So when I planned this blog/podcast all those months ago, I thought long and hard about it. What we were planning to do was intriguing and interesting and … well pretty much impossible to do by myself. There was basically a very short list of people who I could do this project with. A list of one. I mean let’s face it; I basically spend most of my time thinking, reading and watching football anyway, and 80% of these times are spent with him.
That I guess is the wonderful thing about football, when you enjoy the beautiful game the way that I and my erstwhile colleague do, then you enjoy it in a multiple of ways and on many levels. And each of these levels bring you something different, it is like a multiple strike on your psyche bringing a form of catharsis that is rarely found anywhere else.
Football is my one juvenile passion that I have never ever come close to getting over or growing up from. To the contrary it has shaped the way I have grown up, defined how I shaped the world, and played a big role in making me the sort of person I am. I am sure my colleague would agree this is the same for him. We are not experts in the conventional way when it comes to our beautiful game, but we are experts in our passion and love for it.
I hope in our own way we can share some of our passion and enjoyment for the beautiful game with our readers/listeners or, failing that, and in some ways let it rub off on them (even if it is for 2 months every 4 years). Failing that I hope entertain you with our irreverent ways and not so thoughtful observations. Failing THAT I hope we don’t waste too much of your time.
In the past few weeks when I have been thinking about this project, and what we are about to attempt, I have come to realise that in many ways the World Cup is not just a World Cup of football but everything else that is intrinsically related to our beautiful game; the blogs and the banter, the songs and stats, the fans and the fanatics. After years of merely watching from the sidelines, with the occasional sweepstake or party that we took part in or organised, I (and I assume The Foolish one feels the same) wanted to try take all that we enjoy so much about this time and the beautiful game itself, and take it to the next level.
To use a football metaphor (and why not) this is the year we will officially take part, and not just take part, this year we will try to qualify.
-Number9
NineSixFourTwo 