I am a firm believer that sports are good for society. Like music, it brings people together in ways that most things cannot do. It crosses barriers, boundaries, and political beliefs. It brings the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. We see national pride in the Olympics, in the Ryder Cup, the World Baseball Classic, and most of all in the World Cup, the most watched sporting event in the world.
It really hit me today about the importance of sports when I read an article in The Guardian, about how some women of Saudi Arabia are able to attend for the first time an international sporting event like the World Cup.
Three years ago, as part of a series of reforms, a decree from the Saudi royal family announced that women would be allowed to leave the country without first acquiring the consent of their male guardian. The guardianship system remains, and applies to every woman throughout their lives, with the role of guardian transferring from father to husband. But it does not apply in as many aspects as it once did – which means that going to the World Cup, for a country that is demonstrably football mad, is now possible for everyone.
Here is my Quote of Day from a Saudi woman who was able to attend the World Cup.
“This is my first World Cup, this is my first game I have ever attended in a stadium for the Saudi national team – this has been my dream since I was a teenager,” she said. “I have watched all the games. As a teenager I watched all of them and I was just wishing to be there and I can’t believe that this is the day.”
The same Saudi woman was asked, what did she think female football fans bring to a previously all-male crowd? “Well, civility, obviously,” she smiled. “Females are needed everywhere; we’re 50% of our country – more than 50% of our country, right? She’s an engineer, I’m a doctor so we’re already participating in our country. Now it’s amazing that we are able to participate in rooting for our country in the World Cup. And to attend when they are on a winning streak – inshallah – and hopefully they win and they have a very big chance to be the first qualifier to the 16th round, was just … you have no idea … this is the greatest day of my life.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
On Friday, I was able to watch a large portion of the U.S/England World Cup soccer game. I appreciate the athleticism of the players, but I still do not get the allure of the game. The game ended in a 0-0 tie, and each “keeper” only had to make one difficult save during the 90 plus minutes of game time. There was a lot of ball movement, but very little attacking of the goal. The only consistent excitement comes with a corner kick, which everyone seems to know how to defend.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday’s Michigan/Ohio State game lived up to its hype, both on the field and with the TV ratings. Michigan and OSU football are two of the most recognized brands in all of sports. With Michigan’s win last year, and this year’s teams being undefeated and ranked #2 and #3, this became must see TV for football fans everywhere. It had the makings of being a ratings bonanza for Fox Sports and it did not disappoint as Fox Sports reported that Saturday’s 45-23 win by the Wolverines pulled in an average of 17 million viewers, making it the highest rated regular season college football game in 11 years on any network. It was also the most watched game in the history of Fox’s coverage of regular season college football. There is a reason “The Game” is called the greatest rivalry in sports.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I am back in Petoskey for a few days following a whirlwind Thanksgiving weekend.
It all started Wednesday morning with my annual visit with my cardiologist, Dr. Kim Eagle. After receiving an echocardiogram first thing Wednesday morning, Dr. Eagle handed me a silver dollar because I lost nearly 10 lbs. since my visit last year. He then informed me that everything was great, and he would see me in a year. I celebrated by mulching the last of the leaves and putting up my Christmas lights on the outside of the house.
Since Katy and her family were not able to attend the Biggs family Thanksgiving at my brother Larry’s house on Thursday, we had breakfast at her house in Brighton Thanksgiving morning. She and the kids made a great breakfast, highlighted with monkey bread and homemade biscuits.
After watching most of the Lions game early Thanksgiving Day, Leah, Chris, Alexis and I headed to my brother Larry’s house for our traditional Biggs’ family Thanksgiving, which had been delayed for three years because of Covid-19. Larry and Geri’s house was loaded with our families, except for Nancy and her family who could not make it in from Maryland and New Jersey. The food was great, and the company and conversations were better.
After my Friday morning workout, Leah and I took care of grandchildren Friday afternoon so Katy and Brad could go shopping.
Saturday morning had us buying our Christmas tree and then settling into my comfy recliner to watch Michigan surprise everyone by dismantling OSU in the second half. It took me a while to calm down after the game.
On Sunday, Leah and I celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for Chris and Alexis, and Katy, Brad, Alaina, Nolan and Kaylen. We added our step grandsons, Gregory and Sean and Gregory’s girlfriend. The turkey and dressing Leah made was the best ever. Before leaving, everyone took home all the leftovers. I finished cleaning up around10 pm and collapsed on the couch.
Feel free to share my blog or to sign up to receive it directly in your email. See the sign-up mechanism at the bottom of the blog.
Quote of the Day: See above
Orchid of the Day: The Michigan Wolverines football team. Two of their four goals are accomplished. Here is to accomplishing the third goal on Saturday, and the fourth goal on January 9, 2023.
Onion of the Day: The former president who had dinner last week with Nick Fuentes, an outspoken antisemite who is one of the country’s most prominent young white supremacists, at Mar-a-Lago.
Question of the Day: Did you anticipate the manner in which Michigan defeated OSU in the second half on Saturday?
Video of the Day: I loved this jump pass that surprised everyone on Saturday.