As my bio states I am a bit of a sports mad person so I’m sure it is unsurprising to see I am just a little excited about the weekend’s sport, which admittedly is making it hard to concentrate on the daily job!
The Masters (golf), Grand National (horse racing), Malaysian Grand Prix (F1), Heineken Cup Quarter-Finals (Rugby Union) not to mention the weekly tension of the business end of the football season – just 7 games to go now in the Premiership!
The Masters is an amazing sporting event and I think one of the few golf tournaments that even those who do not like the game (or sport in general) can at least appreciate and possibly even enjoy. Historically it is one of the oldest tournaments but it is in the prestige factor where it really shines through. When past greats such as Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Arnold Palmer still have nerves when teeing off and current greats such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson describe it as “one of the most exciting tournaments” then you know it is something special. Thankfully the weather in Augusta, Georgia (USA) is proving to be as nice as it is here currently, which just adds to the impressive aura of the tournament. The appearance of the Masters course – Augusta – is simply breathtaking and I can’t wait to watch the excitement over the next 3 days – hopefully McIlroy will repeat his first days form and bring home the green jacket.
A lot of us don’t understand horse racing as a sport and, whilst I am an armchair fan, I do fall into that category. Despite that I do love the big race meetings – Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot and of course Aintree with its Grand National! For some reason, ever since I was young, the Grand National has always been the race everyone knows about. Now I’m not sure why exactly – perhaps it is because there are 40 horses, lots of betting opportunities, amazing level of build up and coverage or indeed a combination of all those reasons and more – but the bottomline is that even those not interested in horse racing appear to look forward to it. This is proven by some of my colleagues at Connect Events who usually show no interest in sport yet this week have been asking me for my tips and suggestions! It’s been fun being able to talk about sport in the office and no one yawning! My tips (for those of you who are interested) by the way are Don’t Push It, Majestic Concorde and Calgary Bay – all each way of course.
Out of the sports listed at the start F1 is the one that least excites me, however with three British drivers now in the field there is definitely a lot more interest than in previous years. I think it is a British thing...we don’t really care about a sport unless there is someone who is British and good involved. Given the close battle last year I am looking forward to the Red Bull / Ferrari / McLaren three-way battle again, especially with Hamilton and Button both driving for the same team. Practice went well this morning and I am hoping for a British winner come Sunday morning – fingers crossed if there is, that it precedes a British Masters winner too!
Club rugby doesn’t really get the coverage it deserves. Over the last decade or so, especially since it became a professional sport in 1995, attendances at rugby union club (top flight) matches have steadily been increasing but yet there is still an over-riding theory that it is not a hugely popular sport, especially when compared with football. The quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup take place this weekend and the success of this tournament is a true testament to the improvement both on and off the field of rugby union in the Northern Hemisphere. With four French, two English and two Irish sides competing for the semi-final spots their is a great deal of excitement surround this round, especially in my family given one of the teams is the ultra-successful Leicester Tigers. Coverage of these matches is fantastic but sadly, owing to the amount of great sport this weekend, I may have to watch these matches as-live later in the evening – not sure the other half will be too impressed!
Finally onto the football, that is now entering the vital ‘business-end’ of the season. As a Newcastle there is usually something still riding on matches at this stage and unfortunately over the past 5 years (last seasons promotion season excluded) it has rarely been on the positive side. This year is no different – 7 points from safety with 7 games left; sounds fairly safe but with the Magpies you never know. There are of course teams in a much worse position and I don’t envy them. The Toon Army are live this weekend against one of them (Aston Villa) so a win is a must to guarantee another top flight season...this means we will lose 4-0, just to keep the season ‘interesting.’ Championship, League 1...in fact all leagues have crunch games this weekend (at both ends of the table) and I imagine I’ll be glued to Jeff Stelling’s addictive ‘Soccer Saturday,’ whilst sat in the garden with a cold cider watching it all happen. Sounds like a good day, thankfully Newcastle won’t ruin it until the Sunday!!!
So all in all a sport-laden weekend (and I haven’t even mentioned Rugby League, European Gymnastics or the start of the domestic cricket season), that is sure to be full of drama, skill and, sadly, plenty of mistakes. The addition of The Masters and The Grand National really makes this sporting weekend for me personally and I can’t wait for the action to unfold over the next 3 days. Unfortunately all this sport may mean I am in need of a new girlfriend by Monday morning...a small price to pay for the joy of sport* (only the mad will agree)!
* Don’t worry I don’t actually believe this...
No comments:
Post a Comment