Long ago (1988) I moved to Berkeley and started sending a monthly "newsletter" to my Boston friends. When I returned to Boston (1993), I continued the tradition for about five more years (or until I had kids). Looking back, I realize that I was actually blogging. Each newsletter contained anywhere from a few to several blog posts. Having been silent for the past decade or so, I've decided to resume these activities. Don't expect anything profound -- I tend to focus on what I find entertaining or amusing and perhaps sometimes informative. We shall see!

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Live from Lyon: Netherlands vs Sweden

Wednesday's disappointing contest failed to match up to the entertainment, the quality or the intense atmosphere that was seen in Tuesday's gripping tie between England and three-time champions the USA.

That kind of sums it up!

The good news is that we did not have the annoying fans behind us. The bad news is that's because it would have been impossible -- you see, we were in the very last row -- underneath the big screen, which turned out to be kind of cool, because it was such a distinctive location that the Olsons could spot us from across the stadium! Those teeny tiny  people down there are actually soccer players!




So, maybe it was the late night on Tuesday (we should have just walked from the station, but after getting food and realizing the metro was shut down, we tried an Uber who couldn't find us and then finally stood in line for a taxi -- it was a very late night), or maybe it was the hike we took up to the Basilica which sits atop a somewhat large hill.


In any case, it could have been my low energy, but I thought it was a pretty dull game. And we might just have left during the first over time period when the Netherlands scored its first (and what turned out to be the only) goal of the match.

You see the game was 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes. Now, the USA-China Women's World Cup final was also 0-0 after 90 minutes (and still after 120), but that was an exhilarating match to watch; this one was not. I thought Sweden looked more threatening, although the statistics would show that the Netherlands had more possession, more shots, and better passing accuracy.

We almost left after the end of regulation time, but decided to stay for one of the overtimes, and we were privy to the lovely goal scored by the Netherlands. While on the tram back to the city, we watched the final minutes tick down to the final 1-0 score.

So now we're off to Regusse for some hiking and R&R, before returning to Lyon for the final on Sunday!  (No, we won't be attending the consolation match, but hope to be watching it from the comfort of our lovely AirBnb.)

And, the post wouldn't be complete without the obligatory game selfie.



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