Let the moronic horn-honking begin!
Well, it's the apex of the four-year World Cup cycle again, which brings the local yokels out in force to either a) drive around a couple of city blocks, honking their horns, screaming "WHOO! WHOO!" out of their windows, and doing their bit to ensure that everyone in Toronto has a better chance of developing lung cancer, or b) (if no vehicle is available) stand on the side of the road on either Dundas or College Street, scream "WHOO! WHOO!", wave flags and blow whistles at passing motorists.
For hours. And hours. There doesn't seem to be any boozing in the street (lots of police are around to actively prevent this) nor is there any indication of pot smoking (although police generally seem to tolerate this). So how are these people able to maintain this level of apparent euphoria for hours on end? They can't ALL be on mushrooms/extasy/whatever. It is a total mystery to me. The only thing I can think of is that they are, in fact, morons.
I shudder to think about what being a tourist at a real World Cup tournament is like, if this is any indication. However, at least those people are drunk. Which makes it a little more acceptable, especially since they aren't driving.
Sometimes people from other parts of town drive down to blow their own horns, wave their own flags (Korean, Croatian, English, Ecuadoran, Angolan, even Greek, perhaps in memory of their Euro 2004 victory), and generally contribute to the pollution.
The ironic thing, as usual with the World Cup, is that Holland were way better, and deserved the victory. If that ref wasn't in the pay of Portugal's sneaky José Manuel Durão Barroso, I'll eat my hat. While Portugese seem like interesting enough people (and I originally moved to Toronto because I figured that if I am forced to live in anglophone Canada, at least it should be a place with lots of immigrants), I ultimately find this sort of celebrating a bit of a drain.
Especially since, once Portugal are eliminated, the Brazilian flag will join that of Portugal and the Açores on the roof of everyones' vehicles. That way, any Brazilian success is an excuse for more driving, and more WHOO WHOOing.
That is why I fervently hope for Brazil and Italy to lose. Their presence in World Cup competitions tends to be longer than that of Portugal.
Also, they are notorious 'floppers'.
3 comments:
I'm ok with the whole flag thing. I don't do it myself but hey - it doesn't bother me. I agree with the interchanging of the Portugal/Brazil flag - odd. Not to mention all the Carribean waving the Brazilian flag. As a soccer historian (I played high level soccer here and in Europe), I do disagree strongly about Brazil and Italy as notable floppers. That's pure Northern European jargon. I have done studies on this. In sum, diving as it is called knows no nationality - they all do it. Part of the problem is how the game is interpreted and officiated in different countries. Sort of like how Canadians complain about offciating in international hockey. Besides, their skill level is superb so as a soccer fan I want to see skillful teams like Holland, Argentina, England etc. The Dutch are just as good with diving as anybody - Van Nistelrooy has a reputation in England for it. As for the Dutch/Portugal game. The Dutch were not innocents in this one. They were as much to blame fo rthe tone of the game.
PORTUGAL IZ HTE BEST!!!!!!!!! NUMBER ONE!!!!!!!!! WE WILL BEAT EVERYONE TO WIN!!!!!
Commentator, I hear your words. Still, in my heart, I cannot break with the postjudice (as opposed to pre-judice, you see) that Italy, Argentina, and Brasil are the worst.
And, "viva portugal"? Who are you trying to kid? Although there was some mispellings, and extra exclamation marks, you can't disguise your manga-cake origins. I pity you.
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