Feb 22, 2009

Where do you come from???

Hello y'all!

Since I started this blog I've seen the number of visitors grow and grow. And the little map at the bottom of the blog shows people coming from the most random places.

Sometimes I wonder how people found this blog.
Would you mind sharing with me how you found my blog? Comment.

Thanx!

Feb 6, 2009

Israel Football League

I was watching the Superbowl on METV (Middle East TV, a Lebanese channel) because they show the original American feed, that is, with the original commercials and the whole shabang. During one of the commercial cuts, the American commercials didn't come on, and instead, the METV commercials showed. One of those commercials was about the IFL (www.ifl.co.il). I went to check out their website and decided that I needed to go see one of these games. First of all, because I like football, and second of all, because I had to see with my own eyes football being played in Israel.

The games are played either on Fridays before Shabbat starts or on Saturday evening when Shabbat is over. Today's game (Friday morning) was played in Yoqneam, a small town 40 minutes north of where I live. The Haifa Underdogs received the Jerusalem Kings. It was obvious from the first look that this was an amateur league, with no goal posts (I'm wondering if there is any field in Israel with football goal posts), no scoreboard, no clock and the field was only 70 yards long (mid field was on the 35 yard line). But besides the things before mentioned, the players were wearing the full gear and were pumped up, there were 4 referees that called the plays (mostly well) and a small group of fans, most of them relatives of the players or coaches, cheering for their teams.

This league is by no means professional, and you won't see the next Roger Staubach being scouted from this league, but it has a great significance. The fact that there is an American Football League in Israel means that the sport is becoming more popular... and perhaps one day it could become a real pro-league.

In the meantime, I'm planning on not only going to see more games, but actually getting involved in some volunteering capacity. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be coaching my own IFL team ;)

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Some of the jokes/observations I blurbed out of my mouth today:
  • "If we get lost, we can't ask for directions... nobody around here knows what football is."
  • "Show the replay!"
  • "Challenge that call coach!"
  • "Where's the guy that sells beer?"
  • "What's the halftime show?"
  • "Why isn't the PA system playing any music?"
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Thanks for reading,
Mau

PS: The Underdogs creamed the Kings