What sports teams do you support?

[Arneb]

Meanwhile...

Frankfurt 2 - 2 Hertha

Lights are going even outer, with three match days to go, Hertha having the three top teams before them, and being 5 pts. down from last straw 16th place.

Sigh.

[Мастер]

Why should I support a sports team? Do they support me?

[Halcyon Dayz, FCD]

Why should I support a sports team? Do they support me?

On psychological level, probably yes.
I call it neo-tribalism.

Sports, and all that is associated with it, is a microcosmos which reflects many, if not all, aspects of human nature.

(Too serious, eh?)

[Мастер]

On psychological level, probably yes.
I call it neo-tribalism.

Do you actually have to watch the sports events for this to apply?

[Heid the Ba]

No, you just need some emotional investment in the outcome.

[Мастер]

No, you just need some emotional investment in the outcome.

OK, so "I hope the team doesn't win, because if they do, a bunch of hooligans are going to trash the place" would count then?

[MM_Dandy]

No, because if the other team wins, a bunch of other hooligans are going to trash the place. It's a lose-lose situation. Unless, of course, you're a hooligan.

[Enzo]

I like the potato soup at Hooligans.

Oh wait, that is Houlihans.

Nevre mind.

[Мастер]

No, because if the other team wins, a bunch of other hooligans are going to trash the place. It's a lose-lose situation. Unless, of course, you're a hooligan.

But see, they might trash their place instead of mine.

[Heid the Ba]

If you go to their place and start the trouble then it can't be at your place, can it? Be pro-active here.

[Heid the Ba]

Still no sign of Lianachan, those highlanders can certainly put the drink away . . .

In other news Rangers won the league yesterday, beating the Leith Soap Dodgers one - nil.

Barring an improable CL win by Lyons we are into the group stages again which should keep easing the financial problems of the club. Currently the management team don't have contracts and we haven't signed a player for nearly two years.

[Arneb]

Olympique Lyon 0 - 3 Bayern Munich.

Bayern advance to the final of the Champions League on a 4 - 0 aggregate.

Barcelona 0 - 0 Inter Milan after the first half. Inter are one man down after a relatively trivial foul, but still 3 - 1 ahead on aggregate. I suppose the masterful destroyers will prevail over the masterful creators.

Ask me again in an hour.

[Arneb]

Barcelona 1 - 0 Inter Milan, Inter reach the Final of the Champions League on a 3 - 2 aggregate.

The dark side has won again.

[Heid the Ba]

I only saw the second half and the commentators completely failed to mention Inter only had 10 men. They did bang on about typical Italiand football, despite there not being an Italian in the team and the coach being Portugese.

A triumph of catennaccio, which is impressive in its own way.

[Arneb]

Absolutely. I never had the impression Barca had any real chance of scoring twice.

[Arneb]

Lights out.

Bayern are a deserving Champion after their trouncing of relegation candidate Bochum, while Schalke suffer a painful 0 - 2 defeat against Champions League hopefuls Bremen.

Hertha squander yet another away lead and are beyond redemption, having secured their last place with a record low of points in the first half of the season (9).

[Heid the Ba]

And Fuerth lost at home to the newly promoted St Pauli, not the best weekend.

[Arneb]

Bayern München 0 - 2 Internatzionale Milano

Inter win this year's Champions League; and although I hate everything Italian in football, I must say they are a deserving champion. Maybe that's because no Italian was on the pitch except for the las t 5 min or so:-). Bayern were just not up to it.

[Lianachan]

Isn't that a treble for Inter? I'm pretty sure they'd already one Seria A and the Italian Cup.

[Arneb]

It is indeed. Bothe teams were on their way to the treble, which I think was a uniquee constellation so far.

[Heid the Ba]

Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend, in practice the Peugeots seem to have the speed to beat all comers and should be reliable as it is a development of last year's car. The Audis are talking tough but were well beaten for pace yesterday. Both are running diesels again this year despite rule changes to give petrol cars more of a chance.

Dumfries boy, and former winner, Alan McNish is driving for Audi so hopefully they will get their act together.

As usual the cars are numbered 1 - 100 or so, apart from the Aston Martins which are 007, 008 and 009.

This will fill an amusingly large part of my weekend.

[Heid the Ba]

8 hours in, 4 hours watched . . . A late night beckons.

Scotland managed to beat Argentina, finally, in Argieville.

[Arneb]

Meanwhile...

USA 1 - 1 England at the football World Cup.

It is reassuring that, should we meet England in the round of last 16, England will always have their Calamity Man between the poles to give us a little helping butterfinger.

[Heid the Ba]

Yep, and that was their reliable goalie. :D

Peugeot were fast because they are fragile, the fourth one has just blown its engine. AUDI heading for a 1,2,3, our boy in the third one.

Germany shouldn't have any trouble with the Diggers tonight.

[Arneb]

Ghana 1 - 0 Serbia

My hat is off to Ghana for the first African victory of this tournament. Although it was scored in a very German way, one must say :D

Speaking of which - neither side looked like a particularly threatening adversary against Germany for the upcoming matches. There was a time - around when Ballack's ankle was kicked to a pulp by that Semi-Ghanaan brute - when everyone was phantasizing about Germany being trampled off the field by the Australians, held to a humourless 0:0 by the Serbs and then being crushed by a spirited Ghanaan team playing whirlwind with a clumsy German side stumbling over their own feet...That fear seems to have subsided.

In three hours, we'll know more.