FanPost

DBD 10.08.09 Assumptions

There is that saying about assumptions.  Yet sometimes, the assumption seems so obvious and logical that any alternative to that assumption appears both stupid and foolish.  Exemplified here by Dan's assumption of the song 'Happy Birthday' shown above.

I too am prone to making terrible, terrible assumptions.  Last weekend, I assumed I could meet with friends anywhere in London and find a pub airing a soccer match.  This assumption appeared safe.  It was not.  I did not have a problem finding a pub, nor did I have a problem finding a pub with a sign outside that read "Sky Sports Football Saturday", I did have a problem finding a pub with a sign that read "Sky Sports Football Saturday" that was airing a live soccer game.  Is it a safe assumption you might be asking, "Huh?"

I learned over the weekend, that pubs with a sign reading "Sky Sports Football Saturday" merely carry the Sky Sports channel, and they devote a several hour long program covering the various soccer matches.  What this coverage does not include is any footage of any actual game.  Instead, a host would update fans on the games, and given they cover the English Premiere League, English 1st division, Scotland's top 2 divisions, and possibly games in Ireland (I can't remember), the host never runs out of material to announce.  Occassionally during an important game, when a team scores, the show transfers over to a local announcer covering the game, and he then gives a play-by-play.  It is very much set up like the NBA fastbreak on ESPN and to a lesser extent ESPN News.  The primary difference is that ESPN has video to correspond to the audio.  On Sky Sports, they have video of the audio.  Mainly, they only televise the host, and the supplemental announcers.  We watch the announcers calling the game, instead of the actual game.  They also don't look into the camera, since the announcers are too busy... y'know watching the games.  This experience sucked, the result of my seemingly safe assumption.  Yet, the pub I visited was 3/4 full of people watching this broadcast.

My friend and I wandered around City of London coming across multiple pubs all with this type of coverage.  After wandering for 40 minutes, we got hungry and stepped into one of these pubs for a pint and a bite, then continued searching.  We shifted focus to Oxford Circus then Soho, since they have a higher density of pubs.  We found the same results everywhere.  At one point we found an old style pub overflowing with patrons, my heart began to race, and I became excited my journey might finally come to an end.  But no, that pub didn't even have a TV.

Fortunately, shortly after this we stumbled upon the American BBQ pub I watched the Cal-Oregon game at.  They carry ESPN America and another ESPN channel.  It was here that I found my English Football.  Choosing to root for the underdog, Sunderland became my team as they visited the goliath that is Manchester United.  Sunderland grabbed an early goal, only to cede it shortly after half.  5 minutes later Sunderland once again grabbed the lead thanks to a massive player by the name of Something Jones.  Man U started applying massive pressure around the 80 minute mark, yet it looked like Sunderland would pull the massive upset, in Man U's home stadium no less.  As stoppoage time rolled around the victory seemed safe to assume, and my hours of wandering frustration seemed to be worth it.  Then, in the 92nd minute, Sunderland scored an own goal, tying the game in the very last moments of the match.  Damned Assumptions.

This football season has been awash with bad assumptions (at least by me).   I thought Hagan would be Syd Jr., I thought Jordan would be tearing it up, I thought Anger would be launching the ball, and I thought the kicking game couldn't possibly be as bad as last year.  Damned assumptions.

What are some of your worst all-time assumptions?

Be nice. You can find the original CGB team at WriteForCalifornia.com.

In This FanPost

Teams

Trending Discussions