SF Giants Win!

The San Francisco Giants won the 2010 World Series!! YAY!!  As a SF native, of course I am proud of the home team.  But don't get me wrong, I am not a baseball fan. And I don't intend to be one "all of the sudden." Majority of the time, I find baseball boring. So does my husband. We've only been to a baseball game once and went because we got free tickets and had nothing better to do that day.  We spent most of our time walking around AT&T Park checking out the stadium rather than watching the game. 

But like many others, I recently got infected by the Giants Fever. I found myself glued to the TV these past few weeks watching the Giants play in the Playoffs, the Championships, and the World Series. The Giants Fever is contagious and it spreads like wildfire. For the first time, I found the games exciting to watch. Heck, I even learned some baseball lingo here and there..."a closer" being one of them.  A closer is a pitcher who goes into the end of the game and pitches the last couple of innings (or last inning).  He is there to seal the deal, close the game. 

So in our family, I am the closer. When my husband feeds Sarah and she gets fussy and refuses to drink the last 1-2 ounces of milk, I go in and feed her. Then she almost always finishes her milk. I seal and close out the deal. 

2006 World Cup

Having just been back from Hong Kong and Singapore, I inevitably caught the World Cup fever. Soccer (or as they call it football) is so big in Asia -- actually, it's big everywhere around in the world except for the U.S. People get so excited about the World Cup, since it only happens once every 4 years. Germany is hosting the games this year so people in Asia who want to watch the games Live must stay up at 3am! So you can guess how many "sick calls" employers get per day during the World Cup!

When you're in an environment that screams World Cup everywhere you turn, 24/7, you can't help but take a little interest in what's going on. So I watched the reruns whenever I have a moment. I don't even know all the rules -- just the basic ones. It is pretty exciting, but sometimes 3 hours can go by without even a single score! That can be frustrating. So, in case you're wondering, U.S. is out (no surprise). England, Germany, Portugal, and Argentina qualified for the quarter-finals. Other teams have yet to play to qualify. I do have a favorite team - England. That's because my favorite football player is Michael Owen. Forget David Beckham. Michael Owen is so much cuter! He's #10 on the field. Unfortunately, he injured himself during the game against Sweden and now he will not be playing in the World Cup games anymore. :(

Single gals - in case you're wondering ... Michael Owen is 27 but already married with 2 kids. He married his childhood sweetheart whom he met in Primary school (like when he was in 5 yrs old!) How adorable is that?!

Also in case you're wondering how I got to notice Michael Owen when I barely know any soccer ... He is the Ambassador (Advertising spokesperson) for a Swiss watch brand, Tissot. They designed a watch specially for him. #10. Limited Edition.

Winter Olympics - Torino 2006

I love watching the Olympics although I am not normally a big sports fan. There is just something about the Olympics and the country-to-country competition that draws me in every night. These athletes train for years in their sport for only "that moment in time" to prove to the world that they are the best. What sets these athletes apart is the fact that they are not professional athletes -- they don't get paid for playing. They participate because they want to prove themselves. They participate because they love competition, they love their sport. I have so much respect for them -- it takes a lot of dedication.

The Olympics this year have a lot of new sport debuts this year such as the Snowboard Cross and the Snowboard Half Pike... all adaptations from the X Games. Very enjoyable to watch. These sports require a lot of training, skills and guts. For the most part, I like watching all the competitions, from Cross country skiing to Figure Skating. The only thing I just don't get is Curling. I really don't get it. What is the point of this "sport?" The players throw a stone onto the ice, trying to get the stone closest to the middle. Then the opponents use these broom-like equipment to brush the ice so the stone will lose its original projectory. Ok, so that is IT? This is a sport?! What the hell? Sorry if I offended all the Curling fans out there...all 20 of you. Curling is a game for fun and should not counted as a sport whatsoever.

Olympics

I love the Olympics. There is so much national pride and individual triumph shown in these games. This, and the fact that they show competition in sports that we normally do not get to see, like swimming, diving, badminton, gymnastics, etc. They're so much fun and excitement to watch. However, out where I live, I do not have access to the NBC channel since I do not have cable. It already sucks that when NBC airs the games on primetime that the results have already been posted due to the time difference between the US and Greece. Even worse if you have to watch the games 1 day behind from recorded tapes. That's what I have been doing. I try hard to avoid hearing the results beforehand but somehow, it always fail. Someone, from the radio or the TV, or just people having casual conversations, will always give it away! But that doesn't stop me from watching. I still love the games, and how much these athletes deserve their moment of glory.