World Cup 2018 Bid

Have you heard that NSW Premier Morris Iemma is pushing all Australian states to come together and organise a bid for the 2018 Soccer World Cup. He has done an ok job as ninemsn has reported. The only hurdle politically is probably going to be between the Victorian and NSW Premiers debating whether the MCG or Telstra Stadium should host the final. When I believe they have much more important things to worry about, such as the fitness of our stadiums to host such an event. Here are some points to comprehend:

• Germany had 12 stadiums
• All hold 40,000 plus spectators
• Hamburg – 50,000
• Hanover – 43,000
• Berlin – 72,000
• Gelsenkirchen – 52,000
• Dortmund – 65,000
• Franfurt – 48,000
• Kaiserslautern – 46,000
• Cologne – 45,000
• Leipzig – 43,00
• Munich – 66,000
• Nuremburg – 41,000
• Stuttgart – 52,000
• All, I believe, are dedicated to Soccer
• Our stadiums have League, Union, Aussie Rules, or a mixture of all three played on them
• These sports chop up the surface – and soccer players won’t like that
• These sports will probably have to interrupt their seasons to fit in these games

According to Australian Stadiums we have the following venues that may suffice as far as capacity is concerned:

• Sydney
• Telstra Stadium – 83,500
• Aussie Stadium – 42,000
• Sydney Cricket Ground – 44,000
• Melbourne
• Melbourne Cricket Ground – 100,000
• Telstra Dome – 56,347
• Brisbane
• Suncorp Stadium – 52,500
• Gabba – 42,000
• Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre (formally ANZ Stadium) – 48,400
• Adelaide
• AAMI Stadium – 51,515
• Adelaide Oval – 33,597
• Perth
• Subiaco Oval – 42,992
• NZ
• Eden Park – 45,472
• Jade Stadium – 36,500
• Westpac Stadium – 36,000

We have a lot of Stadiums around the 20,000 capacity due mainly, I believe, because of our population. We don’t have enough people to require huge venues for regular use. We only have Telstra Stadium today because the world was coming here to watch the Olympics in 2000. The MCG was redeveloped primarily for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and only fills for big matches like AFL finals, Rugby Tests and Soccer Internationals.

I have even checked out New Zealand. More out of desperation than anything else as I don't think we have the facilities at the moment. Maybe our trans-tasman friends can help us out. Even though they dropped out for the Rugby World Cup and theis event is much bigger.

Out of that list we have no dedicated Soccer ovals. Not even half of them are rectangle.

So Iemma and co. should start building!

Local Product

It was asked of me this week whether I would stay up late for a Swans game. This was asked after my vehement rejection of the suggestion to stay up to watch the Socceroos play Italy. I tried to give the question due consideration and I found it really difficult for a few reasons:

• AFL games are always on at a decent hour (particularly if you have Foxtel)
• Every Swans game is either live or slightly delayed in Sydney.
• If I were to be in another country I believe AFL games would not be televised at all
• There is no World Cup for Australian Rules Football. There is the International Rules against Ireland and I have stayed up on occasion for those.

It’s the beauty of supporting local product. So if you are contemplating supporting Soccer after the success in Germany, try the A League, it starts in August.

Perceptions Rule....apparently

In my short experience in either playing or watching Football (nee Soccer) I have noticed that the referees let their perceptions get in the way of their judgements. For example, if you are being perceived as diving all the time then when there is a foul committed on you then it more than likely won't be called.

Now, I didn't stay up to watch the Australia Vs Brasil game so I may be wrong here. The Socceroos are perceived as a rough team, resulting in a lot of fouls being paid against them. Whereas similar offences for Brasil were not paid.

If this is the case then I'm sure everyone would agree with Harry Kewell's sentiments to the German Referee, perhaps not his method though.

Could one get suspended for that? And will the diehards believe that is part of a conspiracy?

Star Wars Rookie

It’s true.

I have never seen a Star Wars movie. I don’t get why I get so many weird looks at this revelation. Science fiction just never appealed to me. True stories and comedies are more my go.

However, I am willing to rectify this situation. I need the assistance of the various and many Star Wars veterans that I know. I have the rare opportunity to watch them in order (i.e. 1 – 6). Some think this is worth a go while others recommend watching them in the order they were made (i.e. 4 – 6, 1 – 3) citing that it’s best to watch the old tech before the new tech.

I see advantages in both ways of viewing. I’m on the fence, part of me wants to do something different and watch them 1 – 6 but then if the differences in technology are that great the whole adventure may end on a downer.

I guess for me the big point is will I get what is happening with one or the other.

FIFA World Cup

I have been trying to get into the FIFA World Cup. I have found it extremely difficult, and not just because the games are televised in our early morning hours.

Here’s an example of why I think I will never fully get into Football (nee Soccer). Late Saturday night I started watching the England Vs Paraguay match. After 3 minutes the first goal was scored from a David Beckham free kick.

I thought that as this goal was scored so early that there were more to come. I stuck it out till half time but couldn’t fight sleep any longer so I reluctantly trudged off to bed. How justified I felt when I saw the final result remained at 1 – 0. I’m glad England won but to stay up for a result like that I ain’t doing. The same thing happened on Sunday night with Holland scoring in the 18th minute and finally beating Serbia & Montenegro 1 – 0.

As Kathy McCabe wrote in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 10th June:

“Maintaining enthusiasm and a vertical position as two teams battle to escape a nil all draw during the FA Cup Final is not my idea of a good time at 5am”

I appreciate and admire the skill involved but it’s not enough to keep me up at night.

Cash Values Study

The Bible Study Growth Group I am attending has just finished the topical study called Cash Values from Matthias Media. It ran for 5 weeks, each study focussing on a certain attitude that we should hold regarding money. Following is a summary and my spin on each. I am very open to your comments.

Week 1, God & Money - God created everything, including money. We are custodians of his creation.

We should not be afraid of having money. However, with more money comes greater responsibility.

Week 2, Money as God - Seek first the kingdom of God, as money can be seductive.

Sometimes I think people get the verse mixed and say “money is the root of all evil” when it actually states “ the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Tim 6:10). There is nothing wrong with money per se, but people do funny things when they come across a large amount of it.

Week 3, Dear Prudence - Don’t be tight, or loose, with your money

In regards to being tight I have probably given my brother Danny a bad rap. I used to think he was tight but now that I am earning my own income I see what he was on about. I think people get the impression that he stores all his money away like the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21) where all his grain was stored in silos only for him to die without making the most out of his wealth. Investment is not like storing wealth away in silos, but instead it is working for you. Danny is definitely not loose, I call it accountable. However he is not tight either, and is quite generous with his money.

Week 4, Paying the Bills - Be wise with your responsibilities

Pay what you owe, be it taxes or debts. I like a decent tax return as much as the next person, but I’ve heard some disturbing stories about people going to great lengths to minimise their tax. Whether or not it was by legal means I don’t know but it sure sounded dodgy. I question whether it is worth all the time and effort to dodge paying the taxes that we should. If we follow the theme of week 2 and seek first the kingdom of God the we should heed the statement made in Matthew 22:21 in regards to tax, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” Gladly pay your taxes and then gladly fill in your tax return, embellishment free.

Week 5, Partners in Generosity - Be generous and remember the partnership we are involved in.

Being generous was a rather easy concept to grasp, but where to be generous? Has our generosity been misguided? Through our study we learnt that the local church should be given number one priority when directing our monetary generosity. After that I’m not quite sure. There was talk of supporting missionary organizations such as CMS. Also there are so many organizations that don’t have a religious agenda. For example I support The Shepherd Centre who help kids with hearing disorders. My main question was where should our priority be after the local church.

Testing God

A good reason not to test God. The story is short, check it out by clicking the title above.

Church Sports Organisations

Why is it that I have witnessed the worst acts of sportsmanship while playing in Church sporting competitions? I have played for three years of cricket with Greystanes Churches and this year playing soccer for Wenty Uniting. Of course it is always a rogue element that are bad sports. But their bad are worse than any other competition I have played in. Something else that is scary is that it is usually the one that calls the two teams to have a pre match prayer that is the worst sport in their team.