June 20, 2010

Make the best of it. Laugh!



This is from German television. While commenting on the World Cup going-ons (goings-on?) with sports anchor Gerhard Delling, ex-international Günter Netzer, one of the best passers in football history and a German icon second only to Franz Beckenbauer, is overcome by a giggling fit. This is specifically funny, because Netzer, different from Beckenbauer who comes across as dour, vague and arrogant, is known to be extremely serious, down to earth, straight to the point and sober - in brief: as dry as dust.
Delling: The Spaniard Alonzo said, totally seriously, that he was "not amused", that it interferes with concentration, which makes proper football playing impossible.

Netzer: I can't understand it ... the players ... one isn't used to this and it is distracting as well. I don't find it particularly good because there are no highs and lows ... the enthusiasm we know, the spectators who are LIVING football, SUFFER football, tragedies, drama, joy, everything cramped into so small a space, different from second to second. Here, NOTHING is different ... starts laughing ... simply EVERYTHING is the same, that hooting, this abhorrent stuff ... laughs ... well...this is not for me ... can't stop laughing ... inaudible, something like this abo(minable)...

Delling: Intoxication through and through... one can say that...

Netzer: (Back to his normal sober self) Yes.

Delling: Let's see whether the Mexicans will become intoxicated as well (guffaws briefly) they have an interesting trainer history...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Goings-on" is correct, I believe because the preposition is not pluralized in English. Of course, I went to school when they didn't teach as many rules about English grammar and spelling, since that was the teaching fad back then, so I might be making that rule up:

http://mw2.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goings-on