Ladies First in the Wide, Wide, World of Sports
I'm talking about this weekend, folks.
It's all about the ladies! Move on over, male chauvinists....
For the first time ever (?), two major sporting events for women are being staged at the same time. And in two very different sports at that, soccer/football and golf.
1) The World Cup, contested by 16 of the leading ladies´ football teams in the world.
2) The Solheim Cup, one of the rare team events in Golf, features the U.S. versus a Europe team, flying the EU flag - kinda odd since among others a non-EU Norwegian is playing for Europe. Anywho...
In case you´re interested, most of this is on TV though surviving the live broadcasts may require caffeine and/or alcohol depending on what time zone you are in. The World Cup takes place in China and the Solheim Cup in Sweden. Currently, I am keeping an eye on Sweden v. the U.S. in Chengdu, Sichuan, China as well as the first day of the Solheim Cup in Halmstad, Halland, Sweden.
Some factoids, intrigue and trivia:
Over in the People's Republic, crazy things are afoot.
Danes are accusing the hosts of spying on them and ruining the pitches they practice on...
Back on the pitch, the game between the US and Sweden promises to be entertaining. The U.S. are heavy favorites, even if the Swedish media and team are optimistic. Currently that seems misplaced since the Americanas are up 1-0....scratch that, 2-0...the incredible Abby Wambach getting both goals. That´s 80 goals in 98 international appearances!!!!
In their first game, the U.S. faced North Korea, one of those politically charged games. This was especially true since there were thousands of North Koreans in the stadium - China being the one country, ol´Kim Jong-il lets his compatriots escape to. Anyway, it was an awesome game with Kil Son-Hui (props to anyone who can find me a hyperlink for this lady) firing projectiles towards the American goal all night long...
North Korea can win this tournament, Coach Kim ain´t all bluster, and that would be interesting...they have a great short-passing style.
Meanwhile, in the world of golfing millionaires...(which btw is something, unlike their male counterparts, that soccer ladies most certainly are not.)
The U.S. is the defending Solheim champion, but with nice n´ rainy Swedish fall weather to help them, Europe hopes to stick to the tradition of home team victories.
Things get a little patriotic (Euro-patriotism?) bordering on nationalistic during these events, and for some reasons, things seem to get especially testy in the courteous world of golf. Recent Ryder Cups, the mens' team event, have been downright nasty.
So, how's this for attitude from the Swedish Euro captain, Helen Alfredsson:
"After a non-Swedish caddie remarked about a tasty cinnamon roll, Alredsson said it was called a "kanelbulle." When the caddie balked at pronouncing the words, she said, "Come on, learn a little Swedish while you're here this week. At least you'll get something good to eat." The kanelbullar, by the way, are spectacular." ( from this article)
Pretty innocuous, but let's see how friendly folks are after the weekend.
So, are Annika Sörenstam and Hanna Ljungberg gonna show their mettle? Or will it be all about Hope Solo ( read this great piece on her and her father) - but why am I suddenly seeing the Millenium Falcon hitting warp speed? - and Stacy Prammanasudh?
jo
UPDATE: In Chengdu, the U.S. won 2-0 vs. Sweden and it´s all square in Halmstad, where it´s raining, raining, raining....
It's all about the ladies! Move on over, male chauvinists....
For the first time ever (?), two major sporting events for women are being staged at the same time. And in two very different sports at that, soccer/football and golf.
1) The World Cup, contested by 16 of the leading ladies´ football teams in the world.
2) The Solheim Cup, one of the rare team events in Golf, features the U.S. versus a Europe team, flying the EU flag - kinda odd since among others a non-EU Norwegian is playing for Europe. Anywho...
In case you´re interested, most of this is on TV though surviving the live broadcasts may require caffeine and/or alcohol depending on what time zone you are in. The World Cup takes place in China and the Solheim Cup in Sweden. Currently, I am keeping an eye on Sweden v. the U.S. in Chengdu, Sichuan, China as well as the first day of the Solheim Cup in Halmstad, Halland, Sweden.
Some factoids, intrigue and trivia:
Over in the People's Republic, crazy things are afoot.
Danes are accusing the hosts of spying on them and ruining the pitches they practice on...
Back on the pitch, the game between the US and Sweden promises to be entertaining. The U.S. are heavy favorites, even if the Swedish media and team are optimistic. Currently that seems misplaced since the Americanas are up 1-0....scratch that, 2-0...the incredible Abby Wambach getting both goals. That´s 80 goals in 98 international appearances!!!!
In their first game, the U.S. faced North Korea, one of those politically charged games. This was especially true since there were thousands of North Koreans in the stadium - China being the one country, ol´Kim Jong-il lets his compatriots escape to. Anyway, it was an awesome game with Kil Son-Hui (props to anyone who can find me a hyperlink for this lady) firing projectiles towards the American goal all night long...
North Korea can win this tournament, Coach Kim ain´t all bluster, and that would be interesting...they have a great short-passing style.
Meanwhile, in the world of golfing millionaires...(which btw is something, unlike their male counterparts, that soccer ladies most certainly are not.)
The U.S. is the defending Solheim champion, but with nice n´ rainy Swedish fall weather to help them, Europe hopes to stick to the tradition of home team victories.
Things get a little patriotic (Euro-patriotism?) bordering on nationalistic during these events, and for some reasons, things seem to get especially testy in the courteous world of golf. Recent Ryder Cups, the mens' team event, have been downright nasty.
So, how's this for attitude from the Swedish Euro captain, Helen Alfredsson:
"After a non-Swedish caddie remarked about a tasty cinnamon roll, Alredsson said it was called a "kanelbulle." When the caddie balked at pronouncing the words, she said, "Come on, learn a little Swedish while you're here this week. At least you'll get something good to eat." The kanelbullar, by the way, are spectacular." ( from this article)Pretty innocuous, but let's see how friendly folks are after the weekend.
Sörenstam teeing off
(c) Reuters, Bob Strong
So, are Annika Sörenstam and Hanna Ljungberg gonna show their mettle? Or will it be all about Hope Solo ( read this great piece on her and her father) - but why am I suddenly seeing the Millenium Falcon hitting warp speed? - and Stacy Prammanasudh?
jo
UPDATE: In Chengdu, the U.S. won 2-0 vs. Sweden and it´s all square in Halmstad, where it´s raining, raining, raining....
Labels: cinnamon roll, Football, Golf, kanelbulle, North Korea, Soccer, Solheim Cup, Sweden, USA, Women´s World Cup
posted by Johnnie Oz | 11:18 AM
2 Comments:
So glad the Legend is back!
As you know, North Korea ain't the most transparent nation. I did a google search on your new soccer idol and a grand total of zero page turned up. It seems like South Korean media aren't paying attention, either. Who knows, maybe things will change--if you care, you can use try seaches under "길손희". Her name is very unique, so anything that turns up is bound to be about her. -mango
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