SOCCER SOCCER EVERYWHERE : NEVER BEFORE HAVE I LIVED THROUGH SUCH CRAZY SOCCER EVENTS

"Hungary has a significant history in international football, having won three OLYMPIC gold medals, finished as runners-up in the 1938 and 1954 WORLD CUP and finished in third place in the 1964 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP." - Wikipedia

Never before have I lived through such SOCCER FEVER.  Growing up I was entirely ignorant of soccer. Later it seemed to be a sport only played on the grounds of elite private schools. And I never paid attention to it, though in general I'm not much into watching sports, to know that it has become INTERNATIONAL.

This summer, however, I could not ignore soccer.  It seemed everyone else was obsessed with watching the FIFA/ World Cup wherever I went. Streets were blocked off - usually streets that had bars and restaurants with televised programs. Even libraries had the opportunity for fans to watch the games and scream and yell. Local stores were jammed up with team support products - keychains, little soccer balls, whatnot. 

So I watched a few games and was relieved to realize I could follow it and understand it better than I ever have "American Football." I came away with the idea that soccer is more popular than the Olympics, that these events include teams that come from countries that seem to barely participate in the Olympics.

After a month of almost daily exposure to soccer, I must say that I am also relieved that it's over.
There is so much more to do in summer than watch televised programing.

SLAVIA - A BIG PART OF THE WORLD UNITED? WHERE WOULD HUNGARY FIT? and THE WINTER OLYMPICS IN RUSSIA

This winter I didn't watch the OLYMPICS,  which was staged by Russia, at all.  I did listen to radio news and looked it up on the Internet quite a bit, but I didn't see a single televised performance. 

I thought some of the press wasn't fair at all.  So what if one of the flowers didn't open to become a ring?  Wasn't there a similar failure when Canada hosted?  Jokes about hotel rooms missing doorknobs and featuring two toilet seats in the bathrooms, so people who were used to outhouses could upgrade their mutual potty experience were everywhere.  THAT CERTAINLY WASN'T EVERY HOTEL, just evidence of a rush to finish some of the accommodations.

So much focus on what went WRONG when so much went RIGHT.

I thought it was terrific that Putin sat and watched some of the performances and made the scene there.  I thought it was terrific that royalty like Princess Anne of Great Britain and Prince Albert II and his wife Princess Charlene (another person the press should be kinder to) made the scene.  IT WAS TRULY INTERNATIONAL. It was a great opportunity for people from around the world to see another country, as all Olympics are.  This is one of the reasons various cities apply to be chosen as a HOSTING site!

We in the United States still haven't really shaken off memories or impressions from the COLD WAR ERA, but as the days went by, I became more interested and worried about what was happening in the Ukraine.  (I do have a few readers from somewhere in Ukraine and other parts of the Slavic world.)

This morning as I listened to very early morning talk radio I heard that there is speculation that the UKRAINE will split into an east and a west, one part going with Russia, the other part with Europe.

IT SEEMS THERE IS ALWAYS TURMOIL IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD.

Well, I also recently learned about a move to UNITE all Slavic speaking Countries.  I don't know where this would leave Hungary,  I think OUT, though it has historically had many Slavic people as well as German people within changing borders.

Not every person in these countries wants to be part of the EUROPEAN UNION.

MAYBE IT'S A GOOD IDEA?

First, the end of the various Slavic people fighting each other, economic cooperation, and a preservation of culture. 

I watched a number of YouTube videos and the idea is also to stop Russia.  Here is a link that is one of many I saw:  SLAVIALAND.ORG


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REMEMBERING THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS NORA HOFFMAN

 - So sorry the video is down -

Nóra Hoffmann (born April 8, 1985 in Budapest, Hungary) is a famous Hungarian ice dancer. With partner Maxim Zavozin, she is the 2009 & 2010 Hungarian National Champion. This video is from about a year ago European Figure Skating Championships.

ICE SKATING

I watched the Winter Olympics last year and Ice Skating is always one of my favorite sports to watch because long ago I spent a winter season learning how. I never was able to make myself spin without falling.  

There was one woman skating to represent Hungary: Do you know her name?