A football fan?

And how do we choose our teams?

I have always faced the inevitable argument when I am in a football discussion with a man - “You are a woman”. And this fact is true. I have boobs, I have a vagina. I have long hair, I wear make-up. I like girly things like fashion and romantic comedies. In fact, I consider myself to be a reasonably attractive woman, a successful woman, an intelligent woman. And a woman that has dedicated her life to football.


So how does that make me less of a football expert than you?

Oh, I get it. Because football knowledge is apparently not in the head of the person, but in the head of the penis. This is why men understand football better than us! It’s the most logical explanation!!! It all makes sense now!!! Oh, wait… Do you see where I’m going with this? Unless you want to argue with biology. Because I would happily watch you try to convince the textbook that your brain is in your manhood. Just saying.

Why am I even bringing this despicable question up?

Because I just had a very mature argument with a 15-year-old boy who was trying to convince me how I don’t understand football and that I haven’t achieved anything in life. Spot the sarcasm in the sentence? Just to clarify - he was a supporter of Manchester City who hates James Milner, Gareth Barry, and Joleon Lescott and also a fan of Germany and Spain… Do you understand me now? Exactly. Real fan.


So he made me think.

What is an actual fan of a football team, then?

Let’s look at the official definition of a "fan", shall we? “A person who is enthusiastically devoted to something, such as a band, a sports team, or entertainer.” A sports team. A SPORTS TEAM. A. SPORTS. TEAM. “A” indicating a singular form. One team. One. Key word - “One!” Uno. Ein.

What is my definition of a real football fan?

This is a person who has one club and one team only. For me, these are Manchester City Football Club and England National Football Team. See what I did there? Club and team - two terms make the difference easier to spot. I do follow other clubs, but they are in different leagues, and I don’t call myself their fan!

And a FAN means to be there for your team in their best moments and in their worst. To support them when they play brilliant football and when they can’t even connect a cross. To love them no matter if a player wins Man of the Match or has the worst game performance in his life. To be happy for them when they win every single trophy and when they go 44 years without one.*

And none of these things relates to gender, as far as I can see.

So, there you go, two birds with one shot, two problems I wanted to address in one article.

*This goes to you, Manchester City. I love you! This goes to you, Gareth Barry. I love you! This goes to you, Joleon Lescott. I love you! This goes to you, Joe Hart. I love you!

 We don’t choose our club! Our club chooses us!

Divorce? Really?

My theory is that when parents get divorced, they’re given some kind of a handout. When my parents told me that they were splitting, they told me three things.
One, it’s not your fault.
Two, it’s not your fault.
And three, it’s not your fault.
Problem is, I don’t buy it. No kid does.
I’ve seen the pictures of when you got married. When you were good-looking, and you smiled at each other; hell, when you even just looked at each other.
So what happened between then and now?
Me.
I came along and made you tired and cranky and anxious and I made you lose your hair and gain 20 extra pounds and…
Somewhere in all of that, I… you stopped loving each other.
So I have my own idea for a handout.
Next time, tell me:
One, happiness is hard.
Two, don’t make the same mistakes we did.
And three, okay, so maybe it is your fault a little.
You want me to be honest? You go first!

FL - Joe Hart...

Let me tell you, I was genuinely shocked when I saw that my most read post was my article about Bastian Schweinsteiger. And I was even more shocked when I saw that my third most read entry was about Steven Gerrard. So, I guess many of you like my football posts. Luckily, I'm in the mood for one more, after months of silence. Ladies and gentleman, I finally present to you the Berlin wall of Manchester City, the Number One of England National Football Team, the bulletproof... Charles Joseph John Hart, a.k.a. Joe "Save Hands" Hart.

For those of you who are regularly reading my blog, you might be surprised that he comes third in my Football Legends series. After all, I probably seems obsessed with him. But we have to recognize the fact that he became a "real" player in 2010. Don't get me wrong, he is amazing, but I believe that he has a lot more to learn about the game. His career is just starting.

His story is very interesting, I have to say. Even though he was recruited by Manchester City in 2006, when he was 19 years old, his true career there started only last season. His "Cinderella Story" started in August 2010. After a series of loans in different clubs and proving that he can handle the Premier League, his luck smiled on him at a game against Tottenham Hotspur. Because of some problems, the first-choice goalkeeper, Shay Given, was not able to start the game.

Hart was the second choice, so he took the hot spot between the sticks. The game went from bad to worse for City as Tottenham moved the entire game in front of Hart's goal. And what he did there was phenomenal. After more than 15 clear-shot saves and more than 15 other deflections he kept a clean sheet and helped his struggling team get a 0-0 draw from a surely lost game. Not only that, but he won the "Man of the Match" award, a rare honor for a goalkeeper, especially on his first game against such a big team.

That was it. That was the moment in which he sealed his position as a first-team goalkeeper and Shay Given was moved to the bench. In his first Premier League season, Joe Hart won the Barclay's Golden Glove for keeping 18 clean sheets. He also broke the club record, by keeping an overall of 29 matches during a season clean. Now, Joe Hart is the seventh best goalkeeper in the world (With which I disagree, because he is far better than names which are there only because they play in big teams. I'm not saying who they are... Khum, khum, Casillas, khum, khum!), and the best goalkeeper in the UK. He was also the main reason why Manchester City managed to qualify for the Champions League this year.

I have a very interesting story with him as well. I was watching the very first qualifier for the Euro 2012. It was England versus Bulgaria, but the match was played at Wembley, so I couldn't attend. Now, I have to be honest with you, my first though when I saw him was: "Damn, he's cute." It's true that he made some good saves that game, but it only served to draw my attention to him. It was only later, when I started watching the Premier League when I saw how amazing he is in his position. After a few games, he easily became one of my favorite players. After Van Der Saar's retirement, he became my ultimate favorite goalkeeper as well.

He is also the very first football player that I saw in real life. It was in the second game between Bulgaria and England, which was played here, in Sofia. Of course, I attended. It turned out that my seat was next to Hart's goal. Ironically, England scored all three goals against us in the first half, on the other side of the pitch, which meant I barely saw a thing. But I had 45-minute "Joe-Hart-Resting-Next-To-His-Goal" show. I can't complain.

There are many games that make him a legend. Games, in which he saved his team from pure embarrassment. Many people believe that Capello made a terrible mistake by keeping him on the bench during the World Cup, which England made a fiasco at. But now, in Euro 2012, they have hope. At least, I have hope. And one last fun fact - England has not lost a single game with Joe Hart between the sticks. Just saying, keep it up!

Joe Hart's Moment of Glory Versus Tottenham Hotspur:

Some more talent:

And, of course, his soundtrack:

The End...

Last night, I dreamt of the end of the world. It was one of the strangest dreams I ever had. And let me tell you, it is not true that when you die in a dream, you wake up in real life. I don't remember much, but I do remember the last few moments.

The strange thing was that it was beautiful. It was night, and you could see the planets lined up, leading to the Sun. It wasn't shining, however, it was as if you're looking at it from space, not from Earth. The Milky Way was passing right behind it. It was truly beautiful.

The next thing that happened was that a huge other planet started moving quickly towards us. It was so colorful, and it looked like Saturn, with rings, and it had some moons, I think, but they were red and purple. So, I saw it crash into Earth, and that was it...

I remember that in the dream, I was thinking about 2012 and how it was all rubbish, right before I saw the scene described above. Well done, media, you managed to brainwash even the person who didn't care at all about such things. Bravo!

Anyway, I was more interested in the part where I was dying. I now it's just a dream, but in the dream, it felt like falling asleep, but not being able to move at all. Just my mind, drifting away slowly, then suddenly waking up in a different place. So I wandered, what happens after you die?

So, I made my own research, and I found four main theories about death.
Which one sounds most plausible to you, or do you have your own theory?

Theory No.1 - The Afterlife.
Researcher - Dr. Eben Alexander III.
Explanation - Basically, it's the typical "die and go to heaven" idea, where the perfect life awaits you in a metaphysical place, where you'll meet all dead people, reunite with your passed away relatives, and have all your dreams come true in a way.
Evidence - The professor mentioned above actually fell into a deep coma, also known as "brain death". This means that his brain does not function, therefore if the "soul and mind" are really in the connections made in the brain, his soul was supposed to be dead. No dreams, no memories, nothing, not even functions such as breathing. And this is irreversibe. Basically, the human being within you is dead. There is just the body, which is supported by machines. However, after seven days in such a state, Dr. Alexander III woke up, his mind completely intact, remembering visions from his dreams, including the vision of what he describes as God. Therefore, when he was dead, he still had a spiritual experience in the afterlife.

Theory No.2 - The Free Mind.
Researcher - Dr. Bruce Greyson.
Explanation - He believes that the mind can exist without any body supporting it. It is very similar to the first theory, but instead of the religious concept, he suggest a different level of existence in the same plane that living people inhabit.
Evidence - He has worked with many people that have been near death. And they all, similar to Dr. Alexander III, claim that they felt completely in peace and that they encountered dead family members and friends.

Theory No.3 - There Is No Death.
Researcher - Robert Lanza.
Explanation - It's is hard for me to explain it, so I will quote the Huffington Post: "Since space and time only exist as tools for us to understand the world around us - i.e. without consciousness, space and time don't actually exist - we don't really ever die."
Evidence - There isn't any, really. It's just a theory. I, myself, don't understand it completely, but it is still interesting to read about.

Theory No.4 - Nothing.
Researcher - Dr. Wendy Wright.
Explanation - Here, we have the complete opposite of the first theory. And the most pessimistic one, as well. She says that all of these visions mentioned above are simply tricks of the stressed or dying brain. She claims that there is nothing after death, you just... vanish.
Evidence - No evidence here as well, except the biological references. I, personally cannot imagine that I can just stop existing, so I'm not a supporter of this theory, but I guess that we will all eventually learn what the truth is, so...

I hope you found that interesting. I would love to hear your opinion or theory, so e-mail me if you like. See you soon. :)

Dear Governments...

Dear Governments,

Governments of Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. You know what this will be about. I am not going to go into the argument that many of the hundreds of millions protesters will use against your decision to approve ACTA. I'm just going to perform my role as a concerned citizen that starts to feel a little bit insecure about the future of her nation.

I'm just going to give some definitions and examples. What you'll think of them is up to you.

Government (Definition, according to Wikipedia): "Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized."

Since I live in a republic, I'm going to explore the problem from that point of view.

Republic (Definition, according to Wikipedia): "A republic is a form of government in which people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where officers of state are elected or chosen by elected people."

Democracy (Definition, according to Wikipedia): "Democracy in its purest or most ideal form would be a society in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. The voting public takes part in the elections."

Now, this should sound familiar. Most of you represent such form of government. At least, that is what you should be by DEFINITION. Let's see something else, shall we?

Totalitarianism (Definition, according to Wikipedia): "Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible."

Oppression (Definition, according to Wikipedia): "Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. Being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse condiitions, and anxiety."

This should also sound familiar. Millions of people gave their lives to free their nations and children from such abominations of government. Germany knows, Russia knows, Italy knows, Bulgaria knows... All of you know.

Let's view the facts. There are millions of people downloading movies, music, and books from the Internet. Hundreds of millions. Pretty much everyone that knows how to use computers. Think this through. When so many people protest against their governments' decisions, the result is only one... And it usually doesn't favor the governments.

Will you arrest millions of working people just because they downloaded a movie?
Will you arrest millions of promising teenagers just because they listen to pirated music?
Will you arrest millions of citizens who saved a few pictures on their computers?

No.
I know.
You have downloaded too. You, the politicians. You, the artists. You, the police. Everyone.

Will you shut Facebook down?
Will you shut the Pirate Bay down?
Will you shut YouTube down?
Will you shut Tumblr down?
Will you shut Blogger down?
Will you shut Skype down?
Will you shut the Internet down?

And then what? You think that will be the end of it? Wrong. Dead wrong.

It is not acceptable for people who make hundreds of millions per year to have DEMANDS on a population of middle class people, who prefer to download, instead of buying their music and movies. Harry Potter's last movie made 381 million dollars in the United States only. I went to the cimena, payed for the ticket and watched it. Why shouldn't I be able to download and watch it again? These people have more than enough money already.

My mother is a doctor. A pediatrician. She saves children's lifes everyday. She works in three different hospitals at the same time. She works 12 hours a day, including weekends. Every single day she has to put up with abuse from patients, since in Bulgaria no one has the right attitude towards medics. She is forced to pick up her cell phone at 11 p.m., even on weekends, just to fix a running nose. And do you know what? She gets less than 2000 dollars a month! From all three jobs. Now, tell me I have to pay to watch movies. Tell me I have to pay to listen to music.

In what world do we live, where doctors get mere pennies compared to the Hollywood companies. And in the end who demands more money? The billionaires? The money making machines? No one, and I repeat, no one will conform to this. The only change that will occur will be massive riots, unrest, destruction, people dead, militarization of countries, changed governments.

When everyone is guilty of a crime, is it still a crime?

Think about this. And do not take this as a threat, but as a warning. Remember this: "People should not be afraid of their governments... Governments should be afraid of their people."

Don't let these movies become our reality. It already is bad enough...