Euro 2008: Bad for Theses Everywhere

Ten minutes into the second game and I'm already furious.

The feed keeps cutting out; at first the video, but now, fortunately, just the audio. It does distract, though, even just the audio cutting out: the cheers and jeers of the crowd, the cadence of their excitement and fear, greatly contributes to the viewing experience. (Further, there was a point where the network mistakenly attributed a goal to Turkey just after the video had cut out, when it fact the ball hit the post. But the less said about that minor heart attack, the better.)

This summer of watching will be very different than last time. I'm not in New York; I'm not even going to be going to bars regularly. Mostly I'll be watching at home with my mother, trying to get some work done between games. Fortunately my mother is a passionate and vocal sports fan, even though she sadly lacks in some of the more colourful language of the pub crowd. I am also embarrassed to admit that in the current match (Turkey vs Portugal) she is cheering for those rakish louts, the Portugese. Don't tell my once Turkey-dwelling brother, though. This kind of betrayal can only end in tears.