Taped at the Emirates

Scrolling through the channel guide. English League Soccer. Oooh! Who's playing? Manchester United at Arsenal! Yes! After reading Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby, I became interested in soccer. It was that good a book. Sure, I follow, well, sort of follow the World Cup when it rolls around every four years. But that quadrennial pleasure just wouldn't be enough any longer. For no other reason then it's Nick's favourite (English spelling deliberate), I decided to wade into the F.A. Premier League by adopting Arsenal as "my team" too. It also allowed me to associate Fever Pitch with soccer, and take my mind off of the Boston Red Sox and all the ugliness of "that" baseball post-season. Last year I watched an Arsenal match against, well I don't remember against whom. Maybe it was Tottenham. Doesn't matter. Tottenham scored in the first couple of minutes of the match. That was it for the rest of regulation play. Ninety minutes had elapsed and Arsenal was down one-nil. The referee added three minutes of additional time, and Arsenal equalized about halfway through that time. The match ended. Tied. 1-1. It was as though it never had happened. A couple of hours just gone. Without a trace. After six-plus hours watching the NFC and AFC Championship games yesterday, it was a pleasant surprise to find the Man United/Arsenal match on the telly. The sports equivalent of methadone, as I enter the temporal wasteland between the end of the NFL season and the beginning of the baseball season. (I just don't like the NBA). But something was scratching at my brain. Gently. Ticklish. The Monday game just didn't seem right. I went to the F.A. Premier League web site. I have it bookmarked. No sign of a match scheduled for today. I clicked on Arsenal and there was my answer. The match took place yesterday. Arsenal beat the league-leading Manchester United 2-1. I'm watching it anyway. Half time now. Still no score. A couple of really spectacular saves by the Arsenal goal keeper as time expired. Should be a thrilling second half. I'll need to pay attention or I may miss the goals. At least I know it won't end in a draw. And Arsenal will win.