First Game Canceled and Helsinki

So our first game got postponed.  That sucks.

 

As you may or may not know (or care), the game this Sunday against FC Lahti is now scheduled for July 31.  So we wait an extra week to start our season.  That’s definitely a good thing for the team, though not necessarily the greatest thing for me.  I’ve been starting every game in large part because Sebastian has been hurt/sick and we don’t have any strikers.  An extra week will probably go a long way to settling both of those problems.  Still, the interest of the team is obviously most important and I think we’ll be happy to get another good week of training in before the result start to count.

 

I’ll talk only very briefly about our last game, a Finnish Cup match against PK-35 Vaanta.  I played the full 90 as the striker and did ok.  We won 2-1 and Jarno scored both of the goals.  The first was a penalty kick and the second was a really good chip finish over the advancing goalkeeper.  We played great in the first half and were in total control.  We played awfully in the second half and were lucky not to go out of the tournament.  But, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good and now we’re in the last 16.

 

To be honest, the most exciting thing about this game was going to Helsinki for the first time.  I’ve spent a grand total of five months in Finland to date, and I’d never set foot in the capital.  That may not seem so weird to you, but for me –  a globe-trotting, big city-loving 25-year-old with disposable income and a hilarious amount of free time? – it’s almost criminal.  Anyway I finally made it down there and took some time before the game to walk around a bit of the center.  For some reason I only took one picture, but you get the idea.  It was a beautiful day even though it’s still very cold in Finland.  I can’t wait to go back to Helsinki, and a quick look at the calendar says that will happen in about six weeks.

 

Changing gears a bit, I’m very happy with how I’m fitting in with the group right now.  Of course I’m happy with how much time I’ve been getting on the field, but more specifically I’m talking about how I get on with the guys off the pitch.  I could legitimately call just about everyone on the team my friend, not just a co-worker.  At Haka it wasn’t like that, though I got along well with everyone there.  Ummm…..except for two or three guys who will forever remain nameless.  While it’s not necessary to be friends with your teammates, I do think it’s important.  Every season has its ups and downs.  Hell, every game has its ups and downs.  As a pro you’re supposed to take everything in stride and continue being professional every day.  But I can tell you for a fact that a team that is divided into cliques will crumble under adversity.  At Haka we were fortunate to be very together and we fought until the very end, with two wins and a loss at the death to the silver medalists of the league in our last three games.  A less together team would have thrown in the towel.  That said, the fact that VPS is so together and I fit in so well allows us to freely criticize each other without things getting personal or people holding grudges.  If you get into an argument with a friend at work, it’s easy to put that aside once you’re back home.  If you get into an argument with someone you simply know but don’t care for, then an argument can simmer for months and destroy any relationship that was there.  At the kickoff event we did a few days ago a lot of the players mentioned the unity of this team.  That wasn’t just a cliché, it’s a reflection of just how well this team gets along.  I think that bodes well for us.

 

Ok soccer-related stuff is over for now.  Everything below this point has nothing to do with soccer or VPS or anything else you probably care about.  You’ve been warned.

 

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I started watching Spartacus a few weeks ago and I have a, um, unique problem.  Before I get into what it is let me ask: Have you ever been watching a tv show or movie and noticed that one of the characters looked like someone you know?  Did it completely ruin the show for you?  Well, that happened to me as I tried to watch Sparticus.  I’m only telling this because I think it might be humorous to some people.

Anyway, for those who don’t know, “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” is a cable tv show in America.  Essentially the plot is that a once great warrior from the times of Sparta (obviously) pisses off the king or prince or whomever and gets eventually sold into slavery as a gladiator and his wife is taken from him and presumably sold into a different, more rape-ish type of slavery.  Now besides the fact that this is literally the exact plot of “Gladiator”, one of the greatest movies of my lifetime, it had me interested at this point.  Then the doppleganger. 

 

The freaking main villain of this show is a fellow gladiator named Crixus (sp).  Crixus is a total asshole, but is the greatest freaking gladiator ever.  He wants to murder the main character, but can’t because the people in charge won’t let him.  That said, he’s super ripped and all the women love him.  And he just so happens to be a dead ringer for my ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend.

 

Now let me be clear.  I don’t care at all about what any of my ex-girlfriends are up to in the romance department.  In fact, I have a girlfriend of my own anyway (sorry ladies ;).  I’m also sure that this guy is really cool and nice and I’m sure if I ever met him we’d get along and all that.  But now “Spartacus” is essentially a show about my ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend being a general badass and totally dominating the main character whom the writers of the show intentionally make you relate to.  I’m not interested in watching a show that makes me feel like someone in real life is kicking my ass all the time.  I kind of want to keep watching to see Crixus eventually get defeated, but I saw something on facebook that implied that he’s still around in like season 3.  No thanks.  I’m done with “Spartacus”.

 

I told you that had nothing to do with anything.  Sucks for you that you stuck around and read the whole thing!

 

The meme (and GIF):