What does Queen Elizabeth II, Osama bin Laden, Fidel Castro, Piers Morgan, Dido, Nick Hornby and Kevin Costner have in common with little me? We support the same football club named Arsenal FC. We call ourselves the Gooners, since the team is aptly nicknamed the Gunners.
I have never met this people, and I have never been to Highbury or Ashburton Grove, but I felt a connection with this people, all because we support the same football club.
This blog entry is about how I became a Gooner. I have to say, I never dreamed of supporting a football club before. Back then, I consider myself as a, ahem, "glory hunter". Hopping from 1 team to another, that would depend if who is winning. I was more of a basketball fan then, but I also had a fleeting interest on football or soccer.
It was one lazy October 2003. I was a semester shy of completing my first college degree. Back then, we had a ladderized system of obtaining your degree for veterinary medicine. The undergraduates were most likely packed their bags and went off to their homes for the semestral break. That time, I already passed all my first semester subjects, and was waiting for my classmates who were taking their dreaded removal examinations. I was sitting in our usual table to eat my lunch, when the boyfriend of my housemate, Justin, sat across me. I don't exactly remember if he took the removals or already passed the subject in question or completely flunked it. But anyway, we talked about the new NBA season, where the San Antonio Spurs were the defending champions. As I have said, I have no loyalties in sports, and I hated the Los Angeles Lakers during that time, so my dime was for the Spurs. And as a girl, I was gushing on Tony Parker, the young French point guard, with a daze that melt you! Or in my case, melted me. So Justin gave a trivia about Tony Parker that sparked my interest. He said Tony's best friend is a football player named Thierry Henry, who plays for an English Premier League club, Arsenal. Being so head-over-heels on TP, I became interested to watch the Premier League and Arsenal. It turned out that my Barcelona-loving friend, Justin's favorite team happened to be Arsenal and his second favorite player is Thierry Henry (Ronaldinho's his favorite).
When I went home that weekend, I checked the TV schedule for any EPL match. I can't remember who were Arsenal's opponent, but all I remember was that the match was at Highbury, the home pitch for the Arsenal. I kept my eyes on Henry. He is quick, he is lethal. I thought I might fall asleep during the match. In the past, watching two hours of football knocked me out to sleep, but watching the Arsenal play, I was mesmerized by their passing, attacks and counter attacks. They won that match, and after wards I was looking forward to watch their next games.
Academic Year 2003-2004 and Season 2003-2004, was truly a memorable one. I graduated from my first degree, and Arsenal won the Premier League without even a loss. Played 38-Won 26- Drawn 12-Loss 0. That batch of players later became known as the Invincibles. It was not only Thierry Henry who I became fond with. There was Dennis Bergkamp, the Dutchman, who orchestrate their attacks on goal. He happened to be the same guy who scored that marvelous winner against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup quarterfinal (Since that clip was kept on replay by CNN, the BBC and ESPN, I grew to like the Dutch National Football team.). I also came to like Freddie Ljungberg, whose marauding runs towards goal made him a thorn on every defender. Then there was Robert Pires, Mad Jens, Ray Parlour, Lauren, and the list goes on.
That my folks is the reason why my Twitter time line is filled with Arsenal stuff. I'm a Gooner for 8 years and counting...
PS: I am currently reading Nick Hornby's memoir, "Fever Pitch". It's about his life based on Arsenal FC's season. I haven't finished it yet again, but I enjoyed it. Many more blogs about Arsenal to come. Thanks for inspiring me, Mr. Hornby!
I have never met this people, and I have never been to Highbury or Ashburton Grove, but I felt a connection with this people, all because we support the same football club.
This blog entry is about how I became a Gooner. I have to say, I never dreamed of supporting a football club before. Back then, I consider myself as a, ahem, "glory hunter". Hopping from 1 team to another, that would depend if who is winning. I was more of a basketball fan then, but I also had a fleeting interest on football or soccer.
It was one lazy October 2003. I was a semester shy of completing my first college degree. Back then, we had a ladderized system of obtaining your degree for veterinary medicine. The undergraduates were most likely packed their bags and went off to their homes for the semestral break. That time, I already passed all my first semester subjects, and was waiting for my classmates who were taking their dreaded removal examinations. I was sitting in our usual table to eat my lunch, when the boyfriend of my housemate, Justin, sat across me. I don't exactly remember if he took the removals or already passed the subject in question or completely flunked it. But anyway, we talked about the new NBA season, where the San Antonio Spurs were the defending champions. As I have said, I have no loyalties in sports, and I hated the Los Angeles Lakers during that time, so my dime was for the Spurs. And as a girl, I was gushing on Tony Parker, the young French point guard, with a daze that melt you! Or in my case, melted me. So Justin gave a trivia about Tony Parker that sparked my interest. He said Tony's best friend is a football player named Thierry Henry, who plays for an English Premier League club, Arsenal. Being so head-over-heels on TP, I became interested to watch the Premier League and Arsenal. It turned out that my Barcelona-loving friend, Justin's favorite team happened to be Arsenal and his second favorite player is Thierry Henry (Ronaldinho's his favorite).
When I went home that weekend, I checked the TV schedule for any EPL match. I can't remember who were Arsenal's opponent, but all I remember was that the match was at Highbury, the home pitch for the Arsenal. I kept my eyes on Henry. He is quick, he is lethal. I thought I might fall asleep during the match. In the past, watching two hours of football knocked me out to sleep, but watching the Arsenal play, I was mesmerized by their passing, attacks and counter attacks. They won that match, and after wards I was looking forward to watch their next games.
Academic Year 2003-2004 and Season 2003-2004, was truly a memorable one. I graduated from my first degree, and Arsenal won the Premier League without even a loss. Played 38-Won 26- Drawn 12-Loss 0. That batch of players later became known as the Invincibles. It was not only Thierry Henry who I became fond with. There was Dennis Bergkamp, the Dutchman, who orchestrate their attacks on goal. He happened to be the same guy who scored that marvelous winner against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup quarterfinal (Since that clip was kept on replay by CNN, the BBC and ESPN, I grew to like the Dutch National Football team.). I also came to like Freddie Ljungberg, whose marauding runs towards goal made him a thorn on every defender. Then there was Robert Pires, Mad Jens, Ray Parlour, Lauren, and the list goes on.
That my folks is the reason why my Twitter time line is filled with Arsenal stuff. I'm a Gooner for 8 years and counting...
PS: I am currently reading Nick Hornby's memoir, "Fever Pitch". It's about his life based on Arsenal FC's season. I haven't finished it yet again, but I enjoyed it. Many more blogs about Arsenal to come. Thanks for inspiring me, Mr. Hornby!
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