Tag Archives: Soccer

The Super Bowl 101: For Nigerians..

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The Super Bowl is the national championship game of the National Football League(NFL) in the United States of America.
This football is not the same as our football where you kicked the ball into a goal.
Some Africans call it handball because the players literally hold the ball and try to get to the opponent’s side of the field to score a TOUCHDOWN.
TOUCHDOWN is similar to saying SCORE or in our football: GOAL.

There are three different types of scores in American football. The first is called a touchdown worth 6 point which comes with an extra 1 point to make it 7. Second score is a field goal worth 3 points. Third score is called a safety which is worth 2 points. In case you are down by four points and you are trying to tie the game, you can score a touch down which is 6 point and go for a 2 point conversion which is obviously 2 point (knowledge by Nsi aka. Possible Etim).

This is our football or soccer to Americans: Soccer  and this is American football American Football

The Super Bowl is a big deal for Americans the same way the World Cup is a big deal to Nigerians when Nigeria plays.
People gather together to watch the game. People order a large amount of food for the game. Some people like me watch the game for the commercials. The Super Bowl is also a big deal for businesses. Businesses pay a lot of money to make sure their commercials are shown during the game because they know a lot of people are watching.

Premier league season returns by Vincesanity

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At 7:45 AM on August 16, 2014, the Barclays premier league takes full flight once again. First the new boys in town, Leicester city, Burnley and the return of Queens park rangers. Their focal point will be survival and avoiding the relegation zone by may 2015. This all lies with the tactics their managers approach the season.  Nigel Pearson, Sean Dyche and Harry Redknapp all have to decide between “parking the bus” and counter attacks their opponents versus “balls to the wall” all out attack but of upmost importance is the quality of the players and their willingness to battle of the shield on their chest and the community.

            The battle for champions league positions and league title goes six ways between Manchester city, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United.  Manchester city are the reigning champions but have done little to strengthen their squad but added competition to vital positions, which included a commanding central defensive midfielder (Fernando) to allow Yaya Toure more attacking freedom and Caballero to challenge Joe Hart, England’s number 1. The additions of Mangala and Bacary Sagna stiffens the defense and gives city another successful run at the league but the question still beckons, can they have any impact on the champion’s league this year?

            London big clubs, Arsenal and Chelsea both seek to claim their first important trophy in years. Both teams looked to bring in a prolific striker to help their offense, Chelsea have stolen keys parts of Atletico Madrid in Diego Costa, Courtuois and Felipe Luis. Diego costa is the clinical finisher that jose Mourinho needed to replace the shaken confidence of Fernando Torres and although Mourinho has self-proclaimed the team to be a force for the next decade, the team will have to shed its defensive mindset and adapt an expansive attack to gain world wide acclaim and dominance.

Arsenal lost a legend in Lord Nicholas Bendtner but brought in the Alexis Sanchez  to add speed which the team begged for and also defensive help in Debuchy and Chambers. Although these are good pick ups,  Arsenal is the EPL’S accident waiting to happen, they will dazzle, mesmerize but inevitably they may possibly win the FA cup, bounce out of the champions league in the quarterfinals, loss the league in the last April but keep 4th position in the table.

            Liverpool lost the goal scoring machine in Suarez and use the same tactics tottenham used during their lose of Gareth Bale, by buying a surplus of talents. Their season comes down to how sterling, coutinho and Sturidge retain their clinical finishing and counter attacking will emerging the new boys.

            This season is going to be one of the best in a decade, the stories will be timeless, the fans will experience joy, despair, the heartbreak but also victory and the champion’s roar.

Nigeria vs. Argentina by Vincesanity

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The super eaglesNigerian football is always of great controversy, will the team complain about not being paid enough just like other African countries do or will the play with the passion and national pride we all know they can. Even though some games they do play with passion, something unexplainable always happens that defies all laws of the universe and Nigeria loses the game (Yakabu eh!!).

This game can be summed up in three words “Messi Versus Enyema”. At the last world cup, messi, fresh off a Ballon D’or winning season and the weight of Argentina came face to face against Vincent Enyema of Nigeria.  Everyone thought the game would end with a possible thrashing dealt to Nigeria due to the opposition only using two defenders but a Hollywood twist occurred. Enyema rose to the occasion and stifled messi with five point blank saves. The inquest is will the same performance be replicated today? Will the villain (messi) succeed at the second trial or does the Hero of the super eagles come through as always. The stage has been set, enter actors and plot twists.

COUP DE MAIN by Vincesanity

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Coup de main, French for (blow with the hand), is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objective in a single blow, today is a day for Coup de Pied (blow with the feet).

Image         Act 1 of the world cup comes to a close with its crème de la crème group taking center stage. The group of death with Portugal Vs. Ghana and USA Vs. Germany are set to kick off, each with their very own subplots.

Portugal VS Ghana sets two teams currently looking in turmoil against each other. Portugal, infected with the same distrust that corrupted the 2010 French side will have to find a quick remedy and start believing in each other and get the ball to their main man Cristiano Ronaldo. Although Ronaldo looks less than 70% fit, that is still more talent than anyone else on his team and a player of his caliber only needs a split second to remind the world why he is loved and hated in equal parts. Portugal needs a win with a 4-0 margins or hope that Germany beats the US by 4.

Ghana also in turmoil but because of the same issue that afflicts African teams, their football associations denying them pay.  This issue has cause the Ghanaian association to send Kevin prince boating and its key midfielder Sulley muntari home from the world cup.  Ghana now looks to the leadership of Andre Ayew and the talismanic Micheal Essien to keep the team spirit afloat and focused to beat the Portuguese. Ghana’s pace and ferocity in attack gives them more than a chance to win the game and also the portuguese’s lack to stamina which was put on notice by Germany and the US will decide the game in the last 30 minutes. Ghana wins with the score 2-0.

David VS Goliath, Maximius Decimus Meridius vs Ceasar, and Germany VS USA, the hype for these face-offs are unparalled.  Both teams  are coached by Germans, but US coach Jürgen Klinsmann has been the special one in his own right from his work with rebuilding the 2006 Germany team and making this US team have a chance to advance from the group of death.  It takes a great coach to set achievable goals (semi finals), come up with the tactic and formation he thinks gives them the best chance and scouting the players that fit the mold and are wiling to work for the better of the team and finally the …..BALLS…to drop iconic Landon Donovan from the national team. All these moves have lead to the arrogance and confidence that exudes from the US team but they are facing a juggernaut in Germany, coached by klinsmann’s successor Joachim low. Although he inherited Klinsmann’s team he has yet to get to the final of the world cup and might be on the hot seat if he does not deliver with this team which most think is the best German team every assembled.

Both teams advance with a draw, which the US will be hoping for but Germany is a prideful nation and will want to show klinsmann that he should have stayed home. The Germans are professionals at Coup De Pied and with the world watching why not let it fly.

The World Cup that keeps giving by Vincesanity

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June 12, the long anticipated world cup began.  For a month, most of the world is on the same time zone, same schedule, and same hope that their home country will showcase their style of football. For a month, there will be loads of undone homework, postponed work projects, countless unexpected sickness leading to missed days a work, and definitely a month’s worth of anguish, heartbreak and magic.

ImageThe first round so far has delivered with 84 goals which stifles that of the 2010 world cup with only 45 goals and some of the gargantuan beat downs have been to the world heavy weights. Spain dealt a heavy blow in their first 2 games with scores of 5-1 and 2-0 respectively. England has been eliminated prematurely in part due to their grade school like performances.

With their bow outs come the Cinderella stories that capture our hearts. Costa Rica and Colombia have rising to the top of their groups, display their cavalier attitudes to the game, their formula; push the play with pace, utilizing their acclimation to the humidity and heat of Brazil and giving wave after wave of lung bursting counter attacks that their opponents were not prepared for. The may not make it to the final or win it all, but their have won our hearts.

Finally the African teams, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria. What will they bring to the table? Previously the world has seen two types of African teams, the one in complete turmoil and its antagonist the team that play with a pace not even the costa Rica’s of the world can cope with. The question lies will they play with the freedom they can play with or will they inevitably break our hearts once again. The story continues and we await the next plot twist.

 

Nigerian Men 101: For Non-Nigerian women dating Nigerian Men..

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If you’re a non-Nigerian woman dating a Nigerian man, here are some things you need to know about your Nigerian Man.

1. Your Nigerian Man values Education-Most Nigerian men are in foreign countries for education, sports or business. Since you are foreign, you most likely met him in your home country or a country foreign country to him.

2. Your Nigerian Man loves Soccer (fyi: we call it football)- I am yet to find a Nigerian man who doesn’t love soccer. Find out his favorite professional soccer team and support the team. The popular soccer teams are Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona and the list goes on.

3. Your Nigerian Man loves his family: if you get to meet his family, he is very serious about you. Nigerian men don’t joke with their families. To meet his family, you definitely want to leave a good impression. If his family approves of you, he will most likely marry you.

4. Your Nigerian Man’s language will tell you about his culture. If he says he is Igbo, Yoruba, Efik etc..etc. You want to read up on his culture. If he was raised in Nigeria, there are some cultural practices that he might still want to uphold. This cultural thing is more important when you meet his family, you don’t want to do anything to insult his parents or family members. Reading or asking him about his culture might be helpful to you down the road.

5. Your Nigerian Man loves his Nigerian food- you will find some Nigerian men here and there who do not like their Nigerian foods but I am yet to find one. If you want him to put a ring on it quicker, learn to cook his ethnic food and see what he will do. Most Nigerian men in foreign countries are learning or already know how to cook their ethnic food but you will impress him more if you learn to cook it or show some an interest.

More to Come… If you have any questions, please comment below or email me at [email protected]

I Dare You to live Stress-free this Year

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Did you know that your body releases a hormone called “cortisol” to help you deal with stress? Cortisol has negative effects on our body long term. My challenge for you is to live stress-free this year. Please add this goal to your New Year’s resolution. We all have one life to live and we can shorten our time on earth if we don’t reduce stress in our lives.

Here are some things I recommend you should do to de-stress:
1. Worry less-Worry doesn’t solve anything. In fact, it makes the problem worse.
2. Exercise-I know by exercising you are stressing your body but trust me, you will feel so much better if you exercise.
3. Sleep-If you don’t get enough sleep, it will affect your body at some point. Don’t play with sleep. SLEEP!
4. Laugh-Laughter is good medicine. Laugh and laugh again..
5. Do something you enjoy- if you enjoy playing soccer, hanging out with friends. Do it and make sure you include it in your schedule.
6. Count your blessings-You think you have it worse? There is somebody who has it worse than you.
7. Put things in perspective-see things from another angle for a change.
8. Learn to cast your cares unto God because he cares for you.

I hope you will add more to this list as you learn to live stress-free this year.

“With God nothing shall be impossible”-Luke 1:37