Witnessing Partial History
by Cheval John
When I got to the club house at 2:30 p.m , I saw that Spain was leading Italy 2-0 going into half time.
I thought I missed out because I saw that it was going to start at 2:30 p.m.
What I failed to realize was that the start time was in eastern time and not central time.
In reality, I did not miss anything but the two goals that was scored by David Silva and Jordi Alba that gave Spain a 2-0 lead.
My thinking was that Italy had a chance to make a comeback because they had really good players like Mario Balotelli.
What I did not know was that they never scored 3 goals in any of the games they won to reach the final and would have to get 3 goals in order to beat Spain.
They came out with urgency in the first 10 minutes of the second half as had chances to score.
They even used their final substitution that brought in Thiago Matta to give them fresh legs.
The result was they managed only three shots, but still could not score.
Worst of all, Matta went down with a hamstring injury that left Italy shorthanded and dashed the hopes for them to win.
Substitutes Fernando Torres and Juan Mata scored the final two goals for Spain in the 83rd and 88th minute, respectively to put the game out of reach and to win the title.
A lot of history was made in Spain’s run at the 2012 UEFA Euro Tournament.
Here are a few stats that stood out:
Spain only conceded one goal in the entire tournament. Ironically, that conceded goal was against Italy in the first round.
With the win, Spain became the first team to win three straight major tournaments. (UEFA Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup).
Fernando Torres became the first player to score in two UEFA Euro finals appearance. He scored the game-winning goal in the Euro 2008 final against Germany that gave Spain their first Euro title.
Vicente del Bosque became the second head coach in history to win the UEFA Euro Cup and the FIFA World Cup.
A “Decision” That Has Ramifications
by Cheval John
With the Miami Heat defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder last night by the score of 121-106 to win the National Basketball Association (NBA) title, Lebron James can finally be considered as one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history.
James scored 26 points, pull down 11 rebounds and added 13 assists.
For his efforts, he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NBA Finals.
Yes, he left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Heat to reach this milestone in his career.
But the way how he left is something that still has to be looked at even though it has been almost two years since the infamous “decision.”
I can understand if he went to Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert and told him, “I did everything that he could to bring a championship to the city of Cleveland, but it wasn’t enough.”
“So I decided that I am going to the Miami Heat in order to increase my chances at winning an NBA title.”
That alone would have been more commendable and if Mr. Gilbert got mad, then that would have been his problem because he had every opportunity for seven years to build a team around James.
But instead, he decided decided to stage a one-hour special on ESPN to announce his decision.
That to me was unprofessional and a disgrace because he declared that I am more important than you and at the same time, it embarrassed the city of Cleveland.
No other superstar have done what he did because they understood that it was all about the team and the fans that pays big bucks to see their home team perform.
For example, Didier Drogba, who was with the English football (soccer) club, Chelsea, F.C. for 8 years, left for the Chinese club, Shanghai Shenhua after the 2011-12 season.
He played an integral role in the club winning their first UEFA Champions League title in Munich, Germany last month against hometown favorite Bayern Munich.
He could have left in the same fashion as James.
Instead, he told his entire teammates and the owner that he was leaving for other opportunities because he felt that it was the right thing to do.
He even did an interview with Chelsea T.V., the club’s own television station to explain his decision and thanked the fans for their support of the team.
Drogba understood that the club gave him a chance to prove himself and that it wasn’t about him, but it was about the team.
Also, he was honest with his teammates and the fans.
Because of that, he will be welcomed back with open arms whenever he wants to return to the club while Mr. James will always be remembered for that infamous “decision” no matter what he does for the remainder of his NBA career.
The Luckiest Man In The World
by Cheval John
I can truly say that I am proud that Eardley A. John is my father.
He has been there for us during the good times and the bad.
He has taught me lessons that I am trying to emulate today.
One lesson that sticks to my mind is “Never say that you can’t do it.”
The lesson behind that happened thirty-three years ago.
He was promoted to division manager of a industrial store after the previous manager was sacked for disclosed reasons.
He was there from the very beginning when the store opened in 1977 on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
It was a part of a chain of stores that was based in Puerto Rico.
When he became manager, he just went out with a can do attitude and grow the store from within.
Over the years, the stores was acquired by a global industrial corporation and he has learned new things along the way.
His hard work and dedication to us and his work is an example that I want to emulate
Hopefully, I can do what he did in a different capacity.
Don’t Give Up On Your Dreams
by Cheval John
At times I wonder if I would find a full time job.
I know people who have graduated from college find a full-time job within a three to six month period.
With the current recession that began in December of 2007, it is harder to find a job because most positions requires that you have a certain amount of experience.
I worked in fast food restaurants during my time as an undergraduate and quit my last job after I graduated in May 2009.
I spent the summer in Chile because I wanted to experience the culture in a much deeper way.
During that time, I studied at a university and did an internship with a marketing company.
I thought that I was going to get a full time job once I returned because I speak English and Spanish, gained international marketing experience and had two college degrees.
To my surprise, no one was hiring.
It was frustrating because I grew up believing that if you had a college degree, doors would open up for you.
I kept searching for a year and wondered,“Will I ever find a job?”
I didn’t give up and when I least expect it, I got a job in a retail store.
Though it wasn’t what I wanted, I was happy because it was better than unemployment.
Along the way, I developed new skills that have put me in a position for a better job once the economy recovers.
You might think that your time in college wasn’t worth it because of the recession.
In reality, college is still the best option because you will learn new things that you would not have learned in high school and develop new skills within a campus organization that will give you an edge once you graduate.
And even if you did all those things and still can’t find a job, don’t give up because when you least expect it, you will land the job of your dreams.
Not All Ratings Are Good Ratings
by Cheval John
Everyone witnessed history on Tuesday night when the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
The gold medal win was their first since 1996 when the “Magnificent Seven” won it at the ’96 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
The only problem is that the event took place three to four hours before NBC aired it in prime time.
Some wonder why they choose to air the event on tape delay when the United Kingdom is five hours ahead of New York.
NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus believes that by showing important events on tape delay, it will draw more viewers than being shown live.
“I think what we’ve proven is that the American viewing public likes the way we tell the story and wants to gather in front of the television with their friends and family-even if they have the ability to watch it live either on television or digitally,” Lazarus said to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal.
“I inherently trust that decision is the right one and that people want to see these events.”
This is not the first time that they have done this.
In fact, it has been happening for years.
For example, the “Miracle on Ice” that took place at Lake Placid, New York during the 1980 Winter Olympics, was seen by 34.2 million viewers on ABC.
Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when Team USA defeated the heavy favorite “U.S.S.R. (now Russia).
However, the event was shown on tape delay as well while television networks around the world showed the game live to their viewing audience.
Those Americans who were either at the game or lived overseas were able to witness history before them while those who lived in the states and watched it on television, saw it about three to four hours after it happened.
To be fair, the announcers of NBC tells the viewers to turn away from the set as they display the results so that those who want to see the competition can enjoy it without knowing the results beforehand.
But, with the internet, people can find out the results of a specific event within minutes, even if they have no intention to because it is advertise as soon as you start using the internet.
It’s true that the ratings are much higher if the events are shown in tape delay.
At the end of the day, they cheat their viewers out of the olympic experience.
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