World Cup Post #6: Free Booze & Your Player of the Day

Before I went to Plum Market in the morning, I finished watching my DVD of the France v Brasil match from 1986 w/ Isaiah... he loved it, but then again, who wouldn't? I then went to Plum for a few hours which meant I had to miss the opening match. I was able to hear the pre-game stuff on BBC News Hour, but only caught the highlights of the match later (Aiden watched it all & gave me a good overview though).

I went to Conor O'Neil's (Dan B showed up too) to watch the France v Uruguay match. I met a dude named George & hung w/ him until Dan showed up. He's been following thee french team since the 1960s so we had a good time talking about the old days. In fact, I have to make him a copy of the France v Brasil 1986 match & bring it up there for the next game. As it turned out, my fears about Raymond Domeneche were made manifest in the starting line-up. Maluoda on the bench w/ both Toulalan & Diaby was ridiculous. Then, subbing Anelka & Gourcuff out for Malouda & Henry was another major mistake. Of course, waiting as long as he did to make the change was a 3rd problem. The team must feel like the crew of the ship in The Caine Mutiny. I'm sure rather than taking responsibility for the draw, he was looking for some missing strawberries. What a stupid fucker!

On the positive side, before the match started, some drunk Tucker max lookin' guy stood up & declared our area of the restaurant his "living room." this meant that all rules were thrown out the window & more importantly, that he was buying everything. I thought he was kidding, but @ the half, the wait staff informed us that they were really buying. I ordered an expensive Scotch. All in all, a cup of soup, a sandwich, fries, 3 pints of Murphy's Stout, & a glass of Glenfiddich.

After the match I went to work @ Nicola's & then out to The Corner w/ Stephanie for another pint. We were stittin' @ a table w/ a bunch of the Children's Lit Conference people when suddenly the bottom of my glass fell out & an entire mug's worth of Stout landed in my lap. Once it was cleaned up, they gave me a couple free rounds... I'll take a lap-full of brew for free beer any day of the week.

What? Wait... you're looking for the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day? Alright, Without further ado, your Player of the day for Match Day 1 is the Uruguayan footballer through whom all their chances flowed. He's been a workhorse for Atlético Madrid & Uruguay for years, & it's clear that if Uruguay are to get anything out of this tournament, they will need it to come from him:
Diego Forlán A Player of the Day who played on a day of a France game but is not French... mark your calanders because I don't see that happening ever again