Hey, everyone!
The U.S. Open is over, and I’m sad because I lost the semi-formal prediction league with my younger sister. There’s always next year!
Ramble of the Day
In many respects, international breaks with nothing on the line bring almost nothing of interest. A year ago, we were all feverishly doing the math and figuring out who would qualify for the World Cup. Now, we’re just shaking our heads at the UEFA Nations League.
If there has been anything at all to take away from this round of international matches a little past the break’s halfway mark, I have found it. Take a peek at what happened at Amsterdam’s Johan Cryuff Arena on Friday.
The people in charge of such things, likely the Royal Dutch Football Association, set up a living room on the pitch after the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory over Peru. It was for Wesley Sneijder, who played his final match for the national team and was honored with video messages from former teammates and coaches.
I could do without the fake plants, but it is a pretty cool set up. That second picture makes it look really awesome, with the spotlight firmly on the Sneijder family. It does, though, leave me with a question: What other rooms should appear on football pitches?
A bedroom automatically pops into mind, and so does the hotel suite at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena that overlooks the pitch. That said, I’m not so sure sleeping on a pitch, even with a bed, might be a good idea. There’s no quick way to get a glass of water or get to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and the lighting situation might be tricky to accomplish either of those things. Plus, it’s a weather dependent situation, and therefore might not be ideal.
A kitchen on a pitch seems difficult to create. Setting up a stove and/or oven and a sink might be hard to do, but it also sounds like some challenge on a cooking reality competition show. The challenge would obviously be to create some sort of dish with limited kitchen equipment, though why exactly they’re on a football pitch I couldn’t explain. Maybe they have to make a dish for footballers? Wouldn’t they just cook in the club’s kitchen then?
That said, wouldn’t it be a little fun to see a football team on one of those shows as the judges? I’d love to see their taste in things and how harshly they judge the contestants. Would x footballer be a nice guest judge or a mean guest judge?
I’m currently wondering how Tottenham players would be as guest judges of sorts on a reality cooking competition show. I feel like Harry Kane, Fernando Llorente, Dele Alli, and Érik Lamela might be some of the nicer ones, and that Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen might be more critical. Eric Dier and Mousa Dembélé seem like they might be very meticulous judges, but fair.
Of course, I’m just spitballing; if you’ve made it this far, feel free to agree or disagree. If not, I guess you might be confused by the comments.
tl;dr: Living rooms on pitches are cool. Makeshift kitchens on pitches might also be cool.
Links of the Day
Luke Shaw got a concussion in England’s 2-1 loss to Spain on Saturday, and will miss the team’s friendly against Switzerland on Tuesday.
A taxi driver in Copenhagen has filed a police report against Nicklas Bendtner, saying the forward violently attacked him.
John Terry is set to join Spartak Moscow, and will sign a two-year deal with the Russian side.
There was an increase in football-related crime in England during the World Cup, according to the police.
Today’s longer read: Andrew Keh on an American girl who is pondering where and how to start her professional career at age 12 for The New York Times