Line(s) of the Day: 89 book

I’m thinking this is my time. I’m going to score this. Ray Houghton was so close. I had no idea he was that close. It was scary. My heart beats even now with the tension every time I see it. 

Michael Thomas describing the iconic moment he scored the goal that won the 1989-89 English league title in a 2-0 game away to Liverpool. The whole championship had come down to the final match, with Arsenal needing to win 2-0 to triumph on goals scored. Liverpool had not lost by two or more goals in their own stadium for four years and were the current champions. As the game went deep into stoppage time, Arsenal midfelder Michael Thomas is through on goal and in the famous words of commentator Brian Moore, “It’s up for grabs now…”

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Line(s) of the Day #ITonya

(skating judge) Bob Rawlinson: I’ll deny I ever said it honey, but you’re just not the image we want to portray. You’re representing our country for fuck’s sake. We need to see a wholesome American family. You just refuse to play along.
Tonya Harding: I don’t have a wholesome American family.

Dan Triandiflou and Margot Robbie in I, Tonya (2017), which tells of the difficult background of American Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding and the circumstances regarding the attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan.

Line(s) of the Day #CreedII

Buddy Marcelle: I want the same thing you want.
Adonis Creed: And what’s that?
Buddy Marcelle: In the history of boxing there have been 77 heavyweight champions. You know that? And how many do you think they know? Four? Five? The belt ain’t enough. You need a narrative. Something that sticks to the ribs. Your dad, he knew that.

Russell Hornsby and Adonis Creed Michael B. Jordan in Creed 2 (2018), the eighth film in the Rocky franchise that began in 1976. In a story that has a powerful connection to previous films in the franchise, Apollo Creed’s son must face off in the ring against Ivan Drago’s son.

Line(s) of the Day #BenStokes

I don’t think there will ever be a better game in cricket than that.

Ben Stokes, Man of the Match in the cricket World Cup Final, as England beat New Zealand on boundaries after being tied after 50 overs and then after a Super Over each. Filled with drama, twists, outrageous skill and elements of controversy, it was a match that had everything.

Line(s) of the Day #ShoelessJoe

Three years ago at dusk on a sunny evening, when the sky was a robin’s-egg’s blue and the wind was as soft as a day-old chick, I was sitting on the verandah of my farm home in eastern Iowa when a voice very clearly said to me, “If you build it he will come.”

As said by the story’s narrator John Kinsella in the magic realism book Shoeless Joe (1982). W.P. Kinsella’s novel, which wonderfully tells of an Iowa farmer building a farm so as to see the spirits of legendary baseball players, was famously adapted for the 1989 film Field of Dreams.

Gr8at: Federer v Nishikori at the 02

I’ve always been a big tennis fan. I played a lot as a child and have been lucky enough to see most of the top players live. I’ve read loads of tennis books, including, of course, Open by Andre Agassi (review here). I’ve also been to the famous lawns of Wimbledon,  and even got a photo with the famous trophy. So I just had to go and see Roger Federer when he was in the Nitto World Tour Finals, an exclusive tournament for the best eight male players of the year. In the opening match of the London-based tournament, he faced Japanese star Kei Nishikori. But in a huge shock, the Swiss maestro lost 7-6 6-3.

Line(s) of the Day #AyrtonSenna

On the podium, Ayrton was so nice and at one point he leaned over to me and whispered into my ear: “Well done Nigel. It’s such a good feeling, isn’t it? Now you know why I’m so difficult sometimes. I don’t ever want to lose the feeling or share it without anyone else.”

The indisputed genius that was three-time F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna, revealing in one quote his insatiable competitiveness and undeniable charm that made him so loved. The quote came in the both hugely entertaining and highly inspiring read, Staying on Track: The Autobiography (2015) by Nigel Mansell, who famously won the 1992 Formula 1 World Championship.

Line(s) of the Day #CyrilleRegis

I kept it as a reminder of the evil some people had inside them. For the rest of my playing days, it was a motivation that they weren’t going to stop me.

As said by Cyrille Regis (1958 – 2018), the hugely inspirational and much loved former footballer, who has sadly passed. As well a huge goalscoring talent on the field, he also faced racist bigotry off the field which he dealt with a dignity and class that inspired later generations of black footballers. The quote refers to a bullet being sent to him before his senior England debut.

Line(s) of the Day #BigShot #30for30

He was a real capitalist. He just needed capital.

Michael Rudman, Skybox patron 1995 – 2005, as quoted in Big Shot, an episode of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. The 79 minute film tells of the major problem businessman John Spano had when buying the Islanders, an ice hockey team from Long Island, New York. You can find out more detail on the impact it had on Spano himself, the team and the community on a review by Digital Shortbread here.

Things to See: Wimbledon Tour

There was so much to see on the Wimbledon visit I had recently that I had to seperate it into two parts. This post will focus on the guided tour (you can find my experience of the shop here), which takes you around different courts and the overall area. As there was so much to see, I’ve reviewed the tour in a non-linear way so as to group the photographs better.