Tuesday, May 30, 2006

England Expects

Entertaining article about the England World Cup squad from today's NY Times. One sentence from the Times article sums up all the ridiculousness that's part and parcel of England in the World Cup.
Will Melanie Slade, the 17-year-old girlfriend of the 17-year-old forward Theo Walcott, crumble under the pressure of having her figure and her fashion sense dissected daily by the tabloids?
This kind of thing always amazes me. I mean, does anyone really care about Theo Walcott's girlfriend? Yet, the Times isn't exaggerating. I've seen this kid's girlfriend in the papers and on t.v.

Then there's this about the manager.
A seemingly inoffensive, even dull, Swede, Eriksson is known as much for his vigorous love life – his curious relationship with Nancy Dell'Olio, his indeterminately aged, perma-tanned, tight-outfit-wearing girlfriend, as well as his affairs with various other women, all of whom have been happy to discuss them publicly – as he is for the serene blandness of his public remarks and for his managing skills, or lack thereof.
I don't know all that much about the state of English soccer as compared with the other 31 nations competing, but my instincts tell me that the team is not really good enough to expect to win. They can hope to win, of course, and good luck to them. I'll be rooting for the US (unless I carry through with my boycott threat).