Chp 301. Hup Holland Hup!

It’s FIFA World Cup time again, and soon, my blog will be one World Cup post after the other

I know, I know… that means fewer visitors But at the end of the day, I know it will be good to look back at this month four years from now (if we’re still alive by the Grace of God) and walk down memory lane.

This is the second World Cup my blog is witnessing. And right now, looking back at the posts I wrote in 2006 sure brings back a lot of memories. Those were the days before I started working, or even before “Delhi” happened. I had just dropped out of IIMB then, trying to get through the prelims of UPSC.

Some of my 2006 World Cup posts like Of women and football etc were cross-posted at desipundit and various other blog community forums. So much has changed in my life since then. But the one thing that never changed? I am still a hardcore Netherlands supporter, since the days of Ruud Gullit, Van Basten, Bergkamp etc (Cruyff was way before my time, so I’m not including him in the list)


[Pic source: Netherlands vs Denmark: World Cup 2010 ]

Go Oranje! I love them, mainly because a lot of them are named “Vans”. Like from the current squad: Van Persie, Van Bronckhorst, Van der Vaart, Van der Wiel, Van Bommel, Van lalruatkima. etc. Yeah, in case you didn’t know, I’m a Van too I may not come from the DeBeers family (though I wish) or have a great grand uncle who fought in the Boer Wars, but being an Arsenal fan, there is such a closeness with the Dutch, either in the form of gunners or players playing for our main rivals.



Watching the Dutch kick Denmark’s ass today was exhilarating. 2-0. Hup Holland Hup! (which means Go Holland Go!)

And that’s why I love my office so much. Sure we may work hard most of the time, but we are soon going to get a new TV in office dedicated solely to World Cup matches (that’s what the bosses were discussing about last week). And apart from that, I was watching today’s Netherlands match online with no disturbances from anyone.

And the best part? I told my boss I was coming late to office today because I had to watch the Game 5 match of the ongoing NBA Finals. And that match gets over only by 9:30am. So my boss gave me permission! See, I didn’t even have to lie. Most others would have lied saying headache or pms etc because they wouldn’t have been granted permission just because of a basketball match on TV. How I love this place!



Game 5 this morning was freaking awesome. Kobe was burning up the floor with 38 points but it wasn’t enough. Bwahahaha. Celtics now lead the series 3-2. One more win and they are the 2010 champs. Comon Celtics!!!!

I’ve always been a Lakers hater. I was too young to witness the Celtics-Lakers rivalry (Bird versus Magic) of the 80s (plus, we didn’t have cable access then ) but I was very much a part of the NBA scene from 90s onwards. Like most passionate basketball jocks, Jordan was my idol too, but my team was Utah Jazz those days. I switched to Kings followed by Spurs after that. And that is why I hate Lakers so much. They decimated many of my favorite teams like Spurs, Kings, 76ers, Mavs etc.

Celtics this year are strong. Pierce, Garnett, Rondo, Ray Allen, Perkins, Finley, Wallace, Glen Davis. A lot of old warhorses! Lolz!

The next match is at Staples Center on Wednesday morning for Indian viewers. If Lakers can come back with a win, then the Final match (game 7) will be in LA again! I hope it doesn’t go to game 7.

Ending this post with my favorite video of today’s NBA Finals – Tony Allen blocking the 7 feet tall and former Grizzlies centre Pau Gasol! Woot!!!!! What a block! Totally PWNED!



Cheers!