First Half of My First Weekend

Sorry this is a little delayed. I had internet troubles on Thursday so the only game I got in was the Bundesliga 2 game, which was good entertainment, but obviously neither team will be a favorite and I have no real commentary. The MLS game I wanted to watch wasn't aired on our cable package so that was a disappointment for me as well.

Two comments about the game in general. I know I've slightly mentioned it before, but seriously soccer players are extremely melodramatic. There is so much faking, acting, whining, unnecessary gesturing, and lying on the ground for far to long. It's my biggest pet peeve of the sport, definitely obnoxious. On a positive note however, I really like being able to hear the crowd during comes, as opposed to American sports who, for the most part, cut out crowd sounds most of the time. It's a great part of the experience for me.

Now to get started on the massive amount of games I have watched this weekend. I was going to wait til Sunday night to get a post up, but it would  have been far too large and I didn't want to deter anyone. I watched Swansea vs Newcastle on Friday, great game! It was my first EPL to watch, and I liked both teams, I can't really cross either off as potential favorites. That's one thing I'm gathering from watching these games, is most of the EPL are a great enjoyment to watch, I can see why it's a favorite league. Also, while Cisse (I think) is no Messi, he also had some incredible plays, loved watching him.

Move to today (Saturday). All the Serie A games save 2 were at 8a.m. my time, and being a college student on break this didn't really suit my fancy, so I decided I would compromise for the EPL games an hour later. I just had no clue which to watch! (If you didn't see my reddit post) Good thing it was decided for me, because FOX Soccer is the only channel I have that was playing games and it was airing Chelsea vs. Wigan. I mentioned earlier I would love to see Chelsea play again, so this was fine by me. It was a great and fiercely competitive game. It should have been a draw in my opinion, both because the first Chelsea goal was clearly offsides and because a draw would accurately reflect the efforts of both teams. Looking forward to seeing both of them again.

Now FOX Soccer starts airing replays, or at least I believe so. They aired Stoke vs. Wolves. I took a liking to Stoke over the Wolves on this one, but both played a great game. I can't remember anything specific that stuck out to me. I'm trying not to be repetitive and just keep saying I enjoyed the game, as that much is obvious or I would stop watching. I'm also frustrated with myself for not disliking more teams! How am I supposed to narrow it down! At least I'm pretty sure I don't like the Wolves...pretty sure...

Next they aired Lazio vs Napoli, my first taste of Serie A. I quickly found myself for Lazio. The highlight of the match for me was seeing my first real, live, legendary BICYCLE KICK GOAL! Yes, they are impressive to people who aren't around soccer much. I may or may not have called my dad in to watch the replay...at the age of 20. I can't wait for more as I get the second taste of AC Milan that I wanted on the replay tonight at seven, which I will talk about in a post tomorrow that will also include the Man City/Arsenal game, and possibly this Man U team that is so hyped.

All in all, this was one of the best Saturdays I have had since college football ended, so hats off to that. I can't wait to do this all the time. I just need to know to watch what sites I get on when I'm online throughout the day since most of my games are replays. I learned this the hard way by seeing the Milan score which I won't mention in case other Americans live off replays. Sorry for the delay in posts, won't happen again as one will be up tomorrow night! Cheers