⚽️ Week Notes 016
🗓️ // Apr 13, 2025 - Apr 19, 2025
First game day of spring soccer today, and typical for Spokane at this time of year it was cold and I was absolutely drenched by the end. We don't get constant rain at this time of year, but enough to hit when it's really inconvenient, like a weekend gameday morning.
First game for S was really close and competitive. Her team has a couple players with really big legs for the age group and were able to utilities them to good effect since one usually plays keeper in the first half and put the ball over the opposing defense pretty consistently. The opponents took the lead on a counter where we fell asleep, but after that our defense played better and we equalized on a solid strike. S was playing a little bit tentatively, but in the decisive moment of the second half of the field she was playing near where I was sitting and I implored her to challenge the midfielder holding the ball in her area rather than sitting. She won the tackle, dribbled past the defense and set up the aforementioned keeper (now playing at forward) in front of goal for a fantastic strike over the keeper's head.
Of course it also had to be spring pictures day as well so we spent the hour before L's game waiting around in the rain for pictures (thankfully S's teams were at the same time) and tracking down her missing water bottle. She'd inexplicably left it by where S's team was based when we met her after the game.
L's team is younger but incredibly dominant for their age group. They also have too many players for an age group that can only field 6 outfield players. It'll be fine when they go to 8 outfield players and slightly longer games next year, but she got shortchanged a lot on playing time last fall. They won 12-0, rotated a lot more liberally today (like after every goal), and L had a brace so no complaints today. The first was an excellent poach when she followed a shot that the keeper had caught and then dropped, and the second was a longer strike setup by a great cutback pass from one of her teammates.
I was completely soaked and cold by L's game even though I was dressed appropriately.
Playing
🧙♂ Played some Magic Arena limited, but not particularly loving Tarkir. It's a cool set, but kind of an unfun draft environment for me so far. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm having a hard time getting positive results.
⚽️🎮 Bang Average Football - Started a men's team this time with the son (Gladyson Fox-Daystrom) of my women's league character (Gladys Daystrom). I'm a lot better at the game now so I was able to lead AFC Foxshore to the Minnow League title in season 1 with the original team and Gladyson as one elite player once I leveled him up a bit. I'm waiting to buy new players until I've played all of teams in the Adequate League once and have access to all of those players.
⚽️🎮 It's probably still a month or two off, but I'm super stoked for the 1.1 upgrade that will allow fully customized leagues, cups, and players. I have a bunch of ideas for real and imagined leagues and that I'd like to setup. I'm also intrigued by the idea of doing season story-telling content in the same manner that a lot of Football Manager content creators do. I think it could be fairly entertaining in its own right and I think it could just be some fun content since I really haven't been motivated to continue the Spurs related content that I've been producing for the last couple seasons, but would still like to do some interesting stuff with my channel.
Watching
📺 Wheel of Time Season 3 👍👍 Completely enjoyed this season and the finale this week. Episodes 7 and 8 were a great wrap to Perrin and Rand/Moraine's season-long arc. I enjoyed season 1, but seasons 2 and 3 absolutely took things up a level and I think this is the best fantasy series going at the moment. I really hope it keeps building enough popularity to book enough seasons to adapt the whole story.
📺 Wrapped up Daredevil Born Again Season 1 👍 this week as well. It was great to have the Punisher back, but I don't fully buy the cult-like-worship from Kingpin's team of bad cops. Also not loving how unresolved the season ended up being and Matt basically being in a weird state of being a hunted fugitive after taking a bullet for Kingpin.