German Goal Keeper

Has anyone watched the soccer game Germany vs. England?

This is what happened in that game.

On the 38th minute, England’s Frank Lampard’s lob bounced over the German goal line and appeared to give England a clear goal.

What did the German goal keeper Manuel Neuer do? He grabbed the ball and swiftly kicked it upfield as England’s disbelieving players rounded upon the Referee Jorge Larrionda and begged him to reconsider his decision.

Referee Larrionda decided it was not a goal.

After the match was over, German goal keeper Neuer said:

“After the game I was in doping control and saw it on the television. And yes, of course it was over and should have been a goal for England. It was lucky for us and unlucky for them.

Neuer insisted, though, that the Lampard no-goal made no difference to the eventual outcome Sunday, 4-1, claiming Germany would have won the match in any case.

Neuer is wrong. A goal on them would have devastated them mentally and the outcome would have been different.

We got lucky? That is all? No remorse?

Now it is time to quote from one of my previous posts written long time ago.

Wimbledon. The year 1960. Semi Final Match. India’s Ramanathan Krishnan vs. Australia’s Neale Fraser. A shot from Fraser was called “out” in favor of Krishnan. Krishnan interceded and told the umpire that it was “in”. Krishnan, instead of gaining a point lost a point. Eventually that call was instrumental in Krishnan losing the match to Fraser. First ever Indian going to the Wimbledon finals was denied.

Next week, a Tamil weekly, Kalki, put the picture of Krishnan on the cover and put a caption from (Lord Krishna) Bhagvat Gita: "Paritranaya Sadhunaam vinashaya cha dushkritamDharma sansthapnarthaya sambhavami yugay yugay" (Whenever there is downfall of Dharma (righteousness), I incarnate to re-establish the Dharma.)

Not So Funny

Queen Elizabeth II of England visited the All England Club, for the first time since 1977, on Thursday, June 25, to watch a Wimbledon tennis match. She was introduced to some tennis players, past and present. She was introduced to Martina Navratilova. Martina was asked by the Queen if she played at Wimbledon often. Ever humble Martina politely answered yes. Martina has won 9 Wimbledon Championship in her career. Obviously the queen does not follow tennis.

I thought that question to Martina was very funny. Again it is not funny. Here is why:

These kinds of meetings do not happen by chance. Believe me. I have been there. When a queen or king or president or prime minister of a country meets a group of sportsmen (or anyone), their aides would have prepped the VIPs who they are going to meet and shake hands and their accomplishments. The sportsmen would also have been informed in advance that the VIP will shake hands with him/her and there will be an exchange of pleasantries. At such a high level of dignitaries, everything is pre-arranged and nothing is spontaneous. It may look spontaneous to us watching on television.

Have you seen American Presidents get out of their bullet proof limousine and shake hands with the public in a crowd? Do you think it is spontaneous? The Secret Service Agents who guard the life of the U.S. President will never allow that to happen. It is all pre-arranged.

In this incident, the person who arranged the Queen to go to the Wimbledon tennis match failed. I would fire that person immediately. Now my imagination goes wild:

Indian President Pratibha Patil asking Sachin Tendulkar if he plays cricket regularly.

President Barack Obama asking Muhammad Ali if he ever taken boxing lessons.

Again, President Barack Obama asking Michael Phelps (winner of 14 Olympic gold medals in swimming) whether he knows how to swim.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asking Pele if he ever played soccer.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking Wayne Gretsky (the greatest ice hockey player ever born) if he has ever seen ice.

I think Patil, Obama, da Silva, and Harper are not that stupid. Nor their aides.

Graduation Ceremony

We happened to go to a graduation ceremony recently. No this is not a university or college graduation. This is not even a high school graduation. This is a graduation ceremony for the kids passing their kindergarten and going to first grade.

The auditorium was filled to capacity. The students came in procession to the accompaniment of music and took their seats on the stage. The program started with the usual “Flag Salute”. All the people present in the auditorium loudly said the following:

“I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.”

(Foreign nationals and atheists are exempted from saying the Pledge of Allegiance.)

Then all three kindergarten teachers read a few lines on “Everything I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten”.

Then graduation ceremony for students of Ms. Brown. Each student came to the mike and said his/her name. Ms. Brown gave the graduation certificate and hugged the student. When the student said his/her name the relatives and friends in the audience gave a loud applause.

Then came the graduation ceremony for students of Miss. Hill.

Finally, the graduation ceremony for students of Mrs. Lundy.

In between the students sang three songs.

After the graduation ceremony, there were lot of cookies, candies, cakes and punch for all the students, teachers, parents and other guests.

One of the parents, sitting in the auditorium, was Ms. Shanice Wilson. She is a famous pop singer in USA. Her son was graduating from kindergarten this year. People smiled at her. She smiled back. Couple of guests took her picture. But no one bothered her.

In USA, there is usually graduation ceremony at the end of pre-school, kindergarten, sixth grade, and high school (12th grade). Some schools use graduation caps and gowns. Some don’t. The kindergarten graduation ceremony we attended did not use caps and gowns.

We enjoyed the occasion very much.