Friday, October 13, 2006

SOCCER AND THE HABS

When I re-launched, I forgot to mention that sport would be another occasional topic on this blog - namely soccer (football) and the Montreal Canadiens. Why the focus on an entire sport but no particular team of that sport, and a particular team with out much regard for the sport that team plays? Because I was raised playing soccer in Canada.

I love all aspects of soccer; I can appreciate the game played at any level from under-5 kids games to the Champions Leage and the World Cup. This is probably because my only connection to soccer for the first ten years of my life was through my own playing of the sport. Conversely there is my experience of hockey; a sport I have never played even remotely seriously and have much less appreciation for in form than soccer. However, due to family indoctrination and the conditioning of growing up on Canadian school-grounds I cannot shake the totally irrational connection I have with the Habs.

I don't read many soccer blogs, but I am sure that one of the best ones out there is Gramsci's Kingdom. The writing here rarely focuses on team stats or player gossip but instead tends to examine the broader politics, history, and business of football around the world. As a North American who loves soccer but feels little connection to the sport's broader culture, I find this blog an invaluable and entertaining read.

And I'm looking forward to the Habs thrashing the Senators tomorrow night.

Posted by Matthew @ 10:37 a.m.