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JIFL News N°10.vol 2. Season 2005-2006:: Summary 1. Edito 2. Send your games info 3. This week's schedule 4. Current league standings 5. Games reports 6. JIFL Man of the match ------------------------------------------
One of the most satisfying events of anybody's life
Hee-eeeeee Haw! Hee-eeeee Haw! It wasn't my intention and already last week I was praising them but this week we have the first ever 'Jack-Ass of the Week' Award for somebody at German Plus. I probably shouldn't even write this since that particular culprit most likely cannot even read English let alone speak or write it. That superb winner is none other than whoever made one of the league's most ridiculous decisions that I have heard of in the seven years that I have been here. Here is the story as I gathered it from several sources: Game is scheduled at Sentul. German Plus is host. The Mighty Lions are the challengers. Kickoff is officially at 4:10 PM. Around 3:45 PM the heavens open up to a supreme rainstorm which pours on Sentul with lightning and thunder to boot. The X-Pats -vs- Team Japan game is called off at halftime by the referees somewhere around 4:10-15 PM since their kickoff was scheduled at 3:40 PM. (Incidentally, it is now re-scheduled for the 2nd half of the season as is proper). The Lions, being caught in the storm on the way to Sentul, are understandably delayed and start to arrive at just after 4:00 PM in small groups as is usual. Meanwhile the pitch is flooded. Now, here is the punchline as the Lions are dressing for the match, somebody in the German side decides to line the Deutscher side up on the field quickly and have the referees take position. Referee blows the whistle and Germany kicks off against NOBODY! The referee is told to blow the whistle again and the Germans walk off the field and stake claim to two points stating that the match is forfeit since the Lions are not present. I know some of you are already laughing your asses off but wait there is more. The boys at German Plus refused to discuss the issue and packed up their gear and headed home leaving the Lions there wondering what the hell is going on. Well, we can argue about several elements to this claim for instance: The league allows 15 to 20 minutes delay-start time for a team to assemble after the official appointed kickoff. We have all experienced this situation at one time or another. Captains are always accommodating and sympathetic since we are know sometimes how difficult it is to get all committed to a time and date depending on work schedules, traffic problems, etc. The point is that we are a football league and we all are here to actually play football. The key word in that sentence is 'play'. See, what happened here was that no game actually took place. Is that satisfying to anybody out there? Does anybody prefer to win by forfeit rather than to actually go into battle and prove that you are the better side on any particular day? I, for one, always want to play against your best side. I love it when my best side plays your best side. Then a good game of football ensues. Regardless of who wins, a really good game of football is rare and one of the most satisfying events of anybody's life. Winning it is icing on the cake. The cake is the match itself. Nothing like it. Everybody goes home in a good mood. As I said, everybody is happy regardless of who actually wins. So who was happy on Saturday? Anybody? Now, if somebody wants to get technical about this and say that the Lions were late and therefore should be punished then that is another case. But, even so, the referees contacted me to let me know that the games were abandoned and that they should still get their half payment for travel time, etc. Of course, I agreed. There was no chance to play the game. And, even if both captains were to have agreed and decided to push ahead and give it a go then they would have had a seriously corrupted version of a game on a completely flooded pitch anyway. We have tried that before at Sentul and it is not even worth trying to play on it when it is in that condition. But, in that case, even if the captains do agree to play anyway on a flooded match with both knowing that there will be no quality to it whatsoever, at the very least, the day has some outcome to it. But on this particular day...?
I would like the winner to actually step forward, admit his folly, and send me a photo so I can publish it worldwide. Or was this a collective decision? Was this a case of 'groupthink' like the Kennedy administration suffered from during the Bay of Pigs fiasco with the good idea to invade Cuba with volunteer militias and with no air or sea support? Or was Dopey the Dwarf at the helm again? Man, I would be embarrassed to pull that stunt on anybody in the JIFL unless it is the practical joke of the season. In fact, it is so ridiculous that I reckon that Deutschland is just flexing it's superb sense of humor on the Lions. That must be the case.... don't you think? Surely, you can't be serious in trying to take the coward's way out and try to claim a victory without actually playing the match? Oh, wait... what was that you said? You want to argue and try to claim it? Alright then bring it to the League meeting in early January and state your case. See if anybody is sympathetic to the argument. At least we will all know who you are and we will know whom to avoid in the future when we see you out at the pub. Let's take one positive thing from this event. If German Plus is being serious about this then the Mighty Lions can at least take it as a compliment. In that case, obviously, at least one team in this league is scared sheitless of playing against the Lions!
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:: Last Week's Results The imminent Match of the Week was CANCELLED due to flooding so no result in the Lions -vs- German Plus match. X-Pats versus Team Japan ended 0-0 at halftime because of the CANCELLATION and will be made up in the second half. The Magnificent Vikings dropped the ball in a lack luster performance versus JIS and ended up on the short end of the stick in a 3-0 loss. JIS wants everybody to know that they played a man short for most of the game apparently. The total footballers of Knudde did it again with a 3-1 victory over FC D's Place to shoot back into their deserved 2nd Place spot. Congratulations to Knudde, FC D's Place, JIS and the Vikings for playing their matches in the spirit of the league last week. Well done, boys! You are a credit to the game. ---------------- :: This Week's Match-ups Team Japan
have their work cut out for them with two big matches being played this
week. Firstly, on Wednesday evening at the Fortress against the reigning
champions JIS at 8:00 PM. Then followed up back at their
homeground at Sentul on Saturday at 3:40 PM against the boys of DOIT. I
reckon both matches could be most interesting especially if the league's
MVP '04 and Top Goal Scorer '05 and Player's 'Player of the Year'
'05, Sugimoto-San is present. --------------------------------------
:: Send your games info The JIFL League being not yet broadcasted on ESPN, no report means no informations. Therefore, each team is required to send their games infos within 48 hours after their match at howayu_2@rad.net.id, jifl@esefc.com, dalemulholland@hotmail.comSubject: Game infos -------------------- Take the december quiz ! -------------------------------------- :: This week's schedule
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-------------------------------------- :: Current League Standings
-------------------------------------- :: Games reports
Scorers : Thomas Weber (2) (JIS), Uli Pfeill (1) (JIS)
Referee appreciation : 5/10 No Card JIS went into the game with only 9 and feared the worst. No
less than 10 players out for the clash against the Vikings. ----------------
Scorers : Pol.A
(D's Place)
This was another close game that we failed to capitalize on. We looked
the stronger team for most of the game but couldn't seem to bury our
opportunities. Knudde opened the scoring when our keeper failed to control
the rebound and the ball was knocked in. D's came back, just before half
time with a similar goal. Their keeper failed to control the rebound and
we poked it in. Half time score 1-1. We felt that it was our game to win.
We however, were wrong in our assumptions. They took the lead when their
player was allowed to run from one end of the pitch to the other
uncontested. The ball was slipped through our defense to their waiting
player who beat our keeper one on one. No chance. We controlled play for
the next 15 minutes ----------------
DEAR DALE & HOWIE HERE IS THE VIEW OF THE LIONS AND I WOULD LIKE THIS POSTED IN ITS ENTIRETY ON THE LEAGUE WEB PAGE. UNDERHAND GERMANS OR WHAT ?? ON SATURDAY THE LIONS TRUNDLED OUT TO SENTUL IN THE POURING RAIN TO PLAY THE GERMANS, THE MATCH WAS ARRANGED FOR A 4.10 PM KICK OFF, AS PER THE INITIAL LEAGUE SCHEDULE. THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE LIONS PLAYERS ARRIVED AT 4.10 AT WHICH TIME THEY FOUND THE RAIN STREAMING DOWN AND THE PITCH HALF FLOODED. IT WAS OBVIOUS THE MATCH WASNT GOING TO BE PLAYED. HOWEVER, THE LIONS TEAM DECIDED TO CHANGE INTO THEIR KIT, IN THE HOPE THAT THE GAME COULD BE SALVAGED. AT 4.15PM WE HEARD THAT, IN THE POURING RAIN AND LIGHTNING, THE GERMANS HAD WALKED ONTO THE PITCH, ASKED THE REF TO BLOW THE WHISTLE AND KICKED THE BALL ONCE, THUS CLAIMING A 2-0 FORFEIT...ALTHOUGH THEY WERE WELL AWARE THAT THE GAME WOULD BE CANCELLED. WHEN THE LIONS PLAYERS WENT DOWN TO THE PITCH, WHICH WAS NOW 80% UNDER WATER AND ADVISED THE GERMANS THAT THE GAME WAS A LATE KICK OFF, THE RESPONSE WAS " TOO BAD, WE'VE GOT THE POINTS".... THE OTHER GAME WAS CALLED OFF JUST 3 MINS LATER AND BOTH PITCHES WERE TOTALLY UNPLAYABLE.. ARE THE GERMANS THAT SCARED OF PLAYING THE LIONS OR DO THEY NEED THE POINTS SO DESPERATELY, THAT THEY HAVE TO TRY AND RESORT TO SUCH LOW AND UNSPORTSMANSHIP TACTICS ??? WHATS EVEN MORE WORRYING IS THAT OUR LEAGUE CHAIRMAN, WHO IS ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT PLAYING GAMES IN A FRIENDLY & SPORTSMANSHIP MANNER IS PART OF THE GERMAN TEAM AND WAS INVOLVED IN THIS... WHAT HOPE DOES THE LEAGUE HAVE ????..HE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HIMSELF.. LUCKILY, THIS HAS BACKFIRED ON THE GERMANS, AS IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED THAT THE GAME WAS A 4.10PM KICK OFF AND THAT THE GERMANS BLEW TOO EARLY FOR THE FORFEIT. POOR POOR GUYS, THEY MUST BE SO DISAPPOINTED NOW... I CAN TELL YOU NOW THAT
THE LIONS CANT WAIT FOR THE RESChEDULED GAME, I AM SURE IT WILL BE VERY
FRIENDLY. • Message from Howie (German Plus)
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------------------------------------------ See you live on Jakarta football pitches !
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Sounds like a waste of a
Saturday to me and somebody is responsible for ruining the day for more
than 30 people from both teams.