A FAN’S NOTES, THE RUMPUS SPORTS COLUMN #44: The Immortal Head-butt
What if one of your worst moments as a human being was sculpted into a 16-foot-tall bronze statue and displayed in front of a shopping mall? Or a Parisian art museum?
...moreWhat if one of your worst moments as a human being was sculpted into a 16-foot-tall bronze statue and displayed in front of a shopping mall? Or a Parisian art museum?
...moreTo appreciate soccer one has to understand that there’s beauty in failure.
...morePerhaps you’ve seen the photograph of Italian striker Mario Balotelli embracing his mother after scoring two emphatic goals in Italy’s recent 2-1 Euro semifinal victory
...moreAt The Atlantic, Rumpus contributor Chris Feliciano Arnold looks at efforts to draw Major League Soccer to Tucson, Arizona and wonders whether building a community around the game can be a healing force in a region “facing one of the most tumultuous periods in its history.”
...moreAleksandar Hemon writes about finding a way to play soccer after moving to the States, the characters on his team, and most importantly, this:
“…The moment of transcendence that might be familiar to those who practise sports with other people; the moment, arising from the chaos of the game, when all your team mates occupy the ideal position on the field; the moment when the universe seems to be arranged by a meaningful will that is not yours; the moment that perishes – as moments tend to – when you complete the pass; and all you have left is a vague, physical, orgasmic memory of the instant you were completely connected with the world around you.”
...moreHow do you pump up before a game?
Cheer? Chant? Talk some smack to the rival team? Or…do you read poetry? Bruno Biri, the coach of the French women’s national soccer team, finds his source of inspiration in literature, poetry and music.
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The second novella by Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra, one of the “Bogotá 39” influential Latin American writers, uses metafiction to tell a delicate, emotionally complex story.
What follows is an extrapolation, based on my wife’s July due date and the actual match schedule of the 2010 World Cup.
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