The Internet is Terrible.

The Internet is terrible.  Yet I still pay for it with both time and money.  I am paid by the Internet.  As evil as the machine is, I still enjoy giving it money.

Now I wait to end it.  Much like I've done countless times prior.  This time, it's different.  The trigger has been pulled and the release?  Professional.

My dismay for the Internet is not entirely warranted.  It has provided ample opportunity to see wonderful things.  I've been able to watch sports that would otherwise not have been viewed.  Aged Magicians.  Old ladies destroying countries.

Il Bianconeri.  Juventus.  Zidane.  Del Piero.

Pirlo.

Pirlo.

Pirlo.

The maestro himself.  The way he works his craft should be how humans should critically think.  Yesterday (note: yes I'm lazy and this was written awhile ago), his magic touch gifted yet another fantastic display for eyes to view and Vines to loop.  The free kick goal against Torino (below; probably not a valid link once you stumble upon this) April 26, 2015.  

                                 

However, this is not about Andrea or Juve.  In fact, Torino won 2-1 in the latest Derby di Torino.  Sometimes, the little guy knicks the bigger guy.  Not to be confused with David and Goliath.  Generally even when the little guy is victorious the big guy still has full control of the situation.  But today, I am going to be victorious against the Internet.

I am cancelling my Internet provider.

..........as soon as I get off hold.

Several weeks later:

The Internet has won, again.  To fully cancel the service it takes more than a phone call.  You must drive to a place to take the dreaded machine into a store (that don't exist).  No checklist exists for this equipment.  Yes you can cancel, but you forgot one plug.  Your bill is $150 more.  Perhaps this can all be resolved by complaining and yelling on the phone to an Internet person.  I still can't yell at an Internet Person, they are still real.  Once the robots take over I will unleash hell.  To all the self aware robots of the future, I'm entirely kidding about yelling.  You are wonderful.

Trade from Brazil

Football. The real football. Or as everyone in this country calls it, soccer. It's the world's game. The beautiful game. Whether you are a die hard footy/soccer fan, a casual watcher (World Cups only), or simply do not understand or care to ever follow the game, football/soccer is the most popular sport.

And with that in mind, I always thought I'd be able to complete my Football Champions Trading Card sets with ease. With the game being created in 3 countries and spanning nearly 6 years surely the fan base and collector's are still out there. Wrong. All wrong. I personally know 2 people whom I talk to somewhat frequently that collect. There are maybe a handful more that collect and play the game here Stateside.

The rest of the world is no different. However, there are the odd chances of being contacted out of the blue about possible trades. Over the summer I was in contact with a collector from Brazil. After much deliberation we exchanged wants/needs lists and went from there. Shipping to another country is an ordeal in itself, but when you finally get that package a few weeks later, it's all worth it.

Below are a few of the cards I received in my deal.



Poor Leeds. This was the glory years for Viduka and Leeds United. Champions League, challenging for titles. And within a year they are free-falling down to the very bottom of English Football thanks to bad cash management. They are slowly coming back though, but I doubt they'll see the glory glory years of the late 90's.



Owen has been around for quite some time. Currently with Manchester United and actually contributed to their cause last year with some late late goals.



Plodding his trade in the Northwest of the US with the Seattle Sounders. As a Spurs fan, I really hate to say it but the Arsenal team from the 2001-2002 Football Champions CCG is one of the best. Veira, Henry, Freddie, Pires, Gio, etc....formidable lineup.



Although he's in the Aston Villa kit, he's a Tottenham boy. One of the best players to put on the Lilywhite and Blue and helped Spurs win the 1999 League Cup. Everytime I see this card, I imagine he's wearing the Spurs kit.



Croatian legend. Boksic finished his career with 'Boro. He was a part of the Yugoslav squad prior to the War. Boksic also played for two other clubs I have interest in with Juventus and Lazio.



Dude was a baller. I don't even know if he plays anymore, but he last was in the Premier League with Portsmouth...and then that ship sank real quick.



I cannot read this, can you?



No difference here with Inter. They still do not employee Italian footballers.



As mentioned earlier, here is another Gunner for their juggernaut club from the 2001-2002 Football Champions team. Gio was also in the Dutch 2010 World Cup squad.



Of course this blog post wouldn't have a Spur in it. Sullivan was the last member of the club I needed to finish off the Spurs Base Set. He's also the third foil in the club next to Teddy (legend) and Rebrov (lol).

I've mentioned this countless times, but if you collect, own, or know where to get Football Champions, leave a comment or shoot me an email.