is this the rugby world cup?

this weekend i meandered over to a pub on haight st. to watch first the argentina/mexico game and the next day the netherlands/portugal game.

argentina clearly beat out mexico. the netherlands defeat was bit more of a surprise... i believe a total of 18 cards were passed out during the whole of the game. what with the pulling, pushing, tripping and kicking it might as well have been a rugby or hockey game where the players can physically check one another.

the mood at the pub: loud and dark. i walked in sunday afternoon to raucous bellowing of irish songs (and later found out cork had won their match). fish and chips at the bar, i waited for my friend mad to show up, all the while peering up at the t.v. above me watching the lack of activity and then the dismal thing which was the portuguese goal. and then it occurred to me to check my voicemail.

i joined mad and team of netherland-supporters in a loft i hadn't previously seen until post-voicemail. she had scoped it out. we had great seats and the energy was palpable as we yelled at the referee making stupid calls. it seemed as though the order of the day was to waste time down on the ground crying or grasping a groin or knee. babies.

at the end of the match, we left aware that nothing could change. our team was out.

but there's always next week's england/portugal match. may the english show the portuguese their proper place. argh.