The "it’s almost Friday" rant

*The Revolution introduced its new home kit for the upcoming season today, and by my estimation, it’s an amalgamation of the 2005 and 2006-07 kits, with a collar thrown in for good measure.

Here’s what I like: the trademark adidas stripes have finally made its way to the neck, which always bothered me about the previous two kits. In that aspect, the kit is appealing, as I have many Euro kits that feature this common design. The red accents under the sleeves is nice as well, and in fact, since the reintroduction of red to the 2006 kits, the red is a wonderful complimentary color.

What I don’t like: the overall design is somewhat bland. It certainly isn’t as eye catching as many of the European kits (granted, many of these kits utilize a common template), but we don’t know what parameters were given to each club’s design. Indeed, you weren’t going to see a reincarnation of the magnificently-designed 1996 kit (stars and stripes and all), but something about the current kit just mumbles “here I am…”, and not “HERE I AM YOU SUPAH-REVS!”

The road kit hasn’t been revealed yet, but based upon the home design, it would probably dictate a white body, red underarm accents, and navy shoulder stripes. Hard to imagine, I know.

*The only thing I love more about being Portuguese than the food is the soccer that comes on RTP. Last night, I was treated to a Liga Vitalis (second division Portuguese football to the layperson) match between Penafiel and Beira-Mar. I am a casual follower of Portuguese Liga football (Benfica!), and was unaware of the second division Liga Vitalis. Thus, as I was finishing up my late-dinner in the front of the television, I immediately jumped on the laptop to look up info on the sides. In between, however, I was duly impressed with both keepers, who made magnificent saves to keep the score 1-1 when it very likely could have been 4-4. So published props to Jerome Palatsi (Penafiel) and Bruno Sousa (Beira-Mar) for their spectacular performances.

* I never truly began to appreciate my Portuguese heritage until my Vovo passed away last February. How does this relate to soccer? You see, my Vovo and Vovo were devoted Benfica fans, and it is because of them that I root for Benfica.

However, it hasn’t been until recently that I began to fully appreciate my Portuguese culture, thanks, in part, to my love of soccer. When I was a child, I distinctly remember watching Portuguese Liga matches on a large, wood-paneled television set at my grandparents’ apartment. I fondly recall and not knowing what the heck was going on either, due to my unfamiliarity with the sport and language. But I also carry many recollections of wanting to like soccer (such as during the ’94 World Cup and the ’99 Women’s World Cup), but just never finding a reason to until fairly recently. Thankfully, I eventually discovered, embraced, and came to love the sport, just like my grandparents did when they were my age.

Needless to say, I was extremely saddened when my Vovo passed away. I still miss him tremendously, even to this day. However, there is one distinct memory that will forever be ingrained into my mind.

It was one of the final family get-togethers my Vovo attended (he attended them all – my grandfather was happiest in the company of his loving family). I arrived at my godparents’ house with a newly-purchased Benfica kit, ready to show off to my grandparents. Upon seeing the familiar eagle crest affixed to the left chest of the shirt, my Vovo smiled at me, cheerfully grabbed my shoulders, and said “Oh! Benfica! That is wonderful, Brian!” with a proud smile on his face. A moment that will last with me for the rest of my days, for sure.

Since that moment, I have found myself privileged and honored to root for the same club my grandparents rooted for when they were my age. I hope that in some way, I am carrying on a wonderful tradition that began with my grandparents that I hope to pass on to my children someday as well.

RTP, Portugal-Serbia, and Euro 2008

I didn’t appreciate Radio Television Portugal (RTP) until the first time I watched Cristiano Ronaldo weave through defenders like Francois Tolour through the security lasers in Ocean’s Twelve.

Since then, the channel has become one of my favorite destinations after NESN, ESPN and Comedy Central. Although my understanding of the Portuguese langauage is limited, despite my Portuguese roots, I manage to sit in front of a TV screen for 2 hours, hardly understanding what is being said, due to the fact that the channel feeds live Portuguese Liga (or BWIN Liga if you are the commercially inclined-type) and Portuguese National Team matches.

I was lucky enough to catch the final 20 minutes of the Portugal-Belgium Euro qualifying group game last Saturday. Lucky, because although I didn’t catch the entire match, I was able to find out about the next match (vs. Serbia) thereafter and plan accordingly…

So, now that I’ve wasted three paragraphs of divulging in needless background details, I TiVo’d the Portugal-Serbia match while at work, and took it in upon my release from the shackles of my cube.

First impressions: the Portuguese are a sharp, offensive minded team which is surely aided by the presence of the world’s best player in Ronaldo, and a Brazilian manager, Luis Felipe Scolari. That being said, the side was very much on attack mode despite the misleading 1-1 draw. Tiago’s long bloop of a goal in the 5th minute gave Portugal and early 1-0 lead. With Bosko Jankovic’s 37th minute header from a corner, Portugal looked like it had answers in many golden opportunities. Ronaldo & Co. had their chances, but just could not get the go-ahead goal past the remarkable Vladimir Stojkovic, the Serbian keeper who did well to frustrate the maroon and green.

If there was one positive that could be drawn from this match (no pun intended), it was that Portugal remained tied in the 2nd slot of Group A (along with Finland) for Euro 2008 with 11 points, five behind group leader Poland. The top two countries advance past of group stage.