Anyway, I've still been watching, and Wayne Rooney's goal to lift Manchester United 2-1 over City is probably the most aesthetically pleasing goal I've ever seen. I've watched this video 20,000 times, accounting for two thirds of the YouTube views, and am still not sick of it.
"Wayne Rooney is back!" the pundits claimed. I never understood how a player could be "back" after one goal, albeit a spectacular one. But the assertion got me to thinking about all Rooney has been through the last year. He injured his ankle towards the end of the 2009-10 Premier League season, limiting his mobility, and still finished the season with 26 Premier League goals.
The English National Team followed with a poor showing in the World Cup, highlighted by Rooney's ineffectiveness. Citing his injury, some questioned whether he should have been playing at all. Then news of his extramarital affair was leaked, compounding his already sketchy public image.
Rooney returned to United and squabbled with Sir Alex Ferguson over a new contract, threatened to leave the club, and came off immature through out the entire process. All of this from Rooney despite being held goalless in open play for the previous eight months of the Premier League season.
I've tried to come up with a cross-sport equivalent of 2010 Wayne Rooney and there's absolutely no comparison. Rooney made Brett Favre's year look Sportsman of the Year Award worthy by comparison.
But hey, "Wayne Rooney is back, baby!" Unfortunately, it took his "return" to realize I liked the struggling, considerably less rich, and womanizing version of Rooney much better.
I've also changed my mind about the EPL schedule. A few months ago I whined about the lack of an end-of-the-year playoff. I thought they should assign seeds to the top eight seeds and let them battle for the league title. I argued that the mini-tournament didn't have to affect Champions League draws, as the top four seeds after the regular season would already clinch berths. I just thought something more needed to be done about crowning an official champion, rather than relying on regular season record.
Turns out that the pursuit of a top four seed is just as fun. Tottenham, Chelsea, and Manchester City are all currently in the hunt for the last two spots. Every game at this point is magnified. Dropping points to inferior teams is especially painful, and scoreboard watching is in full force. It reminds me of the end of the NFL season when teams are more concerned with making the playoffs, rather than what seed they are. I take playoff plead back, this is pretty fun too.
Lennon, who routinely beat his defender, was Spurs best playmaker. He made a couple good crosses to Crouch in the first half but they ultimately amounted to nothing. It was only fitting that the two would hook up to put the game away.
In the 80th minute, Lennon made Mario Yepes miss and delivered a perfect pass to Crouch, who tucked the ball inside the left corner. Milan midfielder Gennaro Gatusso attempted to goad Crouch into a fight the entire game, but Crouch left with the last laugh. Gatusso will miss the second leg after picking up a yellow card in the game. He even head butted Tottenham assistant manager Joe Jordan after the game, and could possibly face suspension. You have to love UEFA for that very reason--a head butt doesn't necessarily warrant a suspension.
I'm proud of Spurs. They went into a hostile environment, came out aggressive, and weren't intimidated by a side playing dirty in the second half. And they did it without Gareth Bale, who is still nursing an ailing back. A draw would have been a good result, but with the win, Spurs have set themselves up nicely to advance to the final eight.
That's the last time I'll talk soccer until March 9th. I promise.
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