Glory, glory!

Back when I was in middle school, it was suggested to me that I start playing more than one sport. Hockey had been my life when not in school for so long that my parents feared that I might get burned out. It also would provide me with alternate ways to stay in shape once the hockey season was over and to get into shape before it began.

So I jumped at the chance. In seventh grade I signed up for the soccer team in the fall and the laccrosse team in the spring. The months in-between would be spent at Sport-O-Rama and on the Garden State Parkway.

So began my interest in The Beautiful Game. I was a goalie, and a damn good one at that. Why they still talk about my save on a peanlty kick which preserved a 0-0 draw against Felix Festa in the fall of '87. Yes, many-a Capri Sun juice pouches were consumed on that day my friend. Although it is a funny sight; to picture 12 middle schoolers trying to douse each other those things....the straws are just too small so all it wound up looking like was a poorly constructed and malfunctioning fruit punch fountain.

But I digress....

The seed was planted and cultivated with stints in high school. It was there, in the fall of '91 when the playing career ended on a crisp, cool evening in Montvale, NJ. There was little fanfare.

Like all soccer players I began to take a keen interest in the professional leagues. Unfortuantely the MLS was not formed until 1996 so there is no hometown team to root for. As a result, the love lies dormant for the college years. Girls become important, good thing too beacuse I met my wife during this time.

Then one night I'm watching the television and I see some highlights from the English Premier League. It was a goal scored by a French player named Eric Cantona. Now even with my limited knowledge (at the time) of soccer I knew that this was a spectacular goal. However, it was the celebration which caused me to sit up and proclaim, in pure Ryan McKenna fashion, "That was freakin' awesome!" Click the link below to see what I am talking about:

Cantona












Pretty cool, right?

Cantona played for Manchester United and after further study from me, I found out he was a legend there. What's more, I found out that he was not the only one to play for this team. Legendary players like George Best, Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson seemed to find their way to United and increase their profile. I also found out that United were the champions of the EPL at the time. This is an important fact, which I will get back to.

I made a mental note about this team and wished that there were more games from England on television. I would not, at the time, consider myself a hard core fan (like I am with the Islanders) but a curious observer who had more than the average amount of knowledge about the team. Time passes again....

Jump to May of 1999. I am checking the listings for the upcoming week and low and behold, there is a United game on the schedule. This is not just any game, but the final of the Champions League. The Champions League is an annual competition which pits the best teams from every European league in a year long competition which will eventually crown a champion of Europe. Quite simply, it's a big deal and United were in the final against a team from Germany, Bayern Munich.

In the days leading up to the match I found out that United were not only the winners of their league, they were also the winners of the FA Cup, an annual NCAA-style tourney which pits each and every team in England against each other. They were going for history. No team had ever won all three major competitions in the same year. I decided I would watch and, more importantly, would root for United.

In one of those serendipidous occurences, the 1999 Champions League Final was the most dramatic in the long history of the competition. It didn't start out that way though. For 90 minutes, United was lackluster and Munich was juuuust good enough to be ahead. Then it happened.

During the three minutes of added time, Manchester United earned themeslves a place in history and my dedication forever. In the 91st minute, they had a corner kick. David Beckham (yes THAT David Beckham) launched it into the box. The ball came bouncing out to Ryan Giggs who sent it towards the net where Teddy Sheringham was there to slot it home.

I sliently raised my arms in the air. "NICE!" was my proclamation. A little underwhelming to be sure. My bad.

Two minutes later my loyalty was cemented. With seconds remaining, United again earned a corner kick and again, it was Beckham who would take it. The ball curled in to Sheringham who mis fired on a header. Fortunately the ball was sent down to a Norwegian player, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who like alll good scorers in any sport, found a way to get the goal. In this case it was a clever little toe flick which sent the ball into the roof of the net, and sent me into the celieng in my room.

"OH MY GAWD," and then.... like clockwork, "That was freakin' awesome!"

Take a look at what I am talking about here.

It was one of the most dramatic sporting events I have ever seen. I became a fan on that day. Not a dediacted one yet, but I had a favorite team. I also had a favorite player. After seeing that winning goal I did my research on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. I discovered that he was well-known for his ability to take advantage of any kind of scoring chance. It reminded me of another athelete who had that description....my favorite athelete of all time, Mike Bossy.

Well than cinched it. Since then I have followed them as best I could. After the World Cup of 2002, and the subsequent dramatic increase in EPL matches here in the States, I became more than just a fan of the team. I became what is known in England as a "supporter."

The lockout of the 2004-2005 season helped me develop a greater sense of loyalty and connection to United because I was able to watch more games than ever before and I did not have the Islanders to dampen any kind of good mood I was in. Since the move down here to MD I have found a nice Irish pub to watch all of the games during the season.

Have I jumped on a bandwagon? Some would argue absolutely. Others,ones who know me, would say no. I'm not one to jump on a bandwagon. Just look at how why I became an Arizona Diamondbacks fan (a future blog, I'm sure). I would argue that my loyalty for the team was formed in the same way that it was formed for the Islanders. That is to say they earned my loyalty by creating memorable moments for a person who was wanting to see them. In addition, they had (and continue to do so in United's case) the same kind of player that I love to watch.

So here I am, in 2006 with a spanking new Ole Gunnar Solskjaer jersey on its way from the United team store at Old Trafford (their home stadium) looking forward to the beginning of the season on August 20th against Fulham. In order to cement my loyalty to the club, I have begun looking into travel option so I can go to at least one game at Old Trafford.

Why the long post? Well just wanted you guys to know what I will probably be doing should you call me while a game is on this year...and to warn you if you see me in a bright red soccer jersey with a weird Norwegian name on the back.

This just might work...

Hello people,

I am getting back on the horse as far as the blog is concerned. You'll see a lot more of me. I'd like to welcome the many new readers we have thanks to a mass e-mail from my sister. Apparently she loved the previous post so much that she wanted "like EVERYONE to see it!"

I just got done watching a trailer for "Rocky Balboa." This is the sixth film in the series and the first in 16 years. Now thanks to "Superman Returns" I am trying not to get overly anxious about a movie because of what you see in a trailer. That is what they are supposed to do; show you exciting clips from a film in order to have the viewer store those images in the back of their head and build up anticipation based on what was shown. The process is repeated again and again, and more frequently as the release date approaches. The problem I had with "Superman Returns" (in a trailer sense) was that it got me anxious the see one kind of story when it turns out that the movie was telling another.

However, after reading the few pages of the "Rocky Balboa" script that Stallone made available and then finally to see this trailer and see how they are visualizing that story...I'm thinking this film just might work.

The question going through your mind is, "yeah, but isn't Sly like 60 years old?"



Well, actually yes...he is. He just turned 60 last Thursday. Do you think he looks it?

I am taking tons of heat in my circle of friends down here for even suggesting that this film might be good. They may turn out to be right, but I am NOT going to pass judgment now on something that I will not see until December. This character is one of my heroes. A perfect movie persona created by the only man who could play him on the big screen. I feel like I owe both the character and the actor, at the very least, an open mind going into the theater. I also appreciate Stallone's loyalty to the actors who have been a part of the series since the beginning... they are all back, with one tremendous omission which the story explains beautifully. He's even got Tony Burton back as Duke. Here was a guy that was Apollo's trainer for the first two films, then brought in by Apollo to help train Rocko in "III" and then Rocky's trainer in "IV" (in which he had the most underrated scene in the whole film). Burton was professional enough to have a short five or six lines at the beginning of "V" and that's it. Sure he's old, everyone you are rooting for in this film is, but so what? This story, at least what I have read and seen, makes fine use of this real life fact. One last note on casting, apparently Stallone even brought back the girl from the original "Rocky" whom Rocky took away from the corner store. Not just the character, the actor as well.

Classy guy, but alas, one who knows where to make necessary changes.

Two actors from "Rocky V" are, thankfully, missing this time around: Tommy Morrison, who just flat out sucked and Sage Stallone, who was worse than Morrison.

Finally, back to the trailer. Antonio Tarver plays the current champ Mason Dixon. Tarver, is the former Light Heavywight champ and still one of the top rated fighters in the world. If what we see in the trailer is any indication then Rocky is going to be taking a serious beating. Now I know what you are saying...

"How is that different from any other "Rocky" movie?"

Point taken, but I don't know. Just something about the way the story works out coupled with the extremely violent final shot of the trailer just makes me think that maybe, juuuust maybe, Rocky is going to go the way of the Apollo at the end of this one. Personally I think that would be devastating to my demographic, but in the context of the story it's a logical and ultimately acceptable fate.

Take a look at what I am talking about. Copy and paste the following link:

http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1445131&sdm=web&qtw=640&qth=400

Nice...real nice!

You know....I like to think that I have an understanding family. One that not only loves my wife and I but would never, ever do anything behind my back. A family that would never keep my wife and I in the dark about anything that would be considered the least bit life changing.

For 32 years and three weeks I lived with that secure feeling.

This past Friday, the walls of trust were smashed to the ground when it was revealed to me that on Tuesday, June 27th my sister Christine was proposed to by her boyfriend Jerry.

Now..... from Tuesday to Friday, just over 96 hours, not only my immediate family, but it seems everyone in the NY/NJ area was told of this most exciting news...People at work, relatives, heck, even strangers on the street were all let in on the news that my lovely sister and her wonderful fiance' had become engaged to be married.

SOMEONE, I won't say who, thought it would be a great idea to keep my wife and I clueless for 96 hours! Can you imagine doing that to someone you love? Sheesh....I don't know if I can trust anyone anymore! The family had a big laugh at our expense and now the focus shifts to the happy couple and their plans.

Now I COULD tell you nice people on the web what they are...but I think not telling you would give you a slight sense of how I felt when I was told and therefore make me feel a little better.

Ahhh....that's better.

Now, in all seriousness, Amy and I are so happy for Christine and Jerry and their future together. They are wonderful couple to be around and they are having so much fun calling each other "fee-aahhhn-SEHHH". They visited us this past weekend and to celebrate, Amy and I redesigned the Washington Monument in celebration of their announcement. It was a last minute job and since my mother could not be found to help celebrate the announcement, it was the best my wife and I could muster.

Congrats to my sister and future brother-in-law!