Nebula

EPIC.

Is there a game going on today or something? Seriously tense! C'MON boys....you got this.

Ha, I'm not trying hard at all, I assure you. I don't take much personally. That Queen video did sting a little though.

Thanks! Always have loved Kafka. And I'm deadly serious...he'd represent a significant upgrade over what we've had going for over the last decade. I like politicians as much as I like people that fleece the elderly out of their life savings. Anyway, solid win today! Let's bring this thing home!

Hey friend! Good point on every Newcastle game being on TV. Because when I check for the games, I don't read the description provided in the guide, I use tarot cards to determine what is actually going to be on. As you mentioned in what was frankly a little too cordial a manner for my liking, my crippling stupidity has apparently hindered my ability to live my life the way I'd prefer. Oh, I suppose the fact that my provider doesn't carry FS+ might be applicable to my situation, but what the hell. Why allow trivialities to stand in the way of a burgeoning, lifelong friendship, right? Thanks for the help though, brother. I will always love you. (Btw...who gives a shit about looking stupid? I AM stupid, and so is the rest of the species.) Considering that, I guess I'll not worry about Internet reprisals from random guy with terrifyingly sharp teeth and continue to focus on having as much fun as possible until we all die. You keep up the good police work, and keep in touch

Not over here in "Soccer" country. DAMMIT. Seriously pissed off...if ESPN is carrying it over there, why aren't they streaming it on ESPN3 online at least? This is all I get: Moreirense vs Benfica. Fantastic. It sucks over here sometimes. Every place in the world has it's drawbacks, and the US is no exception. And it might seem like an idiotically small thing in contrast to other issues, but the whole "bag on football" thing is pretty irritating...people openly scoff at football fans, and I don't get it. The game is scintillating...it's the beautiful fucking game for god's sake! I mean...if baseball (which I do enjoy) isn't too boring, then how can someone say that football is with a straight face? Watch the 3-2 victory over Chelsea this year, and tell me it isn't thrilling. (Or the Cisse goal Chelsea game from last year, for that matter. Still pissed about that Tiote cheap shot!) Bah. I'm preaching to the choir here. But the first half of this year was brutal...no two ways about it. Now all of the sudden we have all kinds of cause for hope. Obviously the French imports and Sissoko, but also Cabaye coming back and Ben Arfa (finally!), Krul continuing to show why he's worthy of international respect with consistent upper tier form. Cisse continues to sputter a bit, but this Newcastle club is a hell of a lot more fun to watch. Aston Villa and Chelsea were rousing, and really, you can't get that mad about Bale performing magic for the Spurs in that loss. So I want to watch every single game. I feel like the second half of league play and what is hopefully another handful of additional European matches will show us evolve and become increasingly more cohesive, paving the way for a dangerous squad next year. (Disclaimer: I am prone to optimism that occasionally might not be ironclad but screw it, I prefer that to only focusing on flaws. ) Our midfield, if we retain everyone, is scary. Cabaye, Sissoko, Ben Arfa, Tiote? That's a rough looking assignment. If we can nab a dangerous striker (preferably a few viable scoring threats) and maybe shore up some defensive depth, and, obviously, keep Krul...damn. That's pretty solid. And winning today would be another huge step forward...this team has legitimate talent. Just need to keep nabbing some positive results to help reinforce that and bolster confidence among the players. Worst of all: Tottenham, Chelsea, and Atletico Madrid all have their Europa games on TV over here. (Naturally.) I'm seriously considering just trying to find a pay stream just so I can watch, and I'm broke as shit. EDIT: I wrote that like Sissoko isn't one of the French imports, which obviously isn't the case. I just singled him out for what I tentatively would call fairly obvious reasons. He's that good and only 23? Yeah...nothing not to like there.

Watching our defense is like remembering that time in high school when I walked into a party, saw a group of like five or so incredibly attractive women in the middle of the room, and then, trying to look like a somewhat interesting person, forgot to use my eyeballs to scan my surroundings while I walked. I tripped over a chair and pulled down a lamp, which broke. I can still hear them laughing at me. We need some legitimate defenders like yesterday. It's almost more frustrating somehow to see us threaten offensively with a fair bit of consistency while knowing that, short of netting five, we're quite possibly looking at 1 point at best. I suppose I'd rather see us fighting for the win before failing to seize it, rather than getting blanked and blown out from the opening kick, I suppose. (Yeah, I know...that's reaching.)

Without TV I'd never have an opportunity to watch NUFC, so I am infinitely grateful. Happy Face had some really interesting comments on the impact of TV towards the style of the game, favoring attacking over other aspects. We've seen the exact same thing occur with the major sports over here as well. Professional American football, basketball, and hockey have all adapted rule changes that have substantially altered the game(s). And the intent of these changes is to strongly emphasize offense, in all of these sports. And I think you were dead on with the conclusion that this caters to your common fan, the mass tv audience as you put it, to the detriment of the diehards who value all aspects of the game equally, not just bulging nets and celebrations. They figure we're going to follow our clubs and teams no matter what, so they don't worry about losing us. Only attracting the relatively indifferent, who'll put a game on just for the hell of it.