Cheerful Sunday

London Games

It makes me very cheerful that The Olympics are in Great Britain this year.  It makes it all so exciting.  The best part, however, is that they are in London and we are in Manchester.  We get all the thrill of being proud to be the host nation without the inconvenience and crowds!

We watched the opening ceremony (well, I made it halfway through the parade of nations), but haven't watched that much else so far.

Are you watching the Olympics?

Word of the Week

soccerfootball

(How have I not done this one before?!?)

Old Timey Sportsman Stanley Matthews

definition:  A game played with a round ball and teams and stuff.
used in a sentence:  I've never really understood the rules of soccerfootball, but it can be very exciting!

I've never heard of that... Snooker

Snooker is hugely popular in the UK, but I'd never even heard of this particular billiards game before arriving here.

Give me a break

All over town, there are Snooker Clubs, but I've never once seen a Pool Hall.  Ross tells me that he used to play it frequently and that his dad used to play with guys that went on to become big shots.  It's considered a working man's sport and there's a saying that "You either have an education or you play Snooker". Despite those roots, professional players still abide by strict dress code which includes a waistcoatvest and bow tie and it is considered a gentlemen's game.  

I'm not sure why it's so popular in England, but most evenings you can find televised Snooker matches on one channel or another.  The sport has produced several compelling "rock star"-status players who become beloved by the entire country.  One of the greatest moments in Snooker occurred in 1985.  The culmination of incredibly tense World Championship Match, with an underdog coming from behind to win after it looked like he had no shot resulted in a record post-midnight audience for British TV and a record audience for BBC2.  The match was voted the 9th greatest sporting event of all time in 2002.  It's hard to imagine a billiard game ever attaining that sort of status in America!  

They've tried a few things to bring Snooker to American audiences, including something called Power Snooker, but for some reason it has never taken off State-side.  Maybe American men aren't confident enough to play a game with such a silly sounding name?  :)

Have you ever played Snooker?