’t feel that great after a night when we qualify for the knockout stages  top of our CL group, Sunday will be the decider for me. if we win then I will be ecstatic or ..  well we will win..

Have a good day Roadsters..

Today I sent off my application for tickets to the 6 Nations rugby at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, and did a double take at the price – for a very average seat the price this year is £63 a ticket! In 2005 when Wales won the Grand Slam, the equivalent price for exactly the same seat was £42. A price increase of exactly 50% in 5 years. According to the Office of National Statistics the Consumer Prices Index rose by just under 10% in the same period.

Six Nations Rugby ticket just £1.

Now I’m a big supporter of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). Managing to build the Millennium Stadium, an incredible civil engineering project squashed between the River Taff and the city centre, for a fraction of the cost it took to build Wembley, was an amazing achievement but they have to be careful of their pricing policies. Asking their fans to fork out this sort of money three times in five weeks during Feb and March just as the Christmas credit card bills hit, is a bit much. Now, they will argue that their running costs have increased significantly and they still have to recoup the stadium building costs so they have to charge these prices.

But should they set prices that are cost driven and risk lower demand or should they set prices that are attractive to the market and sell out? I think that prices have definitely hit the Millenniums sliding roof, and that WRU will see empty seats at the Stadium this year as they lean towards the former. Meanwhile at Workhouse Marketing, as we continue to be extremely busy and continue to keep our prices very competitive, we lean towards the latter.

Mark Jones.

Workhouse Marketing, Workhouse Studios, Ribchester.

Country’s teen queen Taylor Swift is the winner of five American Music Awards, including artist of the year.

Late king of pop Michael Jackson got four trophies during the 37th AMA show at downtown’s LA Live.

The 19-year-old Swift was in London for her Wembley Arena concert tonight and she accepted three of her awards via satellite.

Swift was also named favorite female pop/rock and country artist and favorite adult-contemporary artist. Her album, “Fearless,” won favorite country album.

Jackson’s trophies were accepted by his brother Jermaine, who paid tribute to his late brother by wearing a glittery white glove.

Jackson was voted favorite male artist in the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories. His 2003 greatest-hits album, “Number Ones,” also won favorite album in both categories, bringing his career AMA total to 23, making him the most honored artist in AMA history.

Meanwhile, Adam Lambert has no day-after regrets about his eye-popping performance on the American Music Awards last night.

Lambert writes on his Twitter page, “All hail freedom of expression and artistic integrity.” Lambert’s performance involved shoving a man’s head into his crotch and making out with a male keyboardist.

ABC says it’s gotten 1,500 complaints about Lambert.

His CD, “For Your Entertainment,” is out today.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Sister Sledge – Reach Your Peak

Nile Rodgers och Bernard Edwards produktioner, oavsett om de producerade för sig själva dvs. Chic eller om de producerade åt någon annan blev på något vis ändå inte något mer än avancerade Chic-produktioner fast med lite andra artister inblandade. Ett kanonexempel på detta är det samarbete herrarna hade med Sister Sledge, det hörs ju rakt igenom att det är Chiclåtar, det är samma musiker, samma bakgrundssångare osv. Till och med David Bowies samarbete med Nile Rodgers låter så väldigt mycket likt de soloprylar Nile Rodgers höll på med vid samma tid.

Men jag ser inget ont i detta fenomen utan det visar på att låtarna är större än artisterna och det är något jag själv upplevt de gånger jag varit och sett Chic live och de då spelat sitt medley med några av de låtar som Nile & Bernard producerade åt Diana Ross på hennes album Diana samt avslutar med Sister Sledge-klassikern He’s The Greatest Dancer. De gångerna har man insett att de farhågor man hade inför att höra dem utan Diana Ross vid mikrofonen är som bortblåsta. Det är ju nämligen Chiclåtar det handlar om i grund och botten och då krävs det en sångerska som vet hur man sjunger CHIC helt enkelt. Sylver Logan Sharp som frontade som vokalist under många år var helt suverän på detta och hon visade att även om hon inte var först att fronta som vokalist så har hon fattat detta med hur man sjunger CHIC. Så Chic är större än de ingående delarna och handlar om ett sound som är otroligt tidlöst och därtill så uttans bra att man garanterat får ståpäls av det när man hör det live.

Chic – Live in Rome

Har själv sett detta live tre gånger och jag får än idag ståpäls när jag ser det på video. Bästa videon jag har på detta är från The Best Disco In Town som gick på Wembley 2003. Har hela konserten därifrån på DVD och den kan rekommenderas för alla som saknar livematerial med Chic. På den DVD får ni dessutom en massa annat godis som Tavares, Shalamar, Rose Royce m.fl.

Men om vi återgår till den första låten i inlägget är den ett exempel på det underbart chic’t exklusiva sound Chic faktiskt står för oavsett vem det sen är som står vid mikrofonen och sjunger. Det lixom alltid lyser lyx, flärd och glamour om deras musik och man känner sig som man tillhör en utvald skara när man hör den.

Tjillevippen

notbugs

A korábban meghirdetett dátumhoz még egyet passzolt a brit trió. A Muse, mely 2007-ben már koncertezett a londoni stadionban (ezt dokumentálja a HAARP CD/DVD), eredetileg 2010. szeptember 11-re tervezett koncertet a Wembley-be. Most, vélhetően a nagy érdeklődésnek köszönhetően, Matt Bellamy-ék újabb dátumot pakoltak a már meghirdetett mellé – a megelőző napot, szeptember 10-ét.

In a scene that could be part of an Adam Sandler movie, Stuart Tinner bagged himself £250,000 after successfully hitting the crossbar from the half-way line on Tuesday night during the interval of the Saracens vs Springboks Rugby match at Wembley stadium.

Three members of the crowd were picked after applying via SMS to make the kick, Stuart stepped up first after removing his shoes and smashed the ball straight onto the crossbar. As soon as the ball struck the bar, Wembley erupted and the Amateur Rugby player was a quarter of a million pounds better off. Stuart told reporters that it’s the second best thing that’s ever happened to him, the first being when he lost his virginity. All I can say is, that must have been one hell of a cherry pop!

Brian Little’s Leicester City squad assemble on the Filbert Street turf in August 1993 for the traditional pre-season photo call.
The previous two seasons have seen them beaten at Wembley in the Play Off Final by Blackburn Rovers and Swindon Town.
Will it be third time lucky for Brian’s men?

Colin Gibson and Gary Mills, the sort of good solid pros on which City’s promotion bid will be launched.

Steve Walsh, Richard Smith, Phil Gee, Tony James and Gavin Ward check out the latest polaroids of Ormondroyd’s Nose.

New boy David Speedie… has a big job ahead of him in winning over the Leicester fans after his dive for a penalty in the 1992 Play Off Final… he ended the season with a dozen goals but suspension robbed him of another appearance at Wembley.

The new Carling Stand is taking shape on the west side of the ground, but it won’t see it’s 10th birthday.

New signing Gavin Ward is brought in by Brian Little who is worried about Kevin Poole’s lack of ‘presence’.
Ward’s superb performance in the first leg of the Play Off semi-final at Tranmere sees City through to Wembley.

Last minute hair adjustments for the team photo…

Simon Grayson will end his season leading City out at Wembley; providing the cross which leads to Steve Walsh’s winner against Derby; and becoming the first City captain to lift some silverware at Wembley.

Saracens 24 South Africa 23

How to describe one of the greatest moment’s in Saracens’ history?  Draw a crowd of 46,000 to Wembley – no problem.  Beat the World Champions and vanquishers of the British Lions – of course, if Leicester can.  But to do so in a style that could put an end to several international careers, and prove the starting point for many more?  To come from behind twice, when the game seemed completely against them, to play enterprising rugby and to dominate the scrum of a famous rugby-playing nation?  Certainly, it was effectively a South Africa A-team, but this was worthy of being called championship-winning rugby.

The first quarter turned out to be an awkward, but end-to-end affair.  For Saracens, defence was primary and Wikus van Heerden led by example, stifling South African attacks.  Unfortunately, he was also typical of Sarries’ occasional attacks, guilty on several occasions of losing the ball in the tackle. The game turned after Derick Hougaard missed an ambitious kick to touch from a penalty.  They began to slip out of the game as South Africa’s greater speed of delivery,  physicality  and lineout began to wear.

First, Earl Rose (continuing a line of South African full-backs with flair) tried a back-hand flip that sat up interminably for Adrian Strauss to run on to.  Then, returning a kick as the crowd began to get restless, South Africa broke down the right wing, their huge lock trading passes with winger Ndungane before charging past Noah Cato, who grabbed hold more in hope than conviction.  The chasing referee signalled that the video referee was needed to judge the score.  Thankfully, Cato had done enough.

Saracens were still absorbing hits of such magnitude as to give the lie to the assumption that both sides would try to avoid injuries at the sacrifice of the spectacle.  Michael Tagicakibau was here an unlikely, but noteworthy hero.  It wasn’t enough.  When de Kock was forced to concede a lineout after a clever kick, South Africa took their chance, drawing in defenders with the forwards before getting the ball out to Juan de Jonge, who slipped through a tackle to dive over.

Fortune then favoured South Africa, when a kick from Rose was knocked on into the path of Jongi Nowke, who ran in the simplest of tries.  The referee had thought that it had come off a Saracens hand.  It was unfortunate, but it favoured the better team at the time and reflected a widening gap between the two sides.  The score, at 6-18 was frustrating, but not necessarily unfair.

Half time brought some relief, and no more than for the audience and a certain cheeky chappy, Stuart Tinner.  News of Tinner’s £250,000 kick and the lift it had given the crowd apparently filtered back to the dressing room.  If it had any effect, it encouraged Saracens to become masters of their own destiny again.

What was more significant was the introduction of Alex Goode at full-back and Rodd Penney for Cato.  These two players turned the game on its head, offering a more unpredictable spark.  First, though, it was the forwards who put Sarries back in the match.  Having dominated the scrum since CJ van der Linde went off early in the first half, Ernst Joubert put pressure of Francois Hougaard’s clearence from a defensive scrum, charged it down, and picked up to return the score to 11-18.

South Africa counter-attacked, but were halted by a superb ankle-tap by Rodd Penney and turned over.  When they kicked again, Tagicakibau secured the ball, allowing Saracens to run from just outside the 22.  The ball was worked to Brad Barritt, who stepped inside and offloaded to release Hougaard.  The fly-half’s chip put the underwhelming Ruan Pienaar under the pressure of Joubert’s chase.  In the next breath, Kevin Barrett, on for de Kock, passed out of the tackle and the ball was sped wide.  Another replacement, Andy Saull, offloaded inside for Penney to race ahead.

If Penney had been able to find Tagicakibau, Saracens would have been level, but they didn’t have to wait long.  A scrum ten metres out gave Barritt the perfect chance to play first-receiver and the combination of his leg-power and Penney’s upper-body strength drove the pair over.

With the scores equal, the game turned into South Africa’s favour again.  Losing a lineout on their 22, Saracens were hit by a swiftly-executed move that saw Ndungane’s forward pass release Nokwe for his second try.  But South Africa’s tendency to live on the margins, shall we say, let them down as the referee began to pick up on their forward passes, halting their attacks.

Meanwhile, the crowd had been roused by the pluckiness on display on the black half of the field.  In a game-defining moment, Hougaard was smashed backwards taking a pass on the loop by Wynard Olivier.  In the next passage of play, Hougaard returned the favour, stopping Olivier dead in his tracks (with a little help from Mouritz Botha). When Hougaard kicked another penalty to make the score 21-24 with ten minutes to go, their was a palpable sense that Sarries might have the final laugh.

Hougaard had been searching for a drop goal since Barritt had levelled the scores.  He had probably missed four or five from the half-way line over the course of the match, so when he tried again with five minutes remaining the crowd were perhaps justified in their chorus of boos.  But as the ball sailed ever so slowly through the posts, the cheers were considerably louder.

The Bokke had been out-fought, out-played and out-sung.  Though a development team, they apparently had less to prove than Saracens, whose ambition and hunger are fast changing the face of English club rugby.  The whole team had proved outstanding, even with a league derby against Wasps fast approaching.  In their desire for the Springbok scalp, Sarries produced one of the great performances in their history, but the way this season is shaping up, victory could prove neither a full-stop, nor even an exclamation mark.  Here’s hoping it’s a semi-colon, and the rest of the sentence is as good.

A truly awesome game of rugby at Wembley last night – for a more in depth analysis than you will find here, see the write-up on the BBC website.

The evening was made even better by a bizarre crossbar challenge.  Everyone in the crowd invited to text name/e-mail/block/row/seat for a chance to take part in £250K crossbar challenge at half-time.

Three contestants were presented at the touchline, 1st chap, called Stuart and about 5 foot 6 with his work togs on (shoes and all), goes up gets interview by Francios Pienaar and is asked what he’d do with the money if he won. “Take all the Sarries Sensations out to dinner” he quips  [The Sensations being a group of fit young lasses acting as cheerleaders who get my son all of a lather]

Anyway, he rocks up to about 30m out from the goal posts, takes a nonchalant drop kick, the ball sails up and strikes the crossbar BANG!  Place erupts and he departs with one of those comedy cheques into the arms of the Sensations.  Priceless it was.

Oh and we walloped the Springboks in the 2nd half.

NOTA: Il presente post integra e sostituisce la mail che non ho ancora spedito a Psyche e che recita: «Inizia a fare i bagagli e a comprare i biglietti, andiamo a Londra a vedere i Bad Company».

Proprio così: la storica band inglese che nei primi anni Settanta ha inventato l’AOR dal giorno alla notte ritornerà a suonare dal vivo in un minitour inglese nell’aprile del 2010.

I Bad Company nascono come supergruppo nel 1973, formati da Paul Rodgers e Simon Kirke dei Free (quelli di All Right Now), da Mick Ralphs dei Mott the Hoople (quelli di All the Young Dudes) e da Boz Burrell, che aveva suonato su “Islands” dei King Crimson. La band ha fatto il botto a metà degli anni Settanta con album storici quale il debut omonimo del 1974 (Can’t Get Enough, Movin’ On) e il successivo “Straight Shooter” (Feel Like Makin’ Love, Good Lovin’ Gone Bad) declinando poi dai primi anni Ottanta con l’innesto di Brian Howe al posto di Paul Rodgers, che ha avuto una solida carriera solista (come ricorderete, è stato anche il vocalist della recente reunion dei Queen). La band è rimasta in attività, con numerosi cambi di line-up e senza altri grandi successi, fino al 2002.

È notizia di ieri che i tre membri originali della band – il povero Burrell è passato a miglior vita quattro anni fa in seguito a un attacco di cuore – si troveranno insieme per un breve tour inglese, dopo aver suonato quest’estate per una decina di date sulla costa atlantica degli States. Come opening-act ci sarà il Joe Perry Project, la nuova band del chitarrista degli Aerosmith di cui parlavamo giusto poco tempo fa. Il minitour inglese prevede date a Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Cardiff, Newcastle, Glasgow, Brighton e, dulcis in fundo, all’Arena di Wembley (11 aprile)!

Se non siete mai stati negli UK, è la buona occasione per andarci. Se ci siete già stati, è la buona occasione per ritornarci. Se gli UK non v’interessano, è la buona occasione per cambiare idea una volta per tutte. Se invece siete proprio pigri e inconvincibili, almeno non fatevi scappare il prossimo cd/dvd live della band, che uscirà il 9 febbraio.

E ora, col vostro permesso, devo andare a rockeggiare con questa Feel Like Makin’ Love d’annata!

Sat among 80,000 people in Wembley Stadium two years ago, I witnessed a little slice of history. It was to be the day, many hoped, that American Football finally crossed the Atlantic to our humble shores. Whilst the NFL had frequently explored the notion that we may not exclusively love “soccer” before, this was the day they got serious and risked a heck of a lot. I sat and watched the first regular season NFL game to be played outside of North America.

Whilst the game itself was far from a thriller (an edged 13-10 victory for the New York Giants over the Miami Dolphins- to my dismay I hasten to add), it was the figures themselves that told the story behind the very first international series. Based on a lottery application process, the NFL saw over 500,000 people compete for tickets online within the first three days of the availability. It was the easiest sell-out game Wembley had seen in a long time.

Despite the majority of those going being hardcore NFL fans, the game also saw a number of interested newcomers who braved the stiff October night. Added to the mix were the type of Americans who live for the game- and thought nothing of travelling thousands of miles for one night. It was a landmark event, but what exactly brought 80,000 people to Wembley for an NFL game?

Channel Five’s NFLUK presenter, Natalie Pinkham believes the International Series were not just a casual one-off.

“It’s not a gimmick because these games are a part of their regular season so the scoreline matters to the rest of their season. My hope, and I know the NFL’s hope is to grow from this very healthy start that they’ve made and perhaps have two games here next year. If they sell out 80,000 tickets, they must be doing something right and people are going to want more”.       

Meanwhile long-time NFL expert and Sky presenter, Kevin Cadle believes that the sport’s main draw lies in its entire package.

“It’s not just sport, it’s an event. You’ve got the whole physicality of the game, the stars and the way the NFL packages its product. They do a tremendous job of packaging their product and grabbing people’s curiosity. Once they get the curiosity, you find somebody else who understands somewhat what the rules of the game are then you get people who just seem to run with it. The game is a package of a bunch of different things”.

So where now for the UK’s latest sporting import? Increased support for subsequent International Series at Wembley have left NFL on the brink of breaking the nation, but at what cost to the sport? Let us remember that what seems so ordinary for American Football is painfully alien to our home sports. For instance, who would seriously back another push from the Premiership to take football around the world? Putting the integrity of the league at stake is something very dangerous, something which the NFL will need to remember when further pushing their product.

“The NFL is trying to broaden their audience and trying to broaden their money” explains Kevin. “One thing the NFL is doing is looking at other ways to promote their product and the international audience is their next income stream”. Natalie Pinkham welcomes the sport as something more than a product, “American sports are coming here because they are widening the net and they’ve realised that their sport can be loved by anyone in the world. There are big cultural differences between our country and theirs but that should be celebrated, not shunned. You should embrace that and enjoy it for what it is -a little slice of America, over this side of the pond”.

So with future games planned at Wembley and beyond, the NFL has even gone as far as to say that there is a possibility of the Superbowl coming to our humble shores. However this may be a little premature even by American standards, to take the nation’s most popular sporting event and ship it abroad is a little extreme. In all likelihood I can’t see this happening for a good few years yet although when it does, USA’s loss is our gain.  

Adam Parris-Long

Wat om te doen?
Vanaand gaan ek vir die heel eerste keer in my lewe sien hoe die manne in groen en goud op die rugbyveld uitdraf. Ek was al voorheen by rugby wedstryde maar nog nooit by ‘n game waar daar ‘n hele span springbokke was nie. Maak nie saak of dit die A of die B span is nie, hulle bly nogsteeds bokke.
Nou omdat ek hier in Engeland bly moet ek dalk dit oorweeg om vir die Saracens te skree. Die probleem daar is my span wat ek in London ondersteun is London Irish. Ek dink nou dat ek dit so neerskryf maak dit beter sin.
In my sak is my Springbok jumper al klaar ingepak. My naatuurlike instinkte het klaar gekies, wen of verloor ek is al langer ‘n springbok as wat ek ‘n Londener is.
Go Bokke!!

You can tell it is International fortnight can’t you, Cesc goes off to join his fellow Spaniards and the gutter press get themselves all excited. They know they can fire silly questions at our captain and Barca players, then add whatever answer they want to the question and then print it, in fact worse than that they ad a few “ “ either side of the rubbish they write!

Today its the turn of Carles Puyol, fellow Spaniard and Barcelona player to add his bit about Cesc.

“Cesc would have his reasons, to go, and would have the same opportunities that he has at Arsenal. The market dictates the value and you pay a lot for players of a high level but if he comes I hope we don’t pay much,” Puyol remarked.

To go where? Where is the question you put to Puyol relating to the answer, after all the reporter could have asked Cesc if he was off to the shops as he had run out of milk, then of course he would have ‘reasons to go’!

Stupid example – yes, but I am sure you get my point, the only time any Barcelona player will see Cesc at the Nou Camp is if we draw them in the semi-final of the Champions League! Simples!

£60 Million is now the amount bantered around to be the value of our captain; Barcelona and Real Madrid are to commence battle in order to sign him… What utter rubbish!

Fabregas said: ‘‘I am ignoring any talk about my future. I live day to day and my dream is to win the Premier League with Arsenal this season.’’

That’s all we need to hear!

Rasp commented yesterday about the bizarre treatment that Robin van Persie is to undergo in order to heal quicker.

‘Crocked Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has resorted to an unorthodox treatment in order to rush him back into action – rubbing placenta fluid into his injured ankle.’

Not a bubble in sight for his ankle, that makes a change, but in all honesty I am sure none of us mind what he tries especially if it heals his injury quicker, and personally the news that our medical staff will not be anywhere near him increases his chance of a quicker return too!!

I read somewhere yesterday about giving thought to Roman Pavlyuchenko, would he be a better option to buy in January? Chamakh will be taking part in the ACON ( I had forgotten that) so we wouldn’t see him at Arsenal until February in any case.

Pavlyuchenko however is used to the EPL, isn’t CL cup tied (of course he isn’t he plays for Spurs!) and I am sure under our manager he would find his shooting boots..

Now that’s one to think about – I think it’s hard to judge him, after all its a bit like watching a striker in a Division 3 side play and wondering if he would be good enough for Arsenal….

That’s it for today; the news is mainly filled with human and horse placenta, the mind boggles..

Have a great day folks….

Good News or Bad News? Good News? Okay.

Good News:

1. I’m dying my hair tomorrow and I’m gonna make it fucking awesome red. They’ll be peekaboo highlights, so shocks of Matt red. :score:

Edit: just heard John and Karen talking. No red. FML.

2. Um…

2. oh! Skipping school on Friday.

3. Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday (early, I know)

4. Um…

5. Yeah, that didn’t last long.

Bad News.

1. Karen, as predicted, suddenly realised she didn’t mean it.

Sidenote: how fucking mean is it to tell your kid she can go to Wembley Fucking Stadium to see the most amazing band live in one of the most famous venues ever in the ENGLAND with her two best friends and see London and everything, and then say, “Oh, well, I didn’t really mean it, I wasn’t thinking.”

I’ve just given up completely on being mad at her. The sadness I’m experiencing right now is topping so many other sad things that have ever happened to me. It’s overwhelming it’s barely hit me, like I’m standing on top of a waterfall. I don’t know.

Yeah, I can wait for Muse to come here for the US Tour, but I’ll still have missed Wembley. Wembley has a personal meaning to me, and that in addition to the fact that it’s MUSE AT WEMBLEY FUCKING STADIUM just makes it all the worse.

My minor compensation is that I’ll make John and Karen pay for a minimum of five gigs on the US Tour.

God, I hate my life.

Cheers,

Wanda

Would you believe me if…

I told you I might be flying to London, England from America to see Muse play Wembley Stadium for The Resistance Tour?

I’m not kidding. Though madre might be…

We were in the car, me and my mum, driving home in the darkness playing Hide And Seek by Imogen Heap. We’d been chatting and we were having a really nice time and all. Then Hysteria by Muse came on, and I suddenly remembered – Muse were playing another gig at Wembley Stadium and Manchester Cricket something or other. I really want to see Muse at Wembley. If you know me, you know that I would give an arm and a leg to see them live like that! So I mentioned it -

“Ohhhh my gosh, Mom, Muse are playing another gig at Wembley Stadium in London… it’s gonna be sooo epic, I’m so mad I can’t go…”

Then my mum got reallll quiet. I thought I’d said something or insulted her subliminally. Suddenly, she spoke.

“I wonder if you could go for your sixteenth birthday…”

I laughed, poking her.

“Are you serious?” I said lightly – then “Are you really serious?!” I said quite a bit less lightly.

“Yes, I am serious… Auntie Rose flies for free…”

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

I could not believe my eyes! I asked her again if she was serious, and she insisted that she was  being serious, so, naturally, I started freaking out.

“OH MY GOSH MOM IF I COULD GO THAT WOULD OH MY GOSH IF OH MY GOSHHHHH IF I COULD GO THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME IT WOULD MAKE MY LIFE OH MY GOSH”

But she interrupted me, saying, “Brianna, forget about it, I have to pray about it and make a decision…”

“But Mom, the tickets go on pre-sale on FRIDAY!”

“What – Friday? I can’t make this decision that quickly!”

“Well you better, cause the tickets are gonna go like… really fast…”

So there’s a worry there. I do not want to end up sitting for another concert… sitting sucks. =/

But she was completely serious. Although, she has a very great history of promising or implying things and then not following through and stuff. I want to believe that she’ll say yes and let me go – she won’t let me tell my Dad because she wants to make the decision and all, I guess. But part of me knows she was proberly just really euphoric from shopping and getting her hair done… but I don’t know.

Another flaw in this plan is that if I fly in the middle of the school year to see Muse in concert… That’ll be really hectic! And I’ll be so jet lagged and delirious, and the PMD (post Muse gig depression) will be multiplied by fifty zafillion normal PMD symptoms. And cost wise, we’ll be spending quite a bit of monies…

Third, I won’t be able to go to any of their other gigs on the USA The Resistance Tour gigs…

Now that would take loads on convincing and being good and all that. I don’t want Muse to come play the US and have my parents every time say “no, remember that time we let you fly to London for a weekend in the middle of school to watch the play at the Wembley gig? Yeah, not happening, you should be satisfied” because you can never get enough Muse. Fact.

And when Muse come to the US, I want to go to multiple shows, if possible. I know my parents won’t go for it, but I think it’d be so much better than seeing them once and then waiting three years, you know? It’s seeing them five times and then waiting three years.

God, I wish I’d known about them when they first started as a band. Then I would have been able to see them play so many more gigs…

I’ve been worried lately. I have this nagging feeling that the grand Musedom is coming to an end…

It seems like Chris and Dom and Matt really enjoy touring and all, but Chris has a family, Matt has a fiance, and I’m sure Dom would like to get hitched at some point… settle down…

It’s all ready been ten years. I know that everyone really needs them to stay together, but they most likely won’t be together twenty years from now. It just doesn’t seem likely, unless their life permits.

I don’t want to seem pessimistic, but… I don’t know. I don’t want them to split, because the day that happens, everyone will literally try to commit suicide. I know I will. Us Musers are the most dedicated and loving fans of all time. It’s true. Other music fans at school and in life as a general thing, they all know not to mess with me about Muse, because there’s no convincing me of anything besides their grandeur. I mean, I love other music, but I will always come back to Muse at the end of the day. They’re my life band, the ones you know will stay with you forever, and you can listen to them without end, never getting tired of it.

So… trying to go to as many gigs as possible.

This is a really depressing post… gosh…

This is a depressing song, sorry, but I wanted you to hear it…

Cheers lovely people

Wanda

Salve salve capimcaneleiros

Alguns dias atrás foi inaugurado o novo estádio do Santos Mexicano, e para a inauguração foram convidados grandes astros do passado como o grande brasileiro Pelé, o líbero italiano Franco Baresi e outros. Mesmo com o melhor jogador de todos os tempos o grande destaque do evento foi o ex-goleiro da seleção Colombiana René Higuita com sua lendária defesa do escorpião. Torcedores sairam da arquibancada para chutar algumas bolas para Higuita tentar refazer o seu malabarismo, ele até que conseguiu faze-lo porem sem o mesmo brilho do original !

Esse jogo aconteceu dia 6 de setembro de 1995, em um jogo entre colombia e inglaterra em pleno Wembley Stadium, casa da seleção inglesa.

Grande Abraço

Lucas Pacheco

The first part of the trip to England in April 2009 was initially not planned as a groundhopping trip. However, the plan was just to visit a friend who was in England for an internship.  After a while I realised that the english national team was playing against Ukraine in the new Wembley stadium on April 1. The day before there was a match in League One (third division in England) but the involved club is quite famous: MILLWALL F.C. So, I planned to go to both matches and it was quite a different atmosphere in both matches:

Millwall, famous for their hooligans through a few movies (e.g. Green Street Hooligans, starred by Elijah Wood), was playing against Colchester United.  The game itself was not entertaining. Football in the third division in England is not good at all But when Millwall conceeded the only goal just before the end of the game, there was a heavy use of the F***-Word. Quite surprising that nobody was hit by the hooligans. I went there on my own,  not dressed like a football fan, but as a business man.  In my opinion it was a good protection against the potential danger by the Millwall fans.
The England vs Ukraine game was a World Cup qualifier and it was an easy win for England. Amazing to hear the national anthem before the game with 90′000 people singing “God save the Queen”. After this, there was a minute of silence. 90′000 people very quiet in the stadium. Amazing.

WM-Qualification: England – Ukrainne 2-1 (1-0)
Goals: Crouch 29, Shevchenko 74 Terry 85.
Att: 87,548, Ref: Claus Bo Larsen

England: James, Johnson, Ferdinand (Jagielka 88), Terry, Cole, Lennon (Beckham 57), Lampard, Barry, Gerrard, Rooney, Crouch (Wright-Phillips 79).
Subs Not Used: Foster, Lescott, Carrick, Agbonlahor.

Booked: Barry, Johnson, Beckham.

Ukraine: Pyatov, Yarmash, Mykhalyk, Chigrinsky, Shevchuk, Aliev, Slyusar (Kalinichenko 88), Tymoschuk, Valyaev (Nazarenko 61), Voronin (Shevchenko 55), Milevskiy.
Subs Not Used: Bogush, Kucher, Rusol, Seleznyov.

Booked: Mykhalyk.

Millwall – Colchester United 0-1 (0 – 0)
Goal: Platt 84, Zuschauer: 8,071, Ref: Paul Taylor.

Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Craig, Whitbread, Frampton, Martin, Bolder, Laird, Henry (Grabban 88), Alexander (Grimes 43), Price.
Subs Not Used: Pidgeley, Barron, Abdou.

Booked: Whitbread, Grimes.

Colchester: Cousins, Maybury, Trotman, Baldwin, Tierney, Perkins, Hammond, Izzet, Yeates (White 89), Platt, Hawley (Wasiu 90).
Subs Not Used: Gerken, Hackney, Corcoran.

Booked: Baldwin, Trotman, Maybury, Tierney.

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