euro fever

::It's been three successive morning since my bro and I tinkered with the TV antenna and shifted our dining room TV into our room, for a glorious viewing of Euro2004, stolen direct from our Malaysian channel counterparts. No matter how sandy the screen was, or how often it flickered from black and white to colour and back to monochrome, the moments when Rooney staked his claim to 2 wonderful scalps against the Croatians or when Van Nistelrooy restored Dutch pride with 2 instinct-driven goals or even the sweet exit of La Italia were never missed. That old antenna, after a quick soldering job done by daddy, has served us well for its duration. The red-bean bun (5 of it) that I stuffed down my throat in utter hunger provided merely a fringe respite. It was that old antenna, circular, frayed and near rusty, that provided my satisfaction. It was my window to the euro. It was good.::

::And tonight, it's Portugal vs England, surely one not to be missed. Portugal have the backing of the home support, whilst England have an equally unequivocal brand of fans, tithering on the brink of hooligans should England lose. It sure is titillating to watch Luis Figo's exuberant dribbles down one flank and Cristiano Ronaldo exhibiting sheer youth and millions of step-overs down the other. With Deco's twinkle toes in the middle, Portugal's strike force is certainly one not to be messed with. But do not discount England, with a blooming blend of muscle and pace with Wayne Rooney (YEAH ROONEYMANIA is here!) upfront, backed up by the dogged and always willing Paul Scholes. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have built up a solid pair of runners in midfield to boost England's engine, and with David Beckham and Michael Owen still yet to shine, England sure has some serious firepower. Will the name of the game be latin Portuguese flair tonight? Or will it be the indomitable spirit of the English bulldogs that triumph? Let's stop mugging, sleep early and watch the match live at 2.35am.::

Cheerios

sulky italians said in today's newspaper, "We were better than them, they took our ball, they are beastly, beastly Nordic!"