19. Idle Season

Ahh, it's that time of the year again, silly season is upon us. And what I mean by silly season is the period of time between the end of the football season till the beginning of the next one when clubs are out scrambling to sign the best players (or in Bolton's case, free over-aged has-beens and nearly-beens and never-beens), whence agents are gleefully making general statements on how much in demand their clients are (usually wanted by the biggest and richest clubs one might add, i.e. the Barcas, the Milans, the Chelseas of the world) and how much more they're worth compared to the measly 80 thousand pounds a week they're getting even though they were still handsomely paid when they were stupid enough to be banned for eights months for missing a drug test (cough, Rio Ferdinand), and when clubs underline their ambitions for the following season by naming their stadium after their sponsors or selling their souls to American tycoons and rising their ticket prices by 45%. It's also that time of the year when football fans really, and I mean really, get restless.

Weekends without ESPN or Starsports football ain't just the same. No Super Sunday, no John Dikes with his colourful commentary, no Shebby Singh making an arse of himself. No more Spanish or Italian football to watch from 2.30 in the morning right up till daybreak. Ah heck, weekends used to be simple eh, it was all football from 8 pm (well, 5 if you count the weekend kickabout) right up till the next morning. No need to think of where to go or what to do, it was just planting yourself in front of the idiot box and absorbing those colourful images of sweaty men in shorts chasing after a round ball (as opposed to those darn cumbersome square balls). Pure utter delight. But also really lame when you think of it. Ah well, there's no shame to admitting to shunning social interaction just to catch a good game of football on the telly. Well, I tend to look at it as a good way to save money (not to mention avoid abuse to the liver). I mean, without football to watch on the weekends, one would be more inclined to go out for one of those wasteful exercises in attrition like drinking binges and what not. So watching football could be seen as a means to offer salvation to man's immortal soul, it redeems humanity from sin and allows the spirit to transcend beyond the limitations of it's mortal coil and touch upon the firmament of heaven. Erm, ok. Sorry, got carried away for a bit.

Ok ok, this is a nothing post. Ah heck, idle hands are a devil's playground eh? Why waste the lunch hour away doing nothing when you can actually type about nothing?