FIFA 13 - Feels So Good

Part 1: Reflections

There's no telling how many hours of my life I've handed over to Career Mode on FIFA.  If I had instead spent that time to something else, maybe brushing up on my German or working out at the gym, there's no doubt I would be much better off.  I've been playing it like a madman recently, partly because I'm trying to squeeze the last bit of idle fun out of the summer and partly because I just recently purchased the latest edition, FIFA 13.  I debated on buying it for a long time, but when the FIFA 11 disc started to crack, it was only a matter of time.  On the bright side, I snagged it for a cool $35.  I'd say I've gotten my money's worth out of it.

I have many fond memories of creating great teams on career mode.  I'm especially fond of my Northampton Town, Sunderland (they were the worst team in the BPL at the time), and numerous Arsenal careers.  Some of the memories are very clear. I remember my two favorite strikers from NHT: Gyan and McManus.  I remember how excited I was when I made my first signing: Brian McBride.  I remember putting together a Sunderland team with Klose, Podolski Lampard, Ballack, Raul, van Nistelrooy and, of course, Del Piero.  I remember when I first started getting interested in Arsenal (FIFA 04 on the GameCube): the Invincibles! They were right under my nose, but I didn't even know it.  I just thought the Henry/Bergkamp comb was beast mode (which it definitely was).  I must've been 14 or 15 years old at the time. 

It was difficult to watch soccer back then.  There was only the World Cup every fourth summer.


Part 2: Nerdgasm [Read No Further]

I've been telling myself for a while that I need to write more things down.  It's generally a good habit, and it's a great way to preserve memories.  You can re-live the little moments that would have otherwise faded away.  I have the feeling that my FIFA playing days are numbered, so I'm going to record the trials and tribulations of my current exploits so that I can enjoy them forever.  Given the amount of time I spend fiddling with this game, I might was well write some of it down.  You are, of course, welcome to read it if you like, but only a FIFA nerd will truly appreciate it.


Arsenal
Season 1:

The first thing I did was to switch all the teams from the Rest of the World category (and Celtic) into Leagues 1 and 2.  This included teams like Galatasaray, Orlando Pirates, Kaiser Chiefs, and Olympiakos.  It's made the cup tournaments much more interesting to say the least. 

I generally stuck with the default 4-2-3-1, but I did also use an attacking 4-3-3 when I wanted to mix it up and get some more width on the pitch.  My back four were Gibbs, Koscielny, Mertesacker, and Jenkinson with Vermaelen filling in as necessary.  I didn't really use Monreal that often.  I started Arteta and Wilshere in the double pivot; Ramsay and Diaby were the understudies.  For the attack, I had Santi Carzola/Rosicky in the middle, Podolski on the left, and Walcott/Ox on the right.  Giroud/Gervinho was up top, and Szczesny was in goal.  I loaned out most of the youngsters, I sold Sagna for double his value in the summer window, and I picked up Eriksen in the winter window for 18.5 M.  If I'm not mistaken, it was also during January that I got Luke Shaw for around 3.5 M.  Solid purchases if I do say so myself.

Although I won the domestic triple, I stumbled at the finish line and lost to Juventus in the Champions League final.  The group stage of the tournament started out simple enough: Valencia, Marseilles, and Kobenhavn.  I ended up playing Valencia again later on, but I also had to get through PSG and Barca.  The two games with PSG were very close, but I beat Barca pretty convincingly in the semi-finals.  I was feeling confident going into the final game, but it wasn't meant to be.  Tevez scored a ridiculous goal early on, Ramsay got a straight red in the second half, and I couldn't stop hitting the post throughout the entire game.  Luckily, I managed to score with a few minutes to spare, but Tevez hit another one in extra time to seal the deal.  What a bummer.  2-1 to the Old Lady.

George Smiley sure knows how to rip a man to pieces:

While Control was no man's child, Percy Alleline was a lowland Scot and a son of the Manse; his father was a Presbyterian hammer, and if Percy did not have his faith, he had surely inherited the faculty of bullish persuasion.  He missed the way by a year or two and joined the Circus from a City company.  At Cambridge he had been a bit of a politician (somewhat to the right of Genghis Khan, said Haydon, who was himself, Lord knows, no milk-and-water liberal) and a bit of an athlete.

from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (p.130, ch. 16)


So subtle, so understated. It's little flourishes like this that really stand out to me in a book. I also scribbled down a few phrases that I found especially delightful -- lugubrious inevitability, an air of need prevailing over wealth, with a speed which had no place in time.

This guy.

Flashback: Emirates Stadium; or, the Pilgrimage of a Gunner

When it comes to sports, I generally pull for the home team - Bulldawgs, Braves, Falcons, etc. Sure, I've had a few other favorites in the past, the Packers in the 90s, the Steelers until recently. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I also used to really like the Nets, but let's be honest. It was pretty much just Jason Kidd. As it stands today, there is only one team that I hold dear to my heart: Arsenal F.C.

I don't remember the first time I watched an Arsenal game. It must have been sometime around my sophomore or junior year of high school. There was Pires, Vieira, Bergkamp, and, of course, the French maestro up top, Thierry Henry. There's a new crop of Gunners these days, and they play beautiful football. Absolutely wonderful football. Last summer, I was fortunate enough to visit Emirates Stadium. It was as close to a religious pilgrimage as I had ever come. I spent around two hours exploring the grounds, and I raided the gift shop without shame. Although I wasn't able to watch a game, I am happy to have seen Ashburton Grove in person, and this, I think, in some strange way, makes watching home games on television that much more special for me.








The man who started it all:

Tintern Abbey

"...Nor wilt thou then forget,
That after many wanderings, many years
Of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs,
And this green pastoral landscape, were to me
More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake."

-William Wordsworth, 1798
Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey

The first thing I did when I saw Tintern Abbey was reach for my camera, but I've come to realize that no photograph could ever capture the magnificence of this mighty ruin. After exploring the grounds, my classmates and I sat in a small patch of grass and read our Wordsworth. I think that I will always remember that Welsh breeze.

Here are a few of the pictures I snagged, but before you look at them, I must warn you: Ancient Monuments can be dangerous.



Tintern Abbey:











Tintern Abbey, interior:





The old monastery:





The River Wye:

Oxford, Thus Far

Much to my surprise, Oxford is nothing like the sleepy town I had originally envisioned. In fact, it's turned out to be quite a busy place. Throughout the entire day, the streets are crowed with tourists on holiday. Truth be told, I've struggled to keep up. I can best describe the experience as a constant feeling of sensory overload. I have been totally lost in the beauty of this town. The architecture and the gardens are sublime. I find myself walking the same paths, yet discovering something new each and every time.

At this point though, I will say that I feel fairly well-acclimated to my new, albeit temporary, residence. After the first day, I learned to look left, not right, while crossing the street. I'm also proud to say that I'm no longer tempted by the familiar aroma of the Burger King, although I've yet to treat myself to an obligatory meal of fish and chips.

I'll be spending most of next week acquainting myself with Jane Austin's Mansfield Park as well as matters concerning the Medieval Papacy. Perhaps I'll share some of it with you.

And now, dear reader, please allow me to share with you a brief glimpse out and beyond my window sill.


My desk, already characteristically cluttered:




To the left:




Straight ahead; note the library on the right:




A fierce, barbed-wire lion: