futbol

So today, this day, a day in history.......maybe even a day of history. Today, my dear readers, AZ Alkmaar became champions of futbol in the Netherlands.

Yes, i wanted to share that, for the rest i find myself totally uninspired to say something about this shattering event. Maybe i'm just drained of the excitement i didn't experience, it can all be a little too much sometimes.

No, i like futbol, i really do. Can just remember playing it with my friends when i was a kid, on summer days on the grass between the flats. We'd be playing and lazing in the grass till it got dark, the game being a very good excuse to hang out there. I also like to watch the really high-quality games of the Champions League (the Europe-wide club competition) on tv sometimes, some of them are quite fun to watch. Knowing a little about it is handy for small-talk too. I've also found that it is a really good and fun way to tease those of the female persuasion.

But there's darker sides to it as well. I remember being in a train as a little kid with a load of these hooligan types. And just when we got out, they threw this bomb out of the window which, just in front of me, got this man in a quite serious condition. Ever since then I've been having dark thoughts about the lot. Also, today here there is this idea that futbol is part of our culture and it gets millions from municipal governments because it would promote social cohesion or something like that. For sure, i just love the way cohesion is expressed by the hooligans calling each other funny names and trying to hug each other desperately.

So, it leaves me a little underwhelmed. And so it does for the AZ Alkmaar fans. They're called the 'kaaskijkers' (cheese watchers), a reference to the perception that they watch their team playing with about the same passion as they watch cheese being made (Alkmaar is a cheese town). So maybe it's a good thing they're the ones winning.