JUST BELIEF!

The title of this blog entry are two words I'd like to live by. Sure it's not always easy to be blindly optimistic when you see no avenues of hope but a little faith goes a hell of a long way!

Be it in your professional or personal lives, whether it's regarding religion, relationships, frie(n)dships, health, wealth or a combination of any of the mentioned, life throws you rotten naartjies all the time. You just gotta know that this will never change. The good inevitably comes with some bad, I think your attitude during the tough times plays a big part in the overall balance of what comes your way. Contrary to what it'll initially feel like, the bad will eventually help you grow (I believe it's called 'Life Experience' these days :) ).

Chin up, don't wallow or things will end up like a dark C&H strip (that you can't laugh at).

We've all had our fair share of the crap. You'll get through it, really you will! There's a bigger picture, a bigger plan. 'Don't forget our friend fate, it could disappear without a trace.' (Aren't The Parlotones awesome?!)

Just BELIEF... and it will be true!

p.s - I can't claim that phrase as my own, credit goes to White Rob - thanks :)

The Flying Donkeys

This post has been a long time coming but I finally managed some time to write about something that I find awesome in world sport, the sheer passion of supporters worldwide.

Whether you're in morocco, india, ecuador or soweto, you'll always find a small town that supports their local team, come rain or shine. It's those towns that live around their team, buying season tickets and living through the ups and downs with their teams... The team and the supporters are one. Sure this extends to larger clubs, but it's always heartening to see the unwavering love and passion that people show to their small town club.

Take for example a team I came to know about recently, Chievo Verona. A small town club in Italy whose main sponsor is the local town bakery. The team started off from nothing and are now are the proberbial underdog of the Serie A.

The local rival team Hellas Verona once said that Chievo would play in the Serie A when donkeys fly... Now Chievo are a regular Serie A team while Hellas suck in the third division. The nickname stuck btw, Chievo Verona are 'The Flying Donkeys'

The same sorta passion extends to bigger clubs. As we watch season after season of the big 4 in the premier league, bitching as our teams fail to win everything every season, there are those teams that fight the relegation battle year after year, and dare I say it, the supporters probably get a lot more satisfaction out of the relegation battle and the championship than a top four supporter would from winning the premier league...

It was sad to see the toons getting relegated, I so wished Shearer would just put on a team shirt during that last game to go show them all how it's done, alas... But if anyone caught the last few championship games, you'd be pretty harsh to deny Burnley and their fans premier league status after their performance in the championship and relative heroics in the FA cup.

The pic above shows the contrasting emotions for both teams, but more importantly, the passion of the teams and supporters...

You gotta love the small teams and their fans, maybe it's the underdog thing, but i'll always have a soft spot for the bolton wanderer, the minardi, the flying donkey...