Charity... or Football?

It was a beautiful autumn Saturday at my humble abode. I found the Bayer Leverkusen-Arminia Bielefeld match on TV, and was settling down for what I would assume to be a pretty cracking match. Both clubs were slumping in the Bundesliga, but unlike Bayer, Arminia was actually still in the DFB-Pokal... and won at TuS Koblenz. Christian Eigler, the hero, called the game a massive morale booster, so I was of the opinion that perhaps at least a point was in the cards, and if things fell favourably, perhaps three points. So, as the match was about to kick o...

*ring* *ring* *ring*

Hello?

Hi Mr. Jane! (Note: not my real name) Are you having a good morning?

Sure...

We're just calling to remind you that you've scheduled some volunteer time today.

I did? er... I did! Yeah. What time did I volunteer to be there today?

9:30AM!

*looks at clock, which says 9:03AM*

Of course! I'll be there!

Great! see you then! Bye!

*grits teeth* Bye!

So, I missed the match, though I did do my twice-monthly charity work (I volunteer at a food distribution program), but missed the match. I was so looking forward to this match and I was literally distracted the whole time. I tried to  get my laptop connected to the Internet (I record the orders), but to no avail. I was fit to be tied, and when my shift finished at noon, I sped home and fired up the computer to see the score. I got to kicker.de and saw the score... 

Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 Arminia Bielefeld

Then I went to read the story...

Bayer exposes Arminia's Weaknesses

*sigh*

I guess everything that can be said about the match has been said, especially the non-call for penalty for Zuma but I'd like to point out the debut of German U-19 International Daniel Halfar (who, according to his page on the club's site, prefers Forrest Gump to The Big Lebowski, and Jessica Biel to Paris Hilton. Good tastes indeed!), who should have a bright future with the club.

Speaking of the DFB-Pokal, the draw for the Third Round was held this week, and Arminia got a decent draw (why couldn't they get Werder Bremen II?) by picking up a matchup with struggling 2. Bundesliga side Carl Zeiss Jena on either 29-30 January (The date has not been set yet.). And yes, for the uninitiated, the club was founded by workers from the optics giant. And yes, Jena was the site of the massive defeat that doomed Prussia's fate during the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806. If Arminia win, a quarterfinals berth would match their best-ever run in the DFB-Pokal. That would be swell.

In other Arminia News, Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger once again speaks of Arminia Bielefeld in his ESPNSoccernet column, but his mood was rather contrite, as he admitted since he showered the club and their manager with praise, they haven't won a match in the Bundesliga. He then drops in the fact that probably no Arminia supporter will have read his apology, so I fired off an e-mail that at least one Arminia supporter read the column. Now if only the Soccernet drones will pass along the message to Uli, whose day would probably be made by my comment. And before you ask me, I, of course, mentioned the blog!

So, we look forward to Sunday's match against struggling Nurnburg (who lost to Everton in the UEFA Cup 2-0 today) at the Alm in what folks are already calling a Relegation Six-pointer. I'm ever the optimist, so I refuse to admit that Arminia is only 3 points out of the drop zone, but rather look at the match as an opportunity to close the gap on the UEFA Cup spots. I'll be out of town, so watching the match isn't on the cards. of course, if it was on Saturday I wouldn't be able to watch either... I need to bring my younger brother to a dog care class where he will be making dog treats. 

Yes. Dog treats. Yum!