My Thoughts: Sir Alex Ferguson's Retirement

If you haven't heard by now, Sir Alex Ferguson is retiring as manager of Manchester United at the end of this season. We all knew that this day would come, but it came as a bit of a shock to me that today would be the day that he would announce his retirement. Honestly, what can I say about him that hasn't already been said by countless other Manchester United supporters. The only thing I can truly offer differently is to share my personal connection to watching Sir Alex.

Alex Ferguson has been the manager of Manchester United since before I was born. When I began to follow Manchester United a very long time ago, he was that iconic figure for me in that club. To me, Sir Alex Ferguson IS Manchester United, and to have him leave after all these years, it feels like, as a Man United supporter, a part of me is lost. You can't just simply say goodbye to a long and illustrious 26 and a half year career where he turned a struggling club into one of the world powers of football and the biggest brand in all of sport. He knocked Liverpool off their fucking perch. He made Bayern Munich weep in 1999. He turned the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Roy Keane, and Ruud van Nistelrooy into world stars. He made use of the academy and out came more world class players like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and the Neville brothers. He gave his absolute everything to the club, and saying a simple thank you and goodbye just doesn't seem enough for me.

Now the obvious question with his retirement as manager of Manchester United is, well, who will be replacing him. Well, there are two obvious candidates that were identified: Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, and Everton manager David Moyes. One of them seems like the great short-term hire, and the other seems like the great long-term hire.

Jose Mourinho is the best manager in world football right now. His teams consistently go deep in the Champions League and he can motivate a team like no other. But Mourinho can't seem to stay at a team for more than 3 years, and he has a tendency to make things all about him, rather than the club itself. This would be bad for a team like Manchester United, as the club itself is bigger than any player or manager. If Manchester United wants to be assured of consistently performing well in Europe, and focus more on short-term goals, then hire Mourinho. I don't agree with this, though.

David Moyes has built a very good Everton team on a strict budget, constantly punching above its weight. He doesn't have much experience in continental football, but he is a commanding individual, similar to that of Sir Alex. If he is hired, my fear is that Man United will not perform as well as when Sir Alex is in charge, especially in Europe. But what eclipses that fear is the potential long-term stability that may occur if Moyes is hired. Moyes has been Everton manager for 11 years, so it is possible that he can be the Man United manager for many years to come. Moyes made big moves despite being on a tight budget at Everton, imagine what he can do with a lot more money at his disposal. If I had to choose which manager should succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, it would be David Moyes.

No matter which manager will be the next manager of Manchester United, it is pretty safe to say that it will be impossible to fill the shoes of Sir Alex Ferguson. He is the greatest manager in football, there's no question about it, and probably one of the greatest managers/coaches in all of sports. He is irreplaceable. He is more than a legend, more than an icon, and more than anyone can ever hope for.

I hope that bronze statue of Sir Alex outside Old Trafford is always shining, even in the darkest days.

It isn't much, but thanks for everything...

Random Thoughts 11: An Observation, A Hard Truth, and Another League Title

Okay, some more random thoughts, accompanied by a random picture from last February's Auto Show...

I've had Twitter for over 2 years, and for the most part, it has been great fun. One of the things I noticed when I would casually be on Twitter is that I am able to read certain underlying situations that people are in just by reading their tweets, and I don't mean that in a "creeper" sense. You can tell a lot about someone and what they are going through by seeing what they tweet, how they tweet, and how often they tweet. If people have feelings that they want to express on Twitter, they will do it, but sometimes I see people implicitly express their feelings, either by sub-tweeting, or by other means. All these tweets begin to paint a portrait of yourself, and there are people who can either see that portrait, or they are unable (or too oblivious) to see it.

Now, time to switch over to something else, and it is a hard truth...

If you are single, you may be thinking about a certain someone, someone that makes you feel whole. Unfortunately there is something I have to break to you. You may think this person looks amazing. You may think this person has an awesome personality. You may think this person has big dreams and ambition. You may think this person is the "one" that you want to spend the rest of your life with. But if that person doesn't feel the same way that you do towards that person, then it isn't to be. It is a terrible feeling, yes, but I am here to tell you that you can get over it. Hopefully you'll find someone who is even better and can make you feel even more amazing, so don't lose hope.

Quick thoughts on United winning their 20th league title: Awesome, United blew away the rest of the competition and none of the other big clubs made a reasonable challenge for the Premier League. Man City failed to perform when it mattered, and Chelsea are pretty much a shit-show at this point, especially with the management and ownership. But back to United, I would never expect Carrick to be the standout player in this Man United side. RVP, Rafael, and De Gea have also had big seasons as well. Although they were knocked out of the other cup competitions (don't get me started on the Champions League exit against Real Madrid), I am generally happy with Man United's season. The squad could use a little bit more tinkering, but I am optimistic that Man United can put up more of a fight in the other cup competitions next season.

So until the next part of the random thoughts segment, bye...

My Thoughts and Experiences of My 4 Years at University

So, it has come to this. It's over. I can't help but think that my time in St. Catharines and going to Brock University has went by so fast.

A bit of background on why I came to St. Catharines to live for almost 4 years. There were circumstances back home that would have made my life impossible to live if I stayed home and commuted to a local university. There were people in my high school that tried to make my life a living hell, which I have long since cut from my life. Also, there were some other frightening experiences that I have gone through, that made me want to get away from everything. I made too many mistakes, I made too many enemies, and I certainly made the wrong friends in high school, and what I truly wanted was a new life.

I got that opportunity at a new life, a new me, when I accepted my offer to go to Brock University in September of 2009. For me, it was an opportunity at a fresh start, and an opportunity to forget the wrongs of my past.

When I arrived at residence for the first time, it definitely wasn't what I expected. I was never that good at making friends, and for the first few weeks, I had to repeatedly come out of my comfort zone to try to make friends. It wasn't easy, due to my social awkwardness at the time, but ultimately, it was for the best. I remember the distinct moment when I legitimately felt accepted by my new residence friends, and it came during a competition at the end of the first week of university involving all the halls from all of the residences of university, where I apparently successfully guessed the height of the CN Tower for my hall. Reading up on my random trivia in my spare time certainly paid off.

The rest of my first year went a lot easier after that. I was doing decent in school, I was firmly entrenched in a circle of friends, and I was always meeting new people. Though at times, my first year of university and living in residence felt a bit like high school, because people were still stuck in the immature high school mindset (myself included sometimes), the people in university were much easier to approach and talk to than the people at high school, which was very cliquey. The first year of university was the last time I really got to be a bit immature (it showed in some nights), and it set me for some growing up in the subsequent years of my university career.

When second year started, I made the decision to live by myself, which baffled a lot of my friends, but it was the best decision I ever made. I can't stand living with others, and I keep hearing stories about ruined friendships over roommate issues, which is something I don't want to have happen to me. Living by myself also forced me to grow up and truly fend for myself, which was something I relished, and made me learn a lot about what I wanted. There were a couple of drawbacks about living alone. One of these drawbacks trying to keep in contact with my friends, and at times, I felt like a burden to them. Relating to this, the worst part about living alone was the constant loneliness every night. Some nights, it was manageable, but other nights, it destroyed me emotionally. There were some nights that I wished that someone was around to talk to. If you are going to live alone, be prepared for the emotional pain that comes along with it, but I managed to get through it.

Second year, school-wise, was a lot tougher. I was originally accepted to Brock to do accounting, but with every day that passed, I was losing the passion to finish my accounting degree. I was struggling with classes and nearly failing them to the point where I pretty much lost it and demanded to myself that I needed to change. There was also some events that took place back home which made it unlikely that myself and my family was going to pay for my tuition for the rest of my time at university. With all that going on in my life at the time, I thought my life was finished. Second year was easily the worst time for me at university.

Third year came along, and for some reason everything started to change. I got out of accounting and looked for something within the business profession that I enjoyed, and I found it in Information Systems. With that, my grades started to improve significantly. To be honest, I don't really remember much from third year, other than trying to improve my grades and trying to keep in contact with friends.

In order to try to graduate in 4 years, I chose to take courses in the spring/summer. Coming off a generally positive third year of university, I was optimistic about this, even if it meant staying in school a couple of months and missing out on some sunny days. That spring turned out to be the spring of re-acquaintance for me, which was absolutely fantastic. That spring was also the time where I began to really delve deep into who my real friends were here at university, and who I thought were good friends but ended up being worse than I thought they were. Living in St. Catharines during that time had a major flaw, being that the vast majority of my friends went home for the spring/summer, so loneliness hit especially hard for me at that time.

Fourth year could not have been any better for me. I was taking courses which I enjoyed and was doing incredibly well in, I was doing independent research in the hopes of attaining new skills which I also enjoyed, and I was continuing to be social, which helped my general mood. With all this fun I was having these days, it's hard for me to come to grips with finally having to leave for good. I'll leave some general thoughts about this entire experience.

When I first came to university, I was young and stupid. But now I am four years older, four years wiser, and finally grown up. There is the possibility that I will end up going back home and potentially face my own demons from my past, but I think I will be able to handle it now. All I can do now is try to look forward, and try not to think about my past. I've met some great people here, probably some of the best people I have met so far in my life, and it was a welcome change from the negativity that surrounded me in my high school years. I also believe that I have gotten exactly what I wanted from this entire experience, in terms of an education, and in terms of hopefully building long lasting friendships as well. Looking back at all of this, there were some things I could have changed, but it is what it is. I am glad that I didn't have to commute from home to go to a local university, because I craved true independence, and it was what I got.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone I've ever met in my four years at university who has made a positive impact in my life, from the first weeks of residence, to the parties and bar nights, and beyond. You have truly made me feel welcome and loved, and for that, I am eternally grateful. You all were everything and more...

Until the next time we may meet, I say, goodbye, and take care of yourselves.

Toronto FC vs. Sporting KC: My Thoughts

The boys are back in town.

Today, I decided to come out of hiding and go the Toronto FC home opener at the Rogers Centre (or the Skydome, if you're old school and/or against corporatism) against Sporting KC. On the days leading up to the match, I honestly thought TFC were going to lose. Man, was I wrong.

I made my way to Real Sports to pick up some gear and to take part of the pre-match festivities, which consisted of a music ensemble playing some samba music, which I thought was pretty cool. There was a good crowd and a lot of people were fired up and in fine voice for the upcoming match. After the samba performance came the walk to the stadium, and every time I took a step towards the stadium, I felt myself become slightly more nervous, but I was in absolutely fantastic spirits the entire day.

So I get to the stadium, and take my seat. The Torsten Frings tribute was a nice touch from TFC, and to see him for the last time almost put a tear in my eye.The teams come out. The anthems are sung. The supporters warm up their vocal cords.

We're back.

The first half was great from TFC, good passing and lots of pressure, which lead to a mistake in the SKC defense, and Earnshaw capitalized in the 3rd minute to make it 1-0. Not long after, new TFC player Bostock earned a penalty in the box and Earnshaw slotted in the PK to make it 2-0. I couldn't believe it, a Toronto FC team actually playing well? Halftime approached, and I was as happy as I can be.

In the 2nd half, TFC expectedly got a little too comfortable, and Sporting KC went on the attack for the vast majority of the half. I was constantly distracted by little children trying to throw streamers next to me onto the  supporters section below (I was in 226, so if you were sitting in 125-127, you will have seen at least 20 streamers fly down during the half). Distractions aside, SKC were getting frustrated and things started to get a little chippy, with a few pushes and shoves here and there. SKC got a goal back, but TFC did enough to earn the 2-1 victory and get their first win since July of last year. Brilliant.

There was an apparent incident in the 2nd half where I noticed a lot of reddish smoke coming from the supporters section right below me. My initial thought was that someone lit a flare or a smoke bomb, which explained the increase in security personnel on the floor and in my section looking down. If you're going to bring stuff like that and get caught, own up to it and pay the fine. You have to accept the responsibilities.

Overall, it was a fantastic day, and I hope this Toronto FC team builds on this win which will hopefully lead to more wins or a winning streak. Let's enjoy this win.

The boys are back in town, and I couldn't be more happier.

Kevin-Prince Boateng And The Issue Of Racism in Football

Today, Kevin-Prince Boateng, along with other AC Milan teammates, were subject to racist chants during a friendly from a minority group of people in the stands. He walked off the pitch, along with his AC Milan teammates, and the match was suspended.

First, I'll say this. I think it was right for Boateng to walk off the pitch and it was even better that the rest of his AC Milan teammates to walk with him. It shows great solidarity, and it shows that AC Milan doesn't tolerate racism. But there is the other side of all this. By walking off the pitch, they are also telling the minority of racist fans that they have the power to affect the outcome of a match, whether the match is suspended, or if the match goes on.

Racism cannot be stopped completely. That is impossible. But racism in football can be reduced to the point where if someone or a group of people engage in racist chanting, the punishment for it towards them and the club they support will be so severe that it deters them and other people from engaging in racist chanting. For that to happen, FIFA, UEFA, and the other continental footballing bodies need to make the hard-line stance that racism is unacceptable.

But will they do that?

It has already shown the FIFA and UEFA are more willing to punish people for conflicting with sponsors' interests than with actually taking a stance with racism, (Nicklas Bendtner, anyone?) and I think I know why this is the case. Sponsors make money for FIFA and UEFA. Racism doesn't make money for FIFA and UEFA. If you mess with the sponsors, expect big fines to come your way, because sponsorship is a big money stream for FIFA and UEFA.

So then how can we make FIFA and UEFA stand up and make a hard-line stance that racism is unacceptable?

There needs to be awareness from supporters and pressure on FIFA and the continental footballing bodies. I don't think it is enough for just supporters to pressure the footballing bodies. Entities like football clubs need to also pressure the footballing bodies and punish those who engage in racist chanting. AC Milan have made their stance today, and it is time for other supporters, players, and clubs to build on it. Despite the recent racial incidents, racism has always been a lingering issue in football. It's time for all of us to put overwhelming pressure on the footballing bodies, and to make this issue obsolete once and for all.