I honestly don't know where the time has gone
Seriously. I know the year just started and I know that it is not even half way through January yet, but I would have sworn that it was April.
First of all, the weather here in Providence has been spectacular. If you are into that whole global warming, the end is near kind of weather. Somebody told me that the Jet Stream is just riding unusually high this year because of El Nino/a, which sounds plausible, but I will tell you the weather is starting to freak me out.
Partly, because I am fairly certain that wearing shorts in January, in New England is something that should only be done by Hockey players, but it has been so nice that I was able to get out and play a little soccer this afternoon (soccer is one of my favorite sports, if not the favorite and I have to mention the Beckham signing in a second). It was great, I was woefully unprepared, this is the first run-out I have had since.. oh I don't know... September and I am feeling it now. Achy ankles, and hips, my shoulders are sore, basically I feel old. But it has solidified my last of the New Years resolutions for me which are:
1. Read ten books by Nobel Laureates in 2007. This just seems like a good idea. I like to read and if I can do this I will get a big chunk of good literature out of the way. I have already finished a book of poems by Octavio Paz and my current read is Somersault, by Kensaburo Oe. Next on the docket is Blindness by Jose Saramago and then probably either Snow or My Name is Red, by Orhan Pamuk. I have about 10 plays by Harold Pinter so that is 5 right there, not to shabby.
2. Keep a Calendar. I am constantly overextending myself and so this year I have promised to keep a calendar to help me stay organized. We will see how it goes. So far, so good. On Mon. Jan. 8th I had scheduled some time to "just kick it" and guess what -- Mission accomplished.
3. Be nicer to people. Not nice, nicer. That is an important distinction. By and large I think most of my friends would say that I am a pretty nice person, but the average joe on the street might not agree all the time. So this year I am going to try to keep my ego and my sarcasm in check and save them for really appropriate times. So far, this is not going as well as I would have wanted. I have had my cranky pants for the better part of a week or two and I am hoping that I get it out of my system soon.
4. Use the gym that you are paying for more often than you do. I had been really good about going to the gym for about two months, every other day. Cycling through training circuits, and then I hurt my hip and work picked up and I just fell away from it. Which is a drag because I really liked going, but I just got tired and fatigued all the time and I have a pretty low tolerance for pain when it comes to joints so I sort of quit going and well... that is going to stop -- starting Monday.
So that is it. Four resolutions, not to shabby.
Now my two cents on the Beckham to America thing. I really go two ways on this, one is that good for the MLS for attracting a star of Beckham's magnitude; and what was the MLS thinking.
The first reaction is pretty standard I would say, David Beckham is arguable one of the most recognizable figures in sports and he has developed a brand that is second to none. He isn't the most skilled or the most talented, but he seems to have the best marketing team behind him. That, if used correctly, will be huge for the MLS. It will draw attention to the league and it might bring in more players to all the stadiums in which he plays. I can't imagine that have someone on the training pitch of Beckham's caliber will be harmful to the team and it might give them a much needed boost to the lousy season that they had last year.
The second reaction is a little more speculative. First off, the David Beckham they signed is probably past his best and at this point is known more for his ability to show up to majore tournaments for England and make excuses about why he is out of shape and how none of his underacheiving is his fault. Secondly, his brand is contigent on his plying his trade with a powerhouse team in a powerhouse market. He has, to this point in his career, been blessed. He moved to Real Madrid, one of the biggest teams in the game from Manchester United, after coming up through the youth ranks, and went on to be part of a team that won an unprecedented treble (Premiership Title, FA Cup and Champions League) of which there is no comparative master stroke in American sports, but about as close as I can think of would be to have a sports city (Boston, NY, Philly) win three out of four professional sports titles in the same year, preferably the NFL, NBA and MLB. In the US, however, he is playing in a market that favor soccer in a fourth or fifth market share to the other sports. Not to mention that people in Asia (where Beckham is a g-d of epic proportions) probably can't get the MLS on their TVs but they certainly can get the Spanish Primera Division or the Premiership.
So I am not sure if the MLS is thinking that if any of Beckham's fan base transfers over it will be a good thing, but I am not so sure.
Anyway that is my two cents. Which is worth about 1.5 cents actually.
First of all, the weather here in Providence has been spectacular. If you are into that whole global warming, the end is near kind of weather. Somebody told me that the Jet Stream is just riding unusually high this year because of El Nino/a, which sounds plausible, but I will tell you the weather is starting to freak me out.
Partly, because I am fairly certain that wearing shorts in January, in New England is something that should only be done by Hockey players, but it has been so nice that I was able to get out and play a little soccer this afternoon (soccer is one of my favorite sports, if not the favorite and I have to mention the Beckham signing in a second). It was great, I was woefully unprepared, this is the first run-out I have had since.. oh I don't know... September and I am feeling it now. Achy ankles, and hips, my shoulders are sore, basically I feel old. But it has solidified my last of the New Years resolutions for me which are:
1. Read ten books by Nobel Laureates in 2007. This just seems like a good idea. I like to read and if I can do this I will get a big chunk of good literature out of the way. I have already finished a book of poems by Octavio Paz and my current read is Somersault, by Kensaburo Oe. Next on the docket is Blindness by Jose Saramago and then probably either Snow or My Name is Red, by Orhan Pamuk. I have about 10 plays by Harold Pinter so that is 5 right there, not to shabby.
2. Keep a Calendar. I am constantly overextending myself and so this year I have promised to keep a calendar to help me stay organized. We will see how it goes. So far, so good. On Mon. Jan. 8th I had scheduled some time to "just kick it" and guess what -- Mission accomplished.
3. Be nicer to people. Not nice, nicer. That is an important distinction. By and large I think most of my friends would say that I am a pretty nice person, but the average joe on the street might not agree all the time. So this year I am going to try to keep my ego and my sarcasm in check and save them for really appropriate times. So far, this is not going as well as I would have wanted. I have had my cranky pants for the better part of a week or two and I am hoping that I get it out of my system soon.
4. Use the gym that you are paying for more often than you do. I had been really good about going to the gym for about two months, every other day. Cycling through training circuits, and then I hurt my hip and work picked up and I just fell away from it. Which is a drag because I really liked going, but I just got tired and fatigued all the time and I have a pretty low tolerance for pain when it comes to joints so I sort of quit going and well... that is going to stop -- starting Monday.
So that is it. Four resolutions, not to shabby.
Now my two cents on the Beckham to America thing. I really go two ways on this, one is that good for the MLS for attracting a star of Beckham's magnitude; and what was the MLS thinking.
The first reaction is pretty standard I would say, David Beckham is arguable one of the most recognizable figures in sports and he has developed a brand that is second to none. He isn't the most skilled or the most talented, but he seems to have the best marketing team behind him. That, if used correctly, will be huge for the MLS. It will draw attention to the league and it might bring in more players to all the stadiums in which he plays. I can't imagine that have someone on the training pitch of Beckham's caliber will be harmful to the team and it might give them a much needed boost to the lousy season that they had last year.
The second reaction is a little more speculative. First off, the David Beckham they signed is probably past his best and at this point is known more for his ability to show up to majore tournaments for England and make excuses about why he is out of shape and how none of his underacheiving is his fault. Secondly, his brand is contigent on his plying his trade with a powerhouse team in a powerhouse market. He has, to this point in his career, been blessed. He moved to Real Madrid, one of the biggest teams in the game from Manchester United, after coming up through the youth ranks, and went on to be part of a team that won an unprecedented treble (Premiership Title, FA Cup and Champions League) of which there is no comparative master stroke in American sports, but about as close as I can think of would be to have a sports city (Boston, NY, Philly) win three out of four professional sports titles in the same year, preferably the NFL, NBA and MLB. In the US, however, he is playing in a market that favor soccer in a fourth or fifth market share to the other sports. Not to mention that people in Asia (where Beckham is a g-d of epic proportions) probably can't get the MLS on their TVs but they certainly can get the Spanish Primera Division or the Premiership.
So I am not sure if the MLS is thinking that if any of Beckham's fan base transfers over it will be a good thing, but I am not so sure.
Anyway that is my two cents. Which is worth about 1.5 cents actually.
posted by V. at 12:35 AM
1 Comments:
We've missed you! But, now that we have been informed, maybe it is better that we didn't get any posts while you had your cranky pants on.
I really have my fingers crossed that once Beckham gets over here we don't have to see he and spice girl plastered all over everything. We really, really, don't need anymore celebrities. This goes double if the American press starts picking up horrible Brit slang like "Becks" and "Vics" and "Preggers." Ew.
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