blogging before bed

What a day. Long. At work at 810 am to prepare for the morning department meeting, then a long (longer than it needed to be) meeting, and then into the dentist chair. I have one cavity, and otherwise perfect teeth. But the cavity is now plugged, and my teeth are shiny again.

Why write about this? Well, two years ago I went to the dentists in the US, Aspen Dental, and had a check up and a cleaning. They charged $60 for the cleaning, and then the dentist tried to tell me I needed 4 (four) minor fillings. I was surprised, but when they told me the total for the four fillings would be around $1000 dollars, I was devastated. No way I could afford that. So, I just brushed like a crazy man, and didn't get the fillings.

How surprised was I today when my Serbian dentists told me my teeth were in great shape, bar the one small cavity. I certainly didn't need 4 fillings. So, I was pleased, of course, but also in-sensed at the fact that I was almost scammed by this dental chain. How ironic that I was saved by poverty. By the way, one filling in Serbia cost $35 dollars, not $250. Even if I didn't have dental coverage, I would still be able to afford it.

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Yesterday I wrote about the experience in the Red Star stadium, and today I thought some more about it. I conceptualized the "North Curve" as a kind of law-free zone, where there is basically a state of anarchy, and in which you can do anything you want. Into this zone, no figures of legal authority dare set foot, at least not until things get so bad that the riot forces are called in.

Some one asked me today if the three kids smoking pot could have done the same in the US? I said no, certainly not in that context. Not so openly and blatantly, right in front of the security forces. In the US, those kids would have been busted for sure. But the stadium culture is also different, less violent and anarchistic, as the average US sports fan is a more law abiding person than a Serbian soccer fan.

Football Violence

'Been watching Football Factory International lately after D sent me the link to a 10 minuet clip about the famous match between Belgrade and Zagreb, which some claim was one of the sparks contributing to the conflict in the Balkans in the 1990's. It's a brutal video, and heart breaking too.

I moved on to watch as much of the series as I can find on youtube.com and found episodes on Poland, Turkey, and Russia. All violent and crazy, but at the end of the one on Russia, one of Danny Dyre's comments struck me. He said that for Russian, hooliganism, with its strict code of honor, had become a place of equality for many people. According to the show, the make up of these firm's is as diverse as Fight Club: lawyers, machinists, cleaners, shop keepers, etc. It makes sense that a country with massive inequality would latch onto those few things that provide equality.

In the firm's a cleaner can mash up a lawyer and fear no consequences. He might even earn the respect of the lawyer, who, in the civil world, would pay him no heed. These firms are not even breaking laws or endangering the public, as all the fights are pre-arranged, consensual, and outside of the stadiums. They are even claiming Russian heritage, preserving a tradition of bare knuckle fighting.

But is this an acceptable argument? Should this be allowed to continue as an outlet for the frustrations of everyday life? What does that say about a society? Or is violence inherent, and thus we should let it manifest in these, less harmful ways?

But then what of the Dynamo Zagreb V's Red Star Belgrade? The hooligan fight that helped start war, and whose participants were among the first to join up and go to the front lines. If this is the end result, then nothing can justify allowing a hooligan culture to continue. One of the fighters in the Russian firm from Spartak Moscow said this was what it meant to be Russian, it was his sense of national identity, and it was rooted in violence.

Perfect contact

The ball seemed to hover just in front of me for what seemed like ages. It hung there, at the prefect distance from my feet. There was only one option. Players were all around me, but none had white shirts, so there were no passing options, plus the ball was asking to be smashed.

I was directly in front of the goal, but there were players in the way. There did seem to be a path through, so I went for it. I recoiled my leg, found the perfect balance (leaning slightly forward so as to keep the ball low), and swung...

...my laces shot connected perfectly, right off the perfect spot on my foot. The ball leapt forward at a blistering pace, but I knew it was going to be a powerful shot before it left my foot. I have always been blessed with a vicious right foot, and the gratifying feeling never diminishes. This one was no different, it felt good from the moment of contact.

But ultimately it was not as perfect as it felt, as the ball swerved to the right and missed the point I was going for. It also missed the goal. But by that point, the game moved on. Still, the feeling lingered and I relished it. Later I did manage a goal, but ironically it was a light tap in from a defense splitting pass.

The point of this entry is because I find it so amazing that in the 1 or 2 seconds that it took me to choose my options, and then make the shot, I went through an emotion transition, and had multiple thoughts as it was happening. Simply amazing.



I also really enjoy the crew that show up regularly. There are some great players, everyone gets along well, and there are almost never fouls or arguments. In someways, after two days of watching Football Factory International (documentary on hooligan culture), this is the perfect antidote. I can walk away from the game and feel good, physically and psychologically. It is a beautiful game, and lets me take my mind off things. In the wrong context, this leads to bad results, but not here. Here we are individuals from diverse back grounds coming together for some pure competition and out of love of the game.

Its a great thing...