In Consideration

Yesterday I had one of my most enjoyable days watching soccer. Our local side, the Carolina RailHawks, hosted a Mexican first-division club for the second time. Last summer Cruz Azul visited; this time it was Rayados de Monterrey. Yesterday was doubly fun because for the first time Bobby and I sat in the RailHawk supporters' section, known as the Depot (the railroad references are to the train track that runs next to the team's stadium). Bobby brought the bass drum he'll be playing in the Chapel Hill High band this fall, and joined in the Depot's percussion section--that's him with the cool shades and the hair in his face. We were a drop of orange in a sea of Monterrey fans--over 7100 in a place that feels full when it has 5000 in it. Like last year's Cruz Azul match, it felt like a celebration of soccer and Mexican culture--not just the taqueria trucks (fortunately, they are there every match!), but also a local Spanish-language FM station pounding music in the parking lot before the match, a mariachi band playing the Mexican national anthem, and PA announcements in two languages. It was a party, and it was a blast. The match ended 0-0 (the best I've seen the 'Hawks play in a while), but the visitors won on penalties, which were taken right in front of us. Una fiesta grande!

With summer firmly ensconced here in North Carolina, it was time to give Rusty a little relief from the heat. So Vicki took him in for some grooming, and he came back looking mighty different! He went from fierce-looking teddy bear to one of those cartoon dogs who's had the coat scared off his back. But he sure is happier!

The drive back up I-40 from the NC coast to Chapel Hill is always one of my toughest days. I hate leaving Topsail Island, where Vicki and the kids and I have spent the week with my brother Tom, Vick's brother Rick, and various parents, siblings, cousins, girlfriends, et al who have stopped by for a day or two. We've gone for nine years now, and it's a week when I always unwind with a couple of good books, a little too much beer, and way too much food. Despite running four times this week, I feel like I gained five pounds from all the good cooking and grilling.

Once home, I get to experience the thrill of unpacking, the vista of my unmowed lawn, and of course a mountain of email. Despite staying on top of work email with my phone, and a mid-week dip into my personal email to skim the fat, I downloaded an avalanche of messages tonight. I've been picking through the rubble, but there is much more to do.

Jeff Katzman was the most special friend I had at Stanford. We were roommates for one year and great friends for four. Jeff was the kind of friend who affirmed my strengths and overlooked my faults--and as his roommate, he saw them all! We have had sporadic success staying in touch over the years (he came to my wedding, I didn't go to his) but we've been better about it more recently.

This week two of his three amazing kids competed in the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships, held not too far from us in Charlotte. So today Vicki and I piled the kids in the car and we headed down for a visit. I finally met his wife Joanna and the kids, and we had a great lunch together. I am hoping they will stay with us on the 4th of July before we head to the beach and they head back to Albuquerque.

 

 

I know I tend toward sentimentality, but I will confess that when I voted in the NC Democratic primary last month, I was moved to see both an African-American and a woman on the ballot--and for them to be the two leading candidates. So I got sucked into the historic pause the pundits indulged in this morning (I was watching MSNBC). In my lifetime, a major party has now nominated that African-American man as its candidate. Wow. Wow! Amazing.

There was some back-patting on Joe Scarborough's part that, since he went to desegregated schools in the South, this wasn't as big a deal for him as for his older sister, who had endured violence when her schools were desegregated. Then he said, "I don't see an African-American man, I see a man." I appreciate the sentiment, Joe, but you had better see what color Barack's skin is, because it is the source of this historic moment. And you'd better notice which party has brought this man's name to the people. Not only is it stunningly historic to see who finished 1-2 in the Democratic party, it is inconceivable to imagine the Republicans ever replicating that scenario. Maybe in my lifetime....

So Sepp Blatter got what he wanted: FIFA has approved limits to how many players a team can import from other countries. The ruling is not only cynical but hypocritcal and anachronistic.

FIFA and UEFA have no problem selling all the "exclusive rights" contracts to the highest bidder they can get--check out the "partners" on the bottom of their web site--but won't countenance players trying to earn the best living they can. And how hypocritical of Michel Platini, a Frenchman who won player of the year honors in Italy, to approve the measure. For these guys to want to "protect" African and Latin American football by trapping players in their homelands is paternalistic at best. If they want to grow the game in the developing world, how about using more of FIFA's millions to offer more kids--boys and girls--free education and health care at football academies?

MLS has self-imposed quotas because their league can't afford to compete openly for the best players without going bankrupt. But to force the practice on rich leagues is crazy. When I watch the Premiership and La Liga, I know I am watching the best teams those leagues can put on the pitch. Why sacrifice such excellence in the name of "developing home-grown talent?"

The deeper problem is that these guys live in a dream world where players grow up and play in one country. FIFA is a reinforcement of the nation-state; hence, no team for Gibralter, Greenland, et al. FIFA is trying to plug the dike holding back the globalization of talent, capital, and even entertainment (both Blatter and Platini rage against the idea of a 39th Premiership match abroad, though they are happy to sell me coverage of those matches here in the US). It is a trend that has plenty of problems, but this measure won't solve those.

I can't believe I've almost let the month go without a post. I will write more on the weekend. For now I will only say that I have been in Miami for two days, certifying a candidate for our workshop, and working with him to prepare to teach a half-day version of our workshop tomorrow. Cesar is not only a sound trainer but good company and a generous host. In between work sessions I have been treated to Cuban, Colombian, and Argentinian food. All of it most excellent. Lots of firsts, including first mojito, first Sangria (since college anyway), first fried plantains (wow!), and tonight first strip steak Argentinian style. Muy bueno indeed.

This week Val has started participating in PE class at school, and yesterday she practiced with her rec league field hockey team. She expects to play in their game on Saturday. Exercising twice in one day drained her energy, but she felt good this morning. It took six weeks from surgery to the playing field--what a great accomplishment for her!

Today she had her annual physical. It was at this appointment a year ago that her fantastic pediatrician, Dr. Jeffrey Baker, diagnosed her scoliosis. What an eventful year!

There was a setting I had wrong. Now I should be able to send blog posts from my phone. Didn't want to sound like it was Vox's fault that I couldn't post tonight.

A couple of things I did not mention about tonight's rally:

1. My friend Frank, who worked the register next to me, told every patron to whom he gave change, "Here's some change you can believe in." His overall impression: women liked it, men did not. I fit the pattern.

2. They did not let anyone take an umbrella into the arena, so on the way out there were large trash cans full of umbrellas (nicely packed, so you could find yours easily on your way out) as well as piles of them on the hillsides next to the walkways.

3. We were there so early that we heard the whole Obama "party tape." The giveaways were hearing "This is My Country" by John Mellencamp, right after "Coming to America" by Neil Diamond, for a second time.

Well, so much for blogging from my cell phone. The CHHS band had a concession stand at the Dean Dome tonight for a campaign rally for Barack Obama. I sent about four emails to this blog from my phone ... apparently in vain.

It was a long night. I arrived at 5:45, went through the metal detector, and started setting up our stand. At 6:30 they started letting people in. Unfortunately, they made everyone enter to the left first (symbolic?), and we were just to the right of the entry, so it was a while before we had many customers.

But it got busy eventually. I'd guess there were 17K people or so; the Dome holds over 21K for basketball. The only problem was the lateness of the hour; Obama was scheduled to arrive at 9:30 but came in just before 10:30. So despite the music, both piped in and live, and some speeches ahead of time (including my Congressman, David Price, and Tar Heel hoops legend Sam Perkins), the energy was low by the time he started speaking. There were plenty of kids in the crowd, and that's pretty late for a school night. People started leaving about 10:50, and he wrapped up at about 11:10, as I was heading to the parking lot.

But I don't blame any parent for wanting their kids to glimpse history. I have

stood in a room with a past president (Jimmy Carter, at a book signing just south of Chapel Hill a few years ago); I have shaken the hand of a sitting president (Gerald Ford, who visited my New Hampshire junior high school in 1976); tonight, I hope I stood in a room with a future president.