Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

I caved - Finally. Signed up for my very own Twitter account yesterday. As of right now I'm following 114 people and am being followed by 5 people. Random. Especially as I don't even know these 5 people. Still - it's kinda cool in a slightly strange way  :D I think I'll link my Twitter and my Blog, however still have to figure out how to do that exactly. While I do that - head on over to Youtube and enjoy this video showing how much we love OUR BOYS and how proud we are of them and their amazing achievement!!!! http://bit.ly/9b0Myf This is why I love being Dutch !!!

Hieronder een gedeelte van de speech van minister president Jan Peter Balkenende ten tijde van de huldiging van het Nederlands elftal in het Catshuis. Zie de link onderaan voor de volle tekst. Verliezen doet pijn, want een sportman wil winnen. Zo dichtbij en toch net niet.  Voor het WK zei Bert van Marwijk: “We hebben een beetje geluk nodig”. En dat hadden we dit toernooi. Tot die 116e minuut van de finale. De beelden staan ons allemaal op het netvlies. Dat Spaanse schot was een klap voor Nederland. Een klap voor de spelers. Een klap voor de Oranje supporters. Spanning maakte plaats voor stilte. Verslagenheid. Ook bij mij en al die duizenden en duizenden andere Oranjefans in Soccer City in Johannesburg.  Alles wat oranje is en van oranje houdt is terneergeslagen. Begrijpelijk. Maar ik hoop oprecht dat die teleurstelling snel plaatsmaakt voor trots.  Trots op de prestatie van dit Nederlands elftal. Op het hoofdpodium van het mondiale voetbal was zondagavond 11 ...

Went for a walk with a friend's daughter before the game on Sunday. We were gone for maybe an hour, taking photos of everything orange in the neighbourhood, of flowers and traffic signs, and of all the people dressed in orange. We were dressed in orange as well, singing football-related songs and running around happy as anything. It's been a long time since I spent time with my nephew, and haven't had much to do with children since then. My nephew's only 3, and while my friend's daughter is 9, she's as exuberant and joyful as my nephew is. It's easy to forget how much fun it is to spend time with children and how carefree it makes you. For a change, it doesn't matter what people think of you, it doesn't matter if you're running around acting silly and pulling faces - there's no pressure to behave a certain way or conform to social standards. It makes me wonder why we can't always feel that carefree and be that confident in...

Well, to say I'm disappointed would be the understatement of the century. Watched the game last night on a huge screen with friends and neighbours. The kids were all playing together, the grown-ups were all watching together, I talked to people I'd never met before and others I've known my whole life. It's amazing how football and the national pride we feel brings people together the way it does. For the duration of the World Cup, it didn't matter whether someone was a supporter of Ajax or Feyenoord or ADO Den Haag; things like race, religion and skin colour didn't matter. What did matter is that we all supported our boys, our team, our country. We all lived, breathed, and wore orange. Our dream to finally win the World Cup didn't come true. Spain won. We did not. We did, however, make it to the finals of the World Cup for the first time ever IN MY LIFETIME. For only the third time ever in football history, and for the very first time since 1978. We r...

Being female, people are often surprised that I'm a football fan. Some are still not quite convinced I actually enjoy the game even after asking about my favourite team and favourite players. They seem to think I only watch because apparently, football players are all "hot" and "sexy". Right... While I agree that some of the players do look good in shorts, is it really that hard for people to accept that "OH EMM GEE they're so cute" is not why I watch the game? Now that that's out of my system, on to today's random ramble... The Germany - Uruguay game for third place was held tonight (and daaaaamn I really was hoping that Forlan would strike gold... instead of the crossbar...), which leaves only one match to be played. The Netherlands vs Spain. And oh by the way - When it comes to football / soccer, I am definitely Dutch and I really really really hope we'll win. We've played in the finals twice before - in '74 and in '...

I'm a huge football fan. Football as in that strange sport where your foot kicks a ball... not American football. Not soccer. Foot-Ball. Just so we're clear. With the 2010 World Cup almost over and my country in the Finals for the first time since 1978 and only the third time ever (we made it to the finals in '74 as well), I figured it was about time to write about my love for this sport. It's 22 people on a field, 20 of whom run around after a ball, kicking it and often each other, and 2 who stand in front of a huge goal and perform the strangest acrobatics to try and keep this small round ball out of said goal. It's a reasonably simple game with simple rules. Well ok - the rules are simple when you grow up with them. They're probably ridiculously complicated and silly when you're learning them for the first time. It's also an entertaining and fun game, one we obsess over and one where the players make absolutely ridiculous amounts of money. No mat...

Enjoying the change in my priorities lately. Watching the soccer comes first. No matter what.  (Well, except for sleeping, eating and drinking!)  Aah, it's good to be Dutch and mad about soccer! And I have to say WOOT WOOT to New Zealand for their 1-1 score... I am totally proud !!!!!

Dit zal zeker niet de eerste of de laatste random ramble zijn over voetbal. Ik ben nou eenmaal voetbal gek, en een EK of WK is voor mij net zoiets als Kerst voor anderen - ik ga er helemaal in op, draag oranje, versier mijn huis, en geniet volop van de sfeer en de gezelligheid. Wat ik ook fantastisch vind is dat de problemen tussen supporters van verschillende clubs even bijna weg zijn. Het is niet meer een kwestie van stad tegen stad of de ene helft van het dorp tegen de andere helft, het is wij allemaal samen tegen de rest van de wereld. Of ik nou voor Ajax ben of voor Feyenoord of PSV, een Jood of een Kakkerlak of een Pisvlek word genoemd - het maakt eventje gewoon niet uit. Wij zijn allemaal voor Oranje, voor ons team van onze jongens, en voor welke club ze normaal spelen maakt eventjes gewoon niet uit! Lees alles over het WK 2010 in Zuid Afrika op de website http://www.southafrica2010.nl/ en ik hoop dat jullie allemaal net zo veel plezier zullen hebben als ik dit WK!...

So ok, it's a random thing, sure, but it annoyed me and I want to write about it. Watching the Italy - The Netherlands soccer world cup qualifying match (well, we've already qualified. Still... that's what the match was for...), I was royally pissed off at the Italian team. Not only do they take out one of our star players by tearing into his ankle, they also try for a Maradona-ish "hand of God" moment by trying to push the ball into the goal... using a hand, not a foot as would be expected of a FOOTball player! I get that it's nice to score a goal, I totally do.  I get that any normal person would try and catch something that's thrown at them, or at least stick their hand out to try to get it away from them. I do. HOWEVER - A professional soccer player - someone who gets paid megabucks for how good he is at running around a field, running after a ball and kicking that ball WITH HIS FEET - that person definitely should not use his hand to get...