The Misfortunate Underbelly of Sports

Today is a very sad day in the world of sports. It's one of those days that people wish never happened. It's one of those events that one can actually call a tragedy. Yet with all this, it can only be classified as an accident. During an intense soccer game between Stoke City and Arsenal, young Aaron Ramsey was on the receiving end of a career threatening tackle, which left his foot practically in another zip from his body. The tragic part of this whole ordeal is also the fact that the player was only 18 years old. I believe that no matter what team one supports or what beliefs they may have, we as human beings should react to such a situation not with heckling and laughter but with remorse and pity for the young player. The fact that the player was so young and had already established a name for himself in the sport shows not only that he is an amazing talent but also sadly someone who hasn't been able reap the full benefits of complete education. This leaves him with two options, the first being to remain mentally strong, recover over a year or two and then try to return to the sport or to find the closest burger joint in town and start learning how to flip patties. In the context of Woodstock, I feel this is an important lesson. In a community where soccer is definitely the most followed and most played sport, one must understand the possible consequences of sports and the value of an education. Sure the injury can be written off as a one off thing but can the gravity and future repercussions of the situation be really ignored? Heres hoping to a speedy recovery for Aaron Ramsey.




Thanks to MW2Funnies for the video.

Here's a picture for those with slow connections.




Picture courtesy of goal.com. Thank You!

BEASTLY!

There are times in life and video games when one must do something different to achieve happiness. Today my friends, I am going to do something different, monumental, legendary... I am going to talk about Sachin Tendulkar's monumental 200 run performance. This was something the whole world should have seen, an aging Tendulkar creating records never thought possible, especially at the ripe age of 36! 200 runs by one man is definitely something to remember. The other record which he created almost went unnoticed, most boundaries in one inning, a massive 25 boundaries... that's a hundred runs from from boundaries alone!!! After such a performance, the pavilion in the Gwalior stadium was named after him. In the context of Woodstock, it comes right in time to inspire hidden cricket players to try out for the team. The performance was definitely something to marvel and will definitely be remembered for ages to come. Hopefully, our team will be replicate something even half as good!



Thanks to tkmondal for the video
Picture Courtesy of BBC

Sportless...

This week seems to be clearly one not for sports. Quite depressing. There were meant to be basketball team tryouts but it turns out they were just a hoax. Apparently, these basketball tryouts were held just for the Korean Television Station. Its cases like these that just leave me wondering why. The Cricket team tryouts were also held this week but was met with a much higher turnout, meaning many more clowns trying for the heck of it. Student X was so enthusiastic about it that when he had to do some Fielding practice, he tried to field without using his hands. Also, when he had the chance to throw the ball back to the bowler, he decided to throw under-arm. Though this seems very gloomy, there was some good news. My sources have informed me that the moment hostel opens up, the new and improved HPL will start as well. The HPL, Hostel Premier League for those unaware, is basically an expanded version of last semesters RPL. The last time the HPL was held, it ended in disarray with people accusing the referee's of being biased. This time around let's hope its nothing like that. Anyway, that's all from this sad week, hopefully there will be sporty days on the horizon.

The First Post

Welcome all to a first-of-its-kind blog. A blog solely about sporting events in Woodstock. First off, I would like to congratulate the boys soccer team for once again proving why soccer in Asia is constantly improving. Their 9-3 dismantling of the staff team was definitely one for the enthusiasts and everyday spectators. The game itself started on quite a bright note for the staff team who raced to an early two goal lead with goals coming from teacher/dorm parent Mr. Tim Raby and Mr. Suman Mitra , they had definitely been practicing and were clearly up for it. This initial setback only served to spur on the boys as they tried to fight back immediately. The boys fought back with a goal coming off the boot of sensational rookie Benjamin Thapa. The goal put the staff under immense pressure as the boys continued their relentless attacking. Their attacking play was soon rewarded as midfield machine Gaurab Adhikari snatched a well taken goal to equalise. The game then took an intense turn as Thapa managed to grab another goal to give the boys a well deserved lead. The staff, now trailing by a goal, decided to go for the jugular and put the pressure on the boys. Their efforts immediately bore fruit as they struck back with a super effort from Mr. Raby again. At this point it seemed as though the staff were going to begin fighting hard to assert their supremacy, but it was simply not be. Charismatic midfielder Temjenmoa Jamir apparently then decided to start playing serious by opening his account with a well taken goal, giving the lead back permanently to the boys. With the scores now 4-3, the boys were in cruise control and began scoring for fun. Thapa scored right after Jamir for his hat trick, he was clearly enjoying this. Jamir followed Thapa's example by scoring his second goal of the night. He was to end the game as the highest scorer with 4 goals. The last goal came from the tireless MinJae Park who completed the rout with a superb goal. Fair play to the staff though, nabbing three goals is probably the best they could have hoped for. On another note, combat sports seem to be on the rise. Both Boxing and Karate have been labeled as the "fun" things to do during the weekends. In an environment with vicious monkeys and dangerous dorm parents, I think this is probably the best way to keep ones self safe. The Boxing itself is actually an improvement on last semesters efforts. The team now has a punching bag and 5 pairs of gloves with wraps. Well that's all for this post, watch out for the next post... We might be hitting the Cricket Pitches!