Friday, September 09, 2011
Growing Up In a Post 9/11 World
3 Comments:
By 
, at
Sat Sep 10, 05:56:00 PM:
For my generation I suppose the closest equivalents were JFK getting shot and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Young as I was, I knew that JFK getting shot was a Big Deal but I never got the sense that I was in danger. I have no memory of the Cuban Missile Crisis as my family didn't yet own a TV, I couldn't read and my parents didn't talk about such things in front of the kids. For me, JFK's getting shot was the start of the tumultuous 1960s. I still say that Castro had a hand in it.
****
If you want a break from the endless 9/11 coverage tomorrow, at 3 pm NBC Universal is showing "USA v Ireland" in the Rugby World Cup, which just started. RWC is the third biggest sporting event in the world, after the Soccer World Cup and the Olympics. Host -- and perennial #1 in the world -- New Zealand is favored to win, but will once again find a way to choke in the RWC. We'll have an entire nation put on suicide watch. Could this finally be the Year of the French?
The USA team is semi-pro. The starting scrumhalf for the USA, Mike Petri, is typical. He's played for Xavier High in New York City, Penn State, the New York Athletic Club and some English and Welsh pro teams. Before he went "pro", he was a teacher at Xavier High.
In the last RWC, the USA went 0-4 but got universal credit for the best score of the entire tournament in their match against eventual champion South Africa. See it here.
The USA pool includes Australia, Ireland, Italy and Russia. The top two advance out of the pool. We beat Russia recently, so that match could be the first ever win for the USA in World Cup play -- that'll decide #4 vs #5. Italy has a strong team, with several players out of Argentina with Italian heritage -- killer scrum -- and will likely be #3. Ireland can play up to -- and beat -- the biggest dogs, and is quite capable of beating Australia, currently ranked #2 behind New Zealand.
Ireland is putting out something close to its best line-up for the USA match. Paul O'Connell, Jamie Heaslip and Gordon D'Arcy are world class and are starting. And then there's Brian O'Driscoll starting at outside center. He's the best player in Irish rugby history, and the best center of all-time. He's older now and not as fast, but still has the best "vision" in the game.
Expect a lot of entertaining action, mostly going one way. Ireland should win by 30, or even more. Think Soviet Union hockey ....
By , at
Sat Sep 10, 06:03:00 PM:
For my generation I suppose the closest equivalents were JFK getting shot and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Young as I was, I knew that JFK getting shot was a Big Deal but I never got the sense that I was in danger. I have no memory of the Cuban Missile Crisis as my family didn't yet own a TV, I couldn't read and my parents didn't talk about such things in front of the kids. For me, JFK's getting shot was the start of the tumultuous 1960s. I still say that Castro had a hand in it.
****
If you want a break from the endless 9/11 coverage tomorrow, at 3 pm NBC Universal is showing "USA v Ireland" in the Rugby World Cup, which just started. RWC is the third biggest sporting event in the world, after the Soccer World Cup and the Olympics. Host -- and perennial #1 in the world -- New Zealand is favored to win, but will once again find a way to choke in the RWC. We'll have an entire nation put on suicide watch. Could this finally be the Year of the French?
The USA team is semi-pro. The starting scrumhalf for the USA, Mike Petri, is typical. He's played for Xavier High in New York City, Penn State, the New York Athletic Club and some English and Welsh pro teams. Before he went "pro", he was a teacher at Xavier High.
In the last RWC, the USA went 0-4 but got universal credit for the best score of the entire tournament in their match against eventual champion South Africa. See it here..
The USA pool includes Australia, Ireland, Italy and Russia. The top two advance out of the pool. We beat Russia recently, so that match could be the first ever win for the USA in World Cup play -- that'll decide #4 vs #5. Italy has a strong team, with several players out of Argentina with Italian heritage -- killer scrum -- and will likely be #3. Ireland can play up to -- and beat -- the biggest dogs, and is quite capable of beating Australia, currently ranked #2 behind New Zealand.
Ireland is putting out something close to its best line-up for the USA match. Paul O'Connell, Jamie Heaslip and Gordon D'Arcy are world class and are starting. And then there's Brian O'Driscoll starting at outside center. "BOD" is the best player in Irish rugby history, and the best center of all-time. He's older now and not as fast, but still has the best "vision" in the game.
Expect a lot of entertaining action, mostly going one way. Ireland should win by 30, or even more. Think Soviet Union hockey ....
By , at
Sat Sep 10, 08:01:00 PM:
For my generation I suppose the closest equivalents were JFK getting shot and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Young as I was, I knew that JFK getting shot was a Big Deal but I never got the sense that I was in danger. I have no memory of the Cuban Missile Crisis as my family didn't yet own a TV, I couldn't read and my parents didn't talk about such things in front of the kids. For me, JFK's getting shot was the start of the tumultuous 1960s. I still say that Castro had a hand in it.
****
If you want a break from the endless 9/11 coverage tomorrow, at 3 pm NBC Universal is showing "USA v Ireland" in the Rugby World Cup, which just started. RWC is the third biggest sporting event in the world, after the Soccer World Cup and the Olympics. Host -- and perennial #1 in the world -- New Zealand is favored to win, but will once again find a way to choke in the RWC. We'll have an entire nation put on suicide watch. Could this finally be the Year of the French?
The USA team is semi-pro. The starting scrumhalf for the USA, Mike Petri, is typical. He's played for Xavier High in New York City, Penn State, the New York Athletic Club and some English and Welsh pro teams. Before he went "pro", he was a teacher at Xavier High.
In the last RWC, the USA went 0-4 but got universal credit for the best score of the entire tournament in their match against eventual champion South Africa. See it here..
The USA pool includes Australia, Ireland, Italy and Russia. The top two advance out of the pool. We beat Russia recently, so that match could be the first ever win for the USA in World Cup play -- that'll decide #4 vs #5. Italy has a strong team, with several players out of Argentina with Italian heritage -- killer scrum -- and will likely be #3. Ireland can play up to -- and beat -- the biggest dogs, and is quite capable of beating Australia, currently ranked #2 behind New Zealand.
Ireland is putting out something close to its best line-up for the USA match. Paul O'Connell, Jamie Heaslip and Gordon D'Arcy are world class and are starting. And then there's Brian O'Driscoll starting at outside center. "BOD" is the best player in Irish rugby history, and the best center of all-time. He's older now and not as fast, but still has the best "vision" in the game.
Expect a lot of entertaining action, mostly going one way. Ireland should win by 30, or even more. Think Soviet Union hockey ....
