new fic, new filter

[acchikocchi]

The newest issue of cornerflag is up as of yesterday, and I wrote something for it. Interested parties are highly encouraged to check out the whole thing, current and past editions - it averages a really thoughtful quality of story - though I have a feeling anyone reading this who is interested has probably been there already. *g* Anyway, my fic is called Meiro, and it's here.

Sort of on the subject, have now gotten around to setting up a soccerball filter so I can post all the links and pointless post-match thoughts I feel like, completely guilt-free. Ha. (NB: This is not to say football talk will be completely restricted to the filter, especially in relation to fic. But we all know I'm not exactly a prolific poster at the best of times. XD;) Have taken the liberty of adding the flisters I've friended through various football avenues, but if there's anyone else who'd like on, click below.

[Poll #1620652]

Comments

[wintersjuly.livejournal.com]

...i make no promises to know much about football thought (but i can tell you in exacting detail about things relating to juventus because that's my brother's team and he is v.devoted)

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

...your brother's a Juventus fan? OMG NITA I NEVER KNEW. DON'T LET IT RUB OFF ON YOU.

(I kid, I kid. sort of)

[wintersjuly.livejournal.com]

he's a huge juventus fan. i have no particular interest in them though, or in any particular team. i just wish fervently chelsea never, ever win anything and that ac milan stop winning everything.

(like, his face during the world cup was briefly "O_O ITALY IS MOSTLY JUVENTUS PLAYERS!!!!!" and then they sucked and his face was, "OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUVENTUS PLAYERS" and then during the scandal he was mostly, "goddammit why are all my teams in scandals?"

i was mostly, "lol forever XD")

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

Oh, but they haven't been winning much lately! Only three or four titles of any kind over the last ten years. (Though admittedly two of those were really rather big titles.) In fact, uh. Headquarters here would like them to abruptly reverse that trend. >_>

As a Juve follower, it's good that he's used to scandals, since there are so many of them.

[wintersjuly.livejournal.com]

XD

i guess it's the fact that i tend to prefer sports with a drafting system? like, a lot of football is to do with money and who's got the most of it/is willing to spend up big for the best players/coaches and a lot of the time it's the same big named teams who win year after year. so if you're not one of those teams, you basically have little to no chance of winning anything unless magically you have a billionaire buying out your team. i kind of prefer it to be fairer, i think. most drafting systems give the worst teams the best new players so they have a decent chance at improving, independent of money, and i like that idea a lot (ir's probably why i watch more basketball, actually.)

(most of this relates because otherwise, my australian football team would never, ever win anything ;_;)

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize Australian football drafted! Iiiinteresting. Anyway, my brother feels the same way about drafting. (He finds the concept of relegation horrifying as well. XD) I've made my peace with big money, since it's a trend that's only going to continue. It'll be interesting to see if the Premier League - not that I'm particularly concerned with it - ends up instituting a salary cap eventually, and if that has any noticeable effect. And to see if Man City can figure out how to use their billions effectively.

[wintersjuly.livejournal.com]

oh yes, australian football drafts! it's the reason why we almost always get different premiership winners - the best teams make it to the final two years or three years in a row, obviously, but it's a pretty fair game otherwise. you kind of rotate from awesome team to crappier team when your best players retire/move and then you get an influx of new players so you can move back up the ladder.

i mean, my team spent years being awful - if they didn't have the draft system which frequently gave them the first, second or third draft picks when they're lowest on the totem poll, we would still suck ass. it is nice not to suck (we're in finals for the second year running *_*)

and my god, i kind of view regulation as like the tax system of football. everyone hates it, but everyone puts up with it and you have to pay your dues (it is kind of like reverse drafting - strike the fear of regulation and your team, if they're scared enough will not go there!)

i think the billionaires are getting cheaper, actually. like, chelsea didn't spend like crazy, mostly because their monetary losses vs. gain margin was uh, increasing and they weren't winning everything the way they wanted to, so mr.billion decided it wasn't worth it? who knows? my brother has a better clue than i do. XD

i don't think they'll get get a cap - the entire football world would rise up in protest, methinks. i mean, my brother gets so excited about trading and the giant amounts of money being thrown around. it would be harshing on his squee if it was otherwise XD (man city are doing pretty well with the new manager from what i've seen. but wow, they're spending twice the amount they usually do though XD)

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

It's interesting to see how drafts affect different sports - for example, despite the drafts in American football, basketball, etc., there are some teams that just Always Suck. It is their way of life. Though honestly I'm not all that knowledgeable about the ins and outs of most American sports - it's all picked up from family conversation and, like, sports AU fic - so presumably there are plenty of factors in control that I just, you know, don't know anything about.

What I mean is, I don't think Manchester City's going to be the last team to be bankrolled by a particularly rich individual (or organization), especially as the Premier League behemoth continues to lumber on beyond all manageable proportions. Not necessarily for monetary gain - for brand recognition or because they're fans or just because it's The Thing To Do. City's also the only team to splurge this year, but I presume that's because a. Chelsea won everything except the Champions' League last year and b. Abramovich has had several years to get the "buy every shiny thing that catches my eye" urge out of his system.

I know every sports blogger ever has already hashed this out but that's no reason for me not to share my extremely shaky EPL thoughts with whoever's listening. *g* (I should stick to the leagues I know. Comparatively.)

[wintersjuly.livejournal.com]

yeah that's true. sometimes teams suck beyond all recognition no matter what you do for them (those teams in australian football get remade into new teams in new states. but that's only happened twice so far)

basketball is mostly drafting, i'm sure. teams tend to improve like crazy with a good draft pick. i'm sure before lebron got to cleveland, most people were like, "cleveland who?" and cleveland have managed to make the playoffs more than once solely due to lebron's excellent record. (of course, he just free agented - apparently whatever cap you have left, you can spend on players with no contracts and sign them up if you can afford them - his way to miami heat along with bosh and wade so i'm fully expecting miami to not only make the play offs but pretty much go all the way)

it seems like, "become a billionaire, buy an island!" turned into, "become a billionaire, BUY A TEAM!" because it's kind of staggering how player salaries just keep jumping up because everyone's clamouring to offer them more money. i kind of think it's more money = more awesome players and therefore more winning! and more winning equals more fans and more fans equal more money. you just have to invest a quite a bit before you see it back.

god, i should stick to sports i actually watch. i just kind of gleam this stuff peripherally from my brother who follows everything fervently. XD (he even follows golf. and he hates golf)

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

Can I just pause to say how much I love that you, my Australian friend, are explaining the ins and outs of a bloated American sport to me. And I'm just like "Oooooh, really?!" (Okay, I do know the infamous Mr. James, of course, but I couldn't have told you whether or not Cleveland was any kind of force to be reckoned with before his advent.)

[wintersjuly.livejournal.com]

ahahahaha, blame my brother. he's a huge sport nut. plus, digital tv! i get to watch a few games of nfl every week (and then lots of baseball games, which i find really, really dull. it's like, seriously? how do people sit through four hours of baseball like three times a week?), it's awesome! XD

(cleveland only got lebron in the drafts because they were just that awful. awful teams get the best drafts so that hopefully the next year they're slightly less awful. XD it doesn't seem to matter much though, since it's mostly the lakers and the spurs winning everything the past few years)